Thursday, December 26, 2019
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Friday, December 6, 2019
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Updates
We are into the final month of the semester.
I am treading water, not swimming. Today I am home (on purpose! They are short three subs at the Middle School alone, and I could not help out) to write papers and pretend to catch up on my MPA.
At this point I'm just doing the best I can.
My life equation still seems unbalanced: teaching, hotel, MPA stuff, choir, a little family interaction----YES, I need a restart button.
My professor told me before Thanksgiving that I am certainly able to continue in the MPA program but my life had the perfect storm this fall, and she encouraged me to cut back on classes until I regain balance.
Barring another family tragedy I think I can continue.
My prayer is for the teacher I've been subbing for all Fall to get well and back to her spot. The sub for that class today was texting me for help----This is crazy!
It has been a perfect storm of responsibility, time management, trying to be helpful, and keeping up.
We are having guests from Germany for Christmas, and I fear the house will be unprepared for them, but they are dear folk, and should be forgiving. I have had no time to prepare for the holy days.
It will come as it will.
Margaret had the flu over Thanksgiving. It hit her hard, so our plans were somewhat curtailed by that. I'm hoping the rest of us can keep well.
If I can survive this crazy schedule topped with winter onset ANYONE CAN. We've had our first snow events. Those also add stress, despite the beauty of the pure white covering!
Just this week we have THREE vehicles that do not work, either, and you can imagine our scrambling to get everyone where they need to be. It's a challenge. West Hennepin Auto in Rockford are simply the BEST. They were so helpful! I recommend them highly.
The dishwasher decided to break and my husband went to Indiana. He fixed it immediately upon return. Love that man.
You know, life can be pretty insane sometimes!
Now that I have your pity.....
Just kidding. We live moment by moment, completely in the power of Jesus Christ. I have seen His help through these stressful months and trusted Him. Ed's cancer and the other things we've already gone through have been the training ground for a continual trust in Jesus.
JESUS NEVER FAILS.
So, here we go: FINALS! HOLIDAYS!
I am treading water, not swimming. Today I am home (on purpose! They are short three subs at the Middle School alone, and I could not help out) to write papers and pretend to catch up on my MPA.
At this point I'm just doing the best I can.
My life equation still seems unbalanced: teaching, hotel, MPA stuff, choir, a little family interaction----YES, I need a restart button.
My professor told me before Thanksgiving that I am certainly able to continue in the MPA program but my life had the perfect storm this fall, and she encouraged me to cut back on classes until I regain balance.
Barring another family tragedy I think I can continue.
My prayer is for the teacher I've been subbing for all Fall to get well and back to her spot. The sub for that class today was texting me for help----This is crazy!
It has been a perfect storm of responsibility, time management, trying to be helpful, and keeping up.
We are having guests from Germany for Christmas, and I fear the house will be unprepared for them, but they are dear folk, and should be forgiving. I have had no time to prepare for the holy days.
It will come as it will.
Margaret had the flu over Thanksgiving. It hit her hard, so our plans were somewhat curtailed by that. I'm hoping the rest of us can keep well.
If I can survive this crazy schedule topped with winter onset ANYONE CAN. We've had our first snow events. Those also add stress, despite the beauty of the pure white covering!
Just this week we have THREE vehicles that do not work, either, and you can imagine our scrambling to get everyone where they need to be. It's a challenge. West Hennepin Auto in Rockford are simply the BEST. They were so helpful! I recommend them highly.
The dishwasher decided to break and my husband went to Indiana. He fixed it immediately upon return. Love that man.
You know, life can be pretty insane sometimes!
Now that I have your pity.....
Just kidding. We live moment by moment, completely in the power of Jesus Christ. I have seen His help through these stressful months and trusted Him. Ed's cancer and the other things we've already gone through have been the training ground for a continual trust in Jesus.
JESUS NEVER FAILS.
So, here we go: FINALS! HOLIDAYS!
Scorched Earth
There is an interesting article in Rolling Stone Magazine that Eric Metaxas posted on Facebook this morning. I encourage you to read it.
It talks about the Fundamentalists and how wrong they are. Recently the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church also decried Fundamentalists.
Fundamentalist is a Christian term. Decades ago R.A. Torrey, a preacher in Chicago connected with D.L. Moody, wrote a very large tome about the Fundamentals of the Faith. I have a two book set on my bookshelf.
You can define Fundamentalism by reading this huge work, or you can simply state that it is a belief in the Word of God, the Bible, and that the Bible is the plumbline for all spiritual activity.
You cannot pick and choose from the Bible. You must accept it as a whole, Old Testament and New Testament. It is not complete without full measurement against itself.
There are stories. There is poetry. There are commands. There are warnings. There is history. THERE IS PROPHECY. Much of the prophecy has been already fulfilled, but there is much predicted yet to come-----For Instance: Christ's 1,000 year reign on earth. No one should explain this away. The descriptions of that upcoming reign are too detailed to be missed.
It hasn't happened yet, and Satan would love for you to believe it has.
Many dear people have tried to explain the Bible, tried to make sense of it, tried to fit it into their presupposed worldviews. It happens all the time.
I prefer to let the Bible speak for itself and research everything in light of it.
Have you read the works of Sir Robert Anderson? He was a Scotland Yard official back in the 19th century who decided to research some of the prophetic passages of Scripture. His works are really interesting. He was a Fundamentalist before the term was coined.
There is an amazing prediction in Scripture about a man who will one day reign over a unified world. This isn't good. He's not Jesus.
People seem to forget that one.
Jesus says that the way is narrow, and FEW find it. The path to destruction is BROAD and many are on it. This upcoming world kingdom leads straight to hell, and hell is eternal. The Bible says "everlasting" fire.
Fundamentalists know this. They are striving to be on the narrow path. The strait gate is for Fundamentalists. We stand on the fundamentals of the Bible's teaching.
We follow Christ's commands. We follow the ten commandments.
Do we break them, ever? Yes. We are sinners.
But we have an advocate in Christ Jesus.
Satan loves to confuse and destroy, and there is so much of that all around us. Confused logic, confused reasoning, confused morality, destroyed relationships, destroyed nations, destroyed lives.
There are the walking dead among us. I know. I've seen it. The jail is full of the walking dead.
Can we stand firm in light of Satan's attacks?
The earth is scorched all around us. The attacks are real. They come in the form of a beautiful young girl screaming with rage. They come as a sly handsome homosexual who suavely disdains your existence. They come from intellectual professors who have been brainwashed by the evil one. They come as a formerly trusted member of your family who has compromised his or her integrity with socialism, alcohol, drugs, promiscuity----
Those people don't like you. They really shouldn't unless they repent of their sin and are restored in the LORD in spiritual fellowship with you and all true believers.
The heart is desperately wicked. We will ALWAYS try to justify and excuse our sin. We must not let that happen if we want fellowship with Christ. "Clean before the LORD I stand."
I have seen parents compromise on faith issues, justifying bad behavior in their children. Their love for their children outweighs their love for God. I've done it. No one is immune from this pride, the first of the seven deadly sins.
How humbling to come to terms with your wicked heart. This is repentance.
There is a movement out there called "Hyper Grace." This cult doesn't believe in repentance. It is true that the Bible teaches "Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and thou SHALT be saved."
I love that verse. The Bible does teach repentance, though. I have struggled with this concept, as I have with other theological conundrums. I, as a follower of Jesus, follow ALL of His words, all of his commands. When He says to go and sin no more that signifies repentance to me.
I will repent of my sin.
To the Muslim who has seen a vision of Jesus and now follows Him without Bible or preacher-----your relationship is with JESUS. I do not judge you. God has called you.
I know that the Bible is my measuring stick for HOW to follow Jesus. I cannot judge others' belief or faith. I am called to judge myself.
Can I still make judgments about sin? Yes. God condemns certain behavior. It is sin. Pride, Anger, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, and Greed are sins of my mind, and they all must be repented of. Don't tell me that you don't suffer from them.
You do. All have sinned.
Where is the help for such thoughts?
Christ alone. It is in Christ alone that you can be saved, that you can find the power to overcome, that you can find forgiveness.
Sanctification is a big word. It is the power of Christ in you, helping you EACH DAY to overcome sin in your life. It is a process. You ARE forgiven, but you must trust in Christ each day to help you overcome sin in your life.
You must repent of any sin in your life, not just once, but DAILY.
Get right with God. This big global government is marching toward us. The earth will be scorched. Time is incredibly short. Stand with the fundamentals of Christ Jesus and His salvation, or be scorched.
Watch, believers.
It talks about the Fundamentalists and how wrong they are. Recently the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church also decried Fundamentalists.
Fundamentalist is a Christian term. Decades ago R.A. Torrey, a preacher in Chicago connected with D.L. Moody, wrote a very large tome about the Fundamentals of the Faith. I have a two book set on my bookshelf.
You can define Fundamentalism by reading this huge work, or you can simply state that it is a belief in the Word of God, the Bible, and that the Bible is the plumbline for all spiritual activity.
You cannot pick and choose from the Bible. You must accept it as a whole, Old Testament and New Testament. It is not complete without full measurement against itself.
There are stories. There is poetry. There are commands. There are warnings. There is history. THERE IS PROPHECY. Much of the prophecy has been already fulfilled, but there is much predicted yet to come-----For Instance: Christ's 1,000 year reign on earth. No one should explain this away. The descriptions of that upcoming reign are too detailed to be missed.
It hasn't happened yet, and Satan would love for you to believe it has.
Many dear people have tried to explain the Bible, tried to make sense of it, tried to fit it into their presupposed worldviews. It happens all the time.
I prefer to let the Bible speak for itself and research everything in light of it.
Have you read the works of Sir Robert Anderson? He was a Scotland Yard official back in the 19th century who decided to research some of the prophetic passages of Scripture. His works are really interesting. He was a Fundamentalist before the term was coined.
There is an amazing prediction in Scripture about a man who will one day reign over a unified world. This isn't good. He's not Jesus.
People seem to forget that one.
Jesus says that the way is narrow, and FEW find it. The path to destruction is BROAD and many are on it. This upcoming world kingdom leads straight to hell, and hell is eternal. The Bible says "everlasting" fire.
Fundamentalists know this. They are striving to be on the narrow path. The strait gate is for Fundamentalists. We stand on the fundamentals of the Bible's teaching.
We follow Christ's commands. We follow the ten commandments.
Do we break them, ever? Yes. We are sinners.
But we have an advocate in Christ Jesus.
Satan loves to confuse and destroy, and there is so much of that all around us. Confused logic, confused reasoning, confused morality, destroyed relationships, destroyed nations, destroyed lives.
There are the walking dead among us. I know. I've seen it. The jail is full of the walking dead.
Can we stand firm in light of Satan's attacks?
The earth is scorched all around us. The attacks are real. They come in the form of a beautiful young girl screaming with rage. They come as a sly handsome homosexual who suavely disdains your existence. They come from intellectual professors who have been brainwashed by the evil one. They come as a formerly trusted member of your family who has compromised his or her integrity with socialism, alcohol, drugs, promiscuity----
Those people don't like you. They really shouldn't unless they repent of their sin and are restored in the LORD in spiritual fellowship with you and all true believers.
The heart is desperately wicked. We will ALWAYS try to justify and excuse our sin. We must not let that happen if we want fellowship with Christ. "Clean before the LORD I stand."
I have seen parents compromise on faith issues, justifying bad behavior in their children. Their love for their children outweighs their love for God. I've done it. No one is immune from this pride, the first of the seven deadly sins.
How humbling to come to terms with your wicked heart. This is repentance.
There is a movement out there called "Hyper Grace." This cult doesn't believe in repentance. It is true that the Bible teaches "Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and thou SHALT be saved."
I love that verse. The Bible does teach repentance, though. I have struggled with this concept, as I have with other theological conundrums. I, as a follower of Jesus, follow ALL of His words, all of his commands. When He says to go and sin no more that signifies repentance to me.
I will repent of my sin.
To the Muslim who has seen a vision of Jesus and now follows Him without Bible or preacher-----your relationship is with JESUS. I do not judge you. God has called you.
I know that the Bible is my measuring stick for HOW to follow Jesus. I cannot judge others' belief or faith. I am called to judge myself.
Can I still make judgments about sin? Yes. God condemns certain behavior. It is sin. Pride, Anger, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, and Greed are sins of my mind, and they all must be repented of. Don't tell me that you don't suffer from them.
You do. All have sinned.
Where is the help for such thoughts?
Christ alone. It is in Christ alone that you can be saved, that you can find the power to overcome, that you can find forgiveness.
Sanctification is a big word. It is the power of Christ in you, helping you EACH DAY to overcome sin in your life. It is a process. You ARE forgiven, but you must trust in Christ each day to help you overcome sin in your life.
You must repent of any sin in your life, not just once, but DAILY.
Get right with God. This big global government is marching toward us. The earth will be scorched. Time is incredibly short. Stand with the fundamentals of Christ Jesus and His salvation, or be scorched.
Watch, believers.
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