We had a full house today at Middleton High School – He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
It’s a beautiful Easter Sunday. Today’s message was out of John 11 again. Do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God? Like Pastor Jayson said there are so many things each day we believe are going to happen from the alarm clock going off to coffee brewing – the car starting when we turn the key. Our belief as Christians each day should be that Jesus is our salvation and unlike so many things we should never take that for granted!
John 11:25-26New International Version
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
After church Link and I went over to my Aunt and Uncles house for a feast with family and friends. Uncle John made his special ham. Everything was so good! I didn’t stay long as I was feeling very tired. Link has been waking me up in the wee hours the past few nights. We have his annual exam tomorrow so I’ll mention that. My back has been hurting again – thank goodness for Biofreeze! It was good to see everyone on such a lovely spring day. So many of the trees are blooming and smell so nice!
My Aunt Ruth is having a medical procedure in a couple days – please keep her in your prayers.
What is one thing you would change about yourself?
Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. Today has been uneventful. I am feeling a little better after catching another cold. There was talk about something happening today with regard to space people but of course nothing happened! I am thinking something is brewing with the increase in sightings. I am thinking it has to do with the increasing unrest going on in the world – Sabre rattling about using nukes. If I was a space person watching all of what’s going on I think I would want to intervene too!
My answer to today’s prompt is if I could change one thing about myself I would not be Bipolar. Having this diagnosis has really limited me in so many ways. I have lost two marriages and many friendships and relationships with family. I lost a career because of this condition. The only good thing to ever come of being Bipolar was the wellspring of energy and creativity during the times I was manic. I would hardly sleep and my creative abilities seemed endless. I could draw, paint, sing, write, take awesome photos, dance, tap into the spiritual realms – all of this with little to no effort. Having the mania under control with the medication I’m on – Depakote- I can’t do much of anything anymore. This blog is my only outlet! In addition to Bipolar I have the Mal de barque syndrome where I have trouble with balance. I’m convinced it was triggered by my being tased by police when I was having a manic episode two years ago. It just won’t go away! So I guess there are actually two things I wish I could change!
Since I cannot change what I am, I have to push through with it all. I have to force myself to move forward even if I don’t want to. I pray a lot and ask for healing. I am trying to say yes more often when I would usually say no. One of the side affects of Depakote is weight gain and not feeling full after eating. With the balance challenges it’s hard to exercise to get rid of calories but I force myself to get a walk in with Link each day. I’m trying to lower my calorie count too. I am trying to say no more often to eating sweets which is my favorite type of food! Not all of what I am can be blamed on being Bipolar! I wish I could get back to size 16 jeans again. Obesity runs in my Dads side of the family so my genetics are kind of stacked against me along with my diagnosis.
Some scripture about change:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot”.
Isaiah 43:18-19“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”.
Psalm 30:5“Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning”.
Romans 8:28“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.
2 Corinthians 5:17“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”.
Hebrews 13:8“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.
Malachi 3:6“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed”.
James 1:17“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”.
Ephesians 4:22-24“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”.
Hello to you. How are you? I am doing ok considering what’s going on in my life right now. I can’t really talk about it but let’s just say it’s life changing. I am leaning on my faith, family and friends right now. Yesterday my cousin came and whisked me off on an little adventure. We had Dickeys BBQ and went for a walk.
The big thing have been putting off is end of life planning. I know at some point I’m going to die and I will have property, finances and stuff that will be left behind to deal with. I have a will but it’s old so I need to get everything up to date. So I need to deal with it and hopefully I can do it through the VA so it won’t cost me anything. Ideally I just want to leave everything to my brothers daughter but need to get everything in writing and official.
Yesterday my beautiful cousin Laura came and whisked me off on an adventure. This is one of the sights we saw on a walk together.
Jeremiah 29:11New International Version
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.
The three jobs that came to mind were an artist, photographer and scientist. I’ve tried all three for “free” already and found them enjoyable. The only person that it cost anything was me – supplies to make paintings, drawings, wire and beads to make jewelry and wire coils. The one free thing I made was my organic orgonite bowls – plenty of clay soil out back. When I made epoxy resin orgonite it was buying resin and making molds. The scientist came about by my playing with Keshe Foundation technology which was very interesting. I used to have a camera and took lots of pictures with it until it stop functioning. Now I use my cell phone.
John 2:1-12New International Version
Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
I don’t think of myself as a leader but I’m not a very good follower either – somewhere in between. When I was in the military I questioned authority quite a bit! It was hard having so many bosses. I had my direct supervisor who had a supervisor which was also my supervisor all the way up to the President of the United States.! There was a lot of inconsistency along the way.
My sunshine boy
Colossians 3:12-13New International Version
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Hello to you. How are you? I’m doing ok. Todays prompt is thought provoking for me as it’s rare that I am at perfect peace – relaxed. It feels like I’m always thinking and worrying about “what’s next.” Sometimes food gives me peace, sometimes it’s the company of someone, sometimes my spirituality gives me peace. It’s not a consistent thing. Last year, before the episode that landed me in the the hospital, what gave me peace was long walks in nature and praying for everybody next to the water canals down the street before they tore everything up.
Some of the beauty that existed next to the water canals. A drawing I did in honor of Sam our cocker spaniel – how I imagined he looked as a human in heaven. I’m sure he will be one of the first angels I see when it’s my time and he’ll be a dog. I have had several dreams about him since he passed and he always looks so healthy as a dog. I was at peace when he was here with us.
What used to give me peace was creativity – drawing, singing, painting both on canvas and on t- shirts and making jewelry. What happened is I became self conscious. I realized everything I was doing had an environmental impact – especially our water. It takes water to make the paints and water to use the paints. I started paying attention to where my supplies were coming from like metals I was using for my wire jewelry – Pakistan! Hardly anything from the USA. There was a hefty price for my fleeting peace. I haven’t been doing any of it.
I tried to draw in chalk here but it just wasn’t the same as having the privacy of my backyard.
John 14:27New International Version
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Hello to you. How are you? I’m feeling pretty good – got some sleep last night and there were even dreams I don’t remember. Yesterday I got two walks in – forced myself to go. It’s so easy to say I’ll do it later! With the medication I’m on it’s easy to put weight on and almost impossible to take it off. Next Monday I will be doing a chair yoga class through the VA. Hopefully the start of a positive new habit! Just got to keep moving!
Every time I see a sunflower I think of my ex. We were walking and at a stop sign there was a sun flower and he noticed it. “Stop and See” pay attention to the beauty around you. I stopped on my walk last night to see these beauties.
What am I curious about? A little bit of everything! I enjoy seeing what science gets up to. Lately in the headlines there has been a lot of discussion around a claim coming out of South Korea in regards to super conductors: Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in certain materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor. Wikipedia Watching a piece of metal hover and move like a UFO is really intriguing. There were several headlines about this the past couple of days which leads me to believe it’s connected to what we are hearing about reversed engineering in extraterrestrial technology. The timing of this release doesn’t seem coincidental to me. I feel like we are being prepared for a bigger story and are being fed bite size portions like infants. You have to be paying attention. If this technology is valid and peer reviewed we could see flying cars and other changes to the power grid very soon. I think the work Of Nikola Tesla is finally getting proven – about free energy being everywhere – ambient energy is a tangible thing – just how to harness it without adverse consequences in the quantities we need it in.
STATE-OF-ART MATERIAL (excerpt go to link for full article)
A superconductor can levitate in a magnetic field and conduct electricity with zero resistance, thus having no loss of energy – a conventional conductor gets hot because it has resistance and generates heat.
It is touted as a state-of-art material that can speed up connections between computer chips, strengthen the electromagnetic field for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and provide higher efficiency to power grids and maglev railways. However, the cryogenic environment has been a major obstacle to commercializing the material.
It was in 1911 when the world’s first superconductivity was discovered by Dutch researcher and Nobel laureate Heike Kamerlingh-Onnes at 4.2 Kelvin, which is -452.1 Fahrenheit or -269 degrees Celsius. Today, a high-temperature superconductor is discovered above 77 Kelvin, -321.1 Fahrenheit or -196.2 degrees Celsius.
There have been many trials to prove room-temperature superconductors. In 2020, a research team led by Ranga Dias, assistant professor of the mechanical engineering department at University of Rochester, claimed they had found superconductivity at 287 Kelvin, 56.9 Fahrenheit or 13.9 degrees Celsius. But the team’s paper was retracted by the prominent magazine Nature in 2022 due to low confidence in the scientific results.
I think science is interesting but I believe it’s a bottom line quest to explain our existence. Science is like a religion – a quest for God – to be God. I could be wrong but that’s how it’s always seemed to me. The quest for the Why of every tiny detail of existence. I was watching some videos about the CERN Haldron Collider last night and it’s pretty scary what they are doing! https://youtu.be/6IH012umOjQ – CERN Scientists Claim They Have Opened a Portal to Another Dimension. In the absence of a tangible God, science through numbers and equations seeks to explain what just generates more questions and it seems like a competition to see who’s smarter! I wonder if the field of science is almost just a way for smart people not to be bored. If you look at nature there are so many answers to the Why and What of God! Just this spring and all the flowers filled me with wonder and joy. It’s seems that is too simple for a scientist. They need microscope’s and Petri dishes, charts and grafts, tiny particles and multiverses!
When I was having some of my episodes every question had more than one answer – it was exhausting! I would sit in my closet going round and round for hours. I imagine if I had been in a lab such an occurrence would be exhilarating but it wasn’t. If you have ever seen the Dr. Who episode with the Editor – it was like being one of those people receiving all the information through my third eye (the space between the eyebrows) I was thinking so much that area hurt! Only God, the energy that is at the center of all creation, knows how all the pieces fit together. It’s too much for any one person to know!
So anyways I am curious about a lot of things. It will be interesting to see if this discovery out of South Korea pans out. We really could benefit as a world – much more quickly.
I’m also curious about passages like this in the Bible. When I read it it makes me wonder what exactly they were seeing. It makes me think of people trying to describe UFO/UAP encounters! Sometimes there aren’t words from our times to explain things. Think about what it must have been like for our earliest ancestors when they witnessed lightening and thunder:
Ezekiel 1:5-11New International Version
5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human,6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body.
Hello to you – how are you? I’m just back from meeting with our church’s prayer team. I asked the members to pray for me. I am having problems with my new medication which causes anxiety. I tried to get in touch with my doctors nurse yesterday but was unsuccessful! I was able to get an appointment scheduled earlier which is good.
My morning boy Fruit tree This looks like a miniature peach My neighbors bush is still blooming these lovely flowers
I’m grateful for our prayer team. Going each Thursday gives me a purpose. I walk there and walk home. Going gives me a reason to pray and connect with Jesus with other followers. There is such a beautiful fellowship. We are up to four members now! Today we had a lot to pray for to include several people that have been missing due to health related issues. Our group leader has a call list and checks on many of the people. Today was our youngest members Briana’s 29th birthday!
1 John 1:7New International Version
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a]sin.
Hi there! How is your week going this far? I’m just back from the Thursday prayer meeting – so glad I went. I got to meet a new person and as a group we talked about something we all had in common – a family member committing suicide and mental health. The pain of the loss be it fresh or a few years down the road never really goes away. Time numbs the wounds, faith restores hope. Some day we will see each other again! Mental Health is so hard to understand. It’s not like a broken bone or a one time problem you can just snap your fingers and fix. Suicide attempts are not just attention seeking but a legitimate cry for help.
Along these lines it comes to me to put it out in the cosmos that no matter what life may seem to be someone cares. For example, in a little gathering of four people just today, strangers to you, lifted you up in prayer. Someone cares about you no matter how it may seem. You are not alone! God has shown me this through my family both blood and not.
Exodus 33:14
14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Psalm 139:7
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
I was happy to see the return of these purple flowers These looked pretty to me Despite the clearing they did along the banks of the canal, there is life!
Matthew 26:41New International Version
41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
*RIP Sinead O’Connor – they haven’t said how she died but I have my suspicions from her history. I hope she has found peace.
Hello to you. I’m just back from Grace House where we have a prayer meeting each Thursday at 9:30 am. Today it was Lois, Brie and me. We are hoping that may be this fall our group will grow some. I walked over and back. My lower back wasn’t happy but the prayers helped. I have been having some vertigo/swaying spells the past couple of days. I hope this isn’t a side effect of the new medication I’m on! We prayed for my Aunt and Dad too. Just found out my Aunt is having shoulder surgery later this month.
So bedtime and getting up are something I’ve been having to work on. I try to start going to bed at 9 pm and I usually wake up around 8-9 am. It takes me a long time to fall asleep and I don’t like getting out of bed right away. I think the reason I have trouble falling asleep has to do with being on screens before bed time. Last night I didn’t have anything on after lights out and I don’t remember falling asleep! Just takes good practice and consistency I think.
Today was good because I needed to be up early to go to the prayer meeting. It’s good to have a reason to get up and have something to look forward to.
Saw this on the way home yesterday Saw this on walk this morning Such tiny little flowers ! This looks like a perfect flower for hummingbirds For some reason he wanted on my lap!
Psalm 4:8New International Version
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
To be 