Have Self-Control with Gossip

Titus 3:2 

"Speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people."

Gossip can be more powerful than you realize. I have had many people gossip about me in my family and at work. That is one reason I hope to never have to work at a normal job again. The level of backstabbing at my last job was highly stressful. One woman who was a Satanist, tried to turn all my co-workers against me. She tried to turn my boss against me, which was the most sad thing because we were really close friends. 

It is amazing how powerful words can be. That is why the Bible says, "Life and death are in the power of your tongue." Watch out for people who like to talk too much. If they gossip to you, they will gossip about you. I like to write a lot, but in person I prefer having short conversations that are to the point. I don't carry on and talk forever. I try to not gossip. I have never tried to tear down another person's reputation. At least I don't think I have. 

If you want to keep the peace in your life and in your mind, "speak evil of no one." If you want others to speak well of you, speak well of them. "Do unto others what you would want them to do to you." 

The fastest way to kill any relationship is through gossip and lying. When you talk to other people a lot, about a person in negative ways, the relationship you have with them will probably end. Also if you don't respect that person enough to not lie to them, your relationship probably won't last.

For about a year in my former family, my ex-husband lied to me a lot so that's why I decided to separate from him. I let him have our two girls so I could distance myself from him and all the craziness so that I would not go crazy.  I can't handle being gossiped about and lying. 

The gossip was horrendous with my ex-husband's family.  Everyone talks about everybody and every tiny little thing that anyone does.  I guess that was their hobby and their entertainment. Rather than watch movies, they turned their life into a movie and my life into a movie. I try to find other things to talk about rather then critical things about every single person in my family. I vent sometimes but I feel that is different then gossip. That's so destructive and I don't get why people don't realize how damaging it can be to a family.  I guess my ex's mom's goal was to destroy our family. Very sad. 

So I have enjoyed taking a big step back from that this past 4 years.  I talk to almost no one now except my man, my brother and my best friend Ashley. That crazy family tried to rope me into their gossip mud bath, but I said no thank you to that.  I have never been much into gossiping and I never will be.  It doesn't do any good.  It only brings about harm, and you only feel like a horrible person after doing it.

Typically, women are the only ones who gossip, but men can to. Don't do it. 

Here are some good verses on the subject:

Proverbs 20:19 "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler."  

If someone tells you secrets, keep their secrets to yourself.  Don't betray them. And your words should have meaning to them.  Don't just talk just to talk.  Learn something and teach something from the words used.

Proverbs 16:28 "A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends." 

Proverbs 11:13 "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered." 

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." 

Amen. If you feel dirty after talking to someone, maybe you shouldn't talk like that anymore. I think lots of people have insecurity and depression due to the ongoing negative conversations they choose to have. Then they have anxiety that others will find out what they have been talking about. The solution is to only say words that you would later on be proud of. 

Proverbs 26:20 "For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases." 

If you want to stop making people you know mad at you, stop talking badly about them. If you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all. People might think for a time they like hearing all the juicy gossip about everyone they can, but in the end they will feel bad for looking down on others.

Gossip comes from pride.  You think you are better then that other person and so you feel justified to think they are horrible and cause everyone else to think they are horrible too.  But are you really that great?  I mean really?  Is anyone really all that great? No. None of us are.  So we can't ever get up on our high horse and look down on others.  No matter what their sin is, you have plenty of sins too.  "He who is without sin cast the first stone."  Don't throw stones at others and what they do or don't do unless you are perfect. That will mean you will never be able to, justifiably.

Just be a nice person. 

My Mom

 Things I wish my mom would have done: 

I wish she would have never married my dad or step-dad.

I wish she would have never gotten me vaccinated 10 times. I think it caused lots of health issues for me.

I wish she would have said "good job" more. 

I wish she would have hugged me more. 

I wish we would have talked more. She always seemed very cold. 

I wish we could have tried working together. 

I wish she loved animals as much as me. 

I wish we liked going to the same churches. 

I wish she could have bought my first car. 

I wish she would have not shown favoritism to my brother. 

I wish she would have not stayed doped up on meds my entire life. 

I wish she would have had way better self-control with her anger. 

I feel like I ought to say some good things about her: 

At least she forced me to go to church. I was mostly grateful back then and am super grateful now. 

She was kind most of the time and a good listener. 

She showed me how to be a good wife, for the most part. 

No mom is perfect. At least our moms tried to provide for us and protect us as best as they could. 

Planned Parenting

Topics related to parenting for my next book. 

(Check out my books on Amazon. Search Lisa Bedrick books on there.)

Don't be a quarrelsome wife, 

Proverbs 25:24 "It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife."

Husbands love your wife like Jesus in front of your children, 

Respect God and your kids will respect you,

 Family vacations, sleep, eating, house space needed,

Die to the self and serve your kids well,

Be patient but firm,

keep a peaceful atmosphere, forgive yourself every day, 

Look nice feel nice act nice 

Love, nurturing, sibling rivalry, favoritism, 

Keep the house clean and be disciplined,

Game nights, church attendance, shopping challenges,

 in laws, boundaries, keeping time for your mate,

remain an honorable parent, listen to your kids. 

Remembering to have me time so you will never go crazy. 

Time

 

Our time is limited

We cannot give all we have to everyone

We have to categorize

We have to set our priorities

What do you want time for

Is your alone time important to you

Or do you get tired of alone time

How much time do you want for your mate

After the kids are here

Kids have a way of monopolizing our time

It can be good

We always have something to do

But then couples tend to get callous

They forget about each other

And the focus is only on the kids

When watching over a family

Men tend to pour into their work

And forget their wife

Women tend to pour totally into the kids

And forget their husband

Preserve time for each other

To bond and connect

You will need the support of each other

Don't drift too far away 

From each other

Talk it Out

 You can't keep the pain hidden forever

Bring it out into the light

Let God heal you

As long as wounds stay covered

They take longer to heal

Let the wind of the Holy Spirit

Blow over your wounds

To heal them

Let him see the scars

Those parts of your soul

That you try to ignore

Sometimes you have to face the pain

To get totally healed and free

It isn't easy to go there

To look intently at your pain

But it can be hard to move on

As long as it stays there

The questions can't stay unanswered

You know you feel a need

To come to peace with the why's

Pray for a resolve

So that you can rest easy

And get your questions answered

God is ready to talk to you about it

Open up to him

Give and Take

 Every couple should have a give and take in their relationship. One person gets the groceries. The other person takes the trash out every day. One person makes coffee every morning. The other person goes to get take out for lunch. One person keeps the beds made up and keeps the house clean. The other goes off to make money to be a good provider. "Two are better then one for if one falls down his friend can help him up." 

No Fear

My child, I am always with you

You don't need to be afraid

Don't you know how much I love you?

I will always protect you

You are near to my heart

You are in most of my thoughts

I love you more then you know

I would never let you get hurt

Beyond what you could handle

You are my precious daughter

Cling to me, I will never let you go

Spirit of Fear

Be gone spirit of fear

You have hurt me and my family long enough

We are tired of your control 

You are not allowed to dominate 

Our mind and life ever again

We want to be free

"He who the son sets free

Is free indeed."

It is time to set the captives free

No more anxiety

No more fear

We will walk into our future confidently

Unafraid, bold and courageous

We will be warriors for God

Fighting the good fight of faith

So that we may win the crown of life

Humility

 

Humility is the most beautiful thing ever

The most wonderful people are humble

They want very little for themselves

They live to serve others

Rather then be served

They almost never ask 

For anything for themselves

They are selfless, calm and very kind

If only we all could be humble

And not care what we get

But only live to give to others 

My Crazy Family

 It seems that when one person in a tight knit family goes crazy, everyone else does too. My step dad was the first to go crazy. I guess he just got tired of being a grandpa. He only was a full time grandpa for 3 years, but it seems that was a bit much. My mom always made him help her with babysitting my girls. It would be about 3 days a week that they would babysit for 7 hours each day so I could work a bit. Money was always limited for us since our bills were so high. David, my step dad, should have told my mom no. He should have known that was his weakness. What happened was that he ended up proving that he was a child molester. 

Maybe that is why he went crazy and relapsed. He didn't want to disappoint my mom, but he knew he should have told her he didn't want to help her with caring for my daughters. 

After he went crazy, I went a bit crazy for like a week. I just couldn't believe he would cross the line like that. I thought he was a good man. I never thought he would be bad in any way. He came off as a total saint, but clearly he wasn't one. So I was mind blown by the whole situation. 

Then my ex husband went crazy. He didn't know what he ought to do about the situation. There were a lot of reasons why he went crazy, but that was the main reason. 

And our family died. What seemed like the perfect family and the perfect home and everything looked perfect, it all just got obliterated. We could have moved to Florida. I felt God telling me to have me, my ex, and my girls move to Florida, but I didn't know how that would go. I didn't have enough faith to do it. So I gave up on my ex instead.

 I let him and his mom keep the girls. I never planned on being a single mom. I didn't think I could handle that. I have regretted giving those three up many times, but if I had to do it all over again, I might still make the same decision. Some families just never feel quite right, no matter how hard you try. I never really felt loved by my ex, so it's good that I let him go. 

Now I hope my future will go better. I will try again at having a great family. I found a much sweeter man this time around. God willing things will go better this time. 

Being a Mom And...

When you were growing up, who did you want to become someday? What dreams did you have? I always wanted to be the next Mariah Carey. I wanted to encourage people with songs I wrote, like her song "Hero." Then when I grew up, I changed to wanting to be the next Joyce Meyer, which is why I love to write books a lot now. I am trying to follow in her footsteps. I would love to hold conferences like she does someday. Maybe that could be in my future. Only God knows. 

When you are a mom, you are limited in what other goals you can accomplish. Some people do everything they want to do before they have kids. I can mostly say that I did. I got to travel a lot. I have been to India, Taiwan, Australia and Mexico. I had every job that I could possibly want to have. I did tons of road trips, mainly all over the Western states. I could say I have done it all, and I am finally ready to settle down and just stay in one place. But there is a yearning in my heart that makes me still want to explore. I am a Sagittarius. That may have a bit to do with that. We are known to love traveling and adventure. There is always some new thing we want to do or to see. I can fulfill that need now by writing a book on every topic I can think of, and trying new foods all the time. That has been fun. 

What other goals have you always had? Do you want to finish college? I have a degree in English. At least I got that done and over with before becoming a mom. But part of me has always wanted to get a Masters degree, one in counseling would be really great. Then I could open my own counseling office. I would mainly visit with women and children. I have always wanted to run a church, but most say that is not allowed since I am a woman. Writing books is a great alternative to that. It is me finding my place to be able to still teach as a woman. 

You might feel limited in what career you could pursue as a woman, which might be why you decided to settle down and have a family. Usually women are limited to being a teacher, nurse or secretary. There isn't a whole lot else that women are allowed to do, or should do. There is a very interesting movie called North Country where women worked in the mines in the northern states. They were sexually harassed a lot and ended up suing the company because they allowed it, and even encouraged it. I could say I had to endure some sexual harassment just working at Papa John's for 3 years. It was a man's world and I was lucky to mostly have been able to fit into it. You have to be strong out there in the work world. You basically have to pretend you are a man, which is why it seems far better to just settle down and have a big family. Why do both career and motherhood when you can just be a mom? But we all have our own dreams we hope to accomplish. 

I hope you get to do all that you dream to do. Don't let being a mom hold you back. Either you can have less kids, if you are young, or you can wait for the kids you have to grow up and then do whatever is in your heart. It's never too late to achieve all that you want to achieve. 

Money: Providing for Kids

It is ideal to provide well for your kids, obviously. Usually the more kids you have, the more money gets tight. It can have the opposite effect though. The more kids you have, the more driven you are to make tons of money. You are very motivated when you have lots of kids to take care of. 

If you have one kid, they often get spoiled. That can be nice to be able to spoil that one kid, but is that good for them? Sometimes they grow up not knowing how to share as much. 

I have been with a few guys who were an only child. I would say they turned out a lot more mature, probably because they talked to their parents more than kids their age. People who have siblings often get more messed up. Their siblings pick on them or get them into trouble. I know my older brother motivated me to get into a lot of trouble. He says that I corrupted him, but I think he corrupted me.

If you have more kids, that is more food and clothes to buy. At some point you learn to get cheaper, like getting clothes at good will. Maybe you learn how to cook cheaper. Lots of beans and peanut butter. If you have just one kid, you all can eat almost anything you want. 

You get more in your tax refund the more kids you have, so that is nice. Then you might want to take a big family vacation, but the more kids you have, the harder that can be. 

Usually, people who don't care about money have more kids. People who want to keep most of their money in savings, prefer to just have one kid. Who is being more wise? Most would say, the person who can keep their savings. 

If you want to live in a more upscale community, having less kids makes more sense. If you don't care where you live, having lots of kids can work. 

Those are all things to think about in regards to money and children. 

How Many Kids to Have

When I was younger, I wanted a family with 6 children. I didn't realize how difficult pregnancy was at that time. I didn't know how painful child delivery can be. It is like a man climbing a mountain. That is probably the only thing men can do that would even come close to the pain and suffering of child labor. Granted it is only one day, but it is a very traumatic day. After my second daughter I had lots of nightmares about having to go to the hospital again for a delivery. I suppose that's why I was very against my ex-husband and I having a third kid. He wanted us to try again for a boy. I told him a few times, "There is no guarantee that it will be a boy. What if I just keep having girls?" My grandma had 5 sons. I think some people only have one gender. 

Our disagreement over having more kids or not was one thing that led to our divorce. He felt like I didn't love him anymore, because I didn't want to get pregnant again. It had nothing to do with that. I just didn't want to suffer that much again, and our two girls were plenty of stress for me. He worked 60 hours a week so most of the time I felt like a single mom, like I was raising the girls all on my own. He wasn't there to help me at bedtime, which was always hard. Getting kids to sleep is always difficult. I was thinking, "Sure having another kid is easy for you. You just have to start the process and I get to do the rest."

This is why my next book is needed. A lot of couples divorce over kids. One wants kids, the other doesn't. One wants a big family, the other wants a small family. One is worried about money in the future, the other doesn't seem to worry about money at all. One is ok with getting help from family, the other wants to be independent of any family financial help and do it on their own. One wants to travel and just have one kid, the other wants to be a home body forever and never go anywhere. 

So those are all things to think about. If you have not discussed all this with your mate, maybe this book will help you have those talks in a peaceful manner that will lead to a good compromise. First you have to figure out what you want. There is no point trying to tell your mate what you want if you don't even know yourself. 

God said, "Be fruitful and multiply." But then later Jesus said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations." You can't really do both. Or can you? :)

The main issues to think about in regards to how many kids you should have are money, time, energy, other goals you have, extended family involvement, travel dreams, and how much peace or excitement do you want?

Teaching

 I have no idea if I want to teach or not. It is still a hidden dream of mine. I miss working with tons of kids. I just had a dream that I was running a preschool. That could be in my future. In my dream I took the kids outside and there was a herd of bunnies. I picked up one of the bunnies and it kissed me! It was the happiest dream ever. 

God Has Left America

Here is the main reason shootings happened and keep increasing, God has left America. Not really, but it seems like he has, because he no longer feels welcome here. We have essentially kicked God out, and it is very, very sad. 

The first step from the forces of darkness was them trying to take prayer out of schools. I remember when I was in school, I wasn't about to carry a Bible around in my backpack. It was seen as not cool at all. I knew I would be ridiculed for doing that. I found a method around that. I kept flash cards in my backpack with Bible verses on them to memorize. 

Next there was the attempt to take away the pledge of allegiance. I'm sure some schools still say it in some classes. There was a big uproar over it just because it said, "One nation, under God..." Why did that matter? We still have "In God we trust" on our one dollar bill. So why did it matter what was said in the pledge of allegiance? It is because there has been an agenda from the forces of darkness to indoctrinate our children in the darkness. It is called the grass roots method. I learned about that when I was in Model United Nations in high school. It was like a debate team. A tactic to get something done in a society is grass roots, to start with the children. If they want to corrupt America, they know starting with the kids is their best choice. Kids are easily influenced, highly impressionable. They will follow anyone, anywhere. 

That is why I always wanted to work with kids. My goal was to bring them into the light and to God at an early age. I heard once that most people who accept Jesus do so before they turn 18. The way your childhood goes will usually dictate how the entire rest of your life will go. 

How else has God been taken out of America? Here is something that seems silly but it isn't. Why is there no cross emoji on our phones? That has bothered me a few times. I would want to use a cross emoji, but no, it isn't there, as if Christianity doesn't exist anymore in America. That is very sad. Why not put the cross emoji on our phones? It is sending a subliminal message that Jesus doesn't matter anymore. We have moved past that right? We have evolved. We are too smart for all that silly religion stuff now. That is the message that is sent to all of us very often. 

Meanwhile our kids are suffering. They aren't learning about Jesus growing up, like all our grandparents did. We are living in a 80% less religious society then how America was for 250 years. 

And that is why the shootings are increasing. Jesus is the answer. Nothing but Jesus will heal our country. 

Lack of Work Causes Insanity

Men need to work. Women need to work too, but mainly we just want to help others. It doesn't matter if we have a corporate job or not, as long as we are helping others in some way, we are happy. But with men, it is wired in their DNA to absolutely need a normal job. If they cannot find a job or they get fired, they go completely insane. I have seen this happen to two guys. My ex was out of work for a few months. His mental health seriously went into a downward spiral. My other ex who shot up the building was out of work for about 2 months. He was fired from two different jobs. I think it was just that he was young, and his social skills weren't that great. My ex-husband quit his job because he thought people were trying to kill him. To this day I have no idea why he thought that, but he had a lifelong battle with paranoia. Maybe he literally fantasized that people wanted to kill him, because he wanted to die. That is pretty insulting to me since he was married to me at the time, but it is what it is. Lots of people are a tad suicidal and there isn't much the rest of us can do about it. If they want to die, sometimes you have to just let them die. Or you have to decide to leave them alone if you are causing them to feel that way. 

The more fulfilled a person feels in the work they do, the less they will want to die. So many people never found their calling, so they feel useless. None of us want to feel useless. We all want to feel that our lives matter, that our heart matters, that we can contribute something to this crazy world. We all want to make the world a better place. The law of God is written on our hearts and we all know what needs to get done to help people. We all want to help but most don't know how. So a lot of people just give up at some point. Maybe they failed in trying to change someone for the better. Maybe their dreams didn't come true yet, so they give up trying. They give up hope. 

You have to maintain a dream for your life to keep yourself in a happy state. If you give up that dream, you probably will start to go crazy. A life without hope is a very depressing life. 

If you hate your job, quit and find something you love to do. Something that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose. If you hate not working, then work. If you hate where you live, then move. If you hate whoever you are with, there are always other people you could be with. You don't have to hate your life. You don't have to hate your job. Create a life for yourself that you love, and you will most likely want to live forever. You are the architect of your future. Build a great one. 

Guns Suck

I have always been super anti-guns. I have never ever wanted to own a gun. Anytime someone tells me they want to buy one, I just want to yell Nooooooo. Guns for the general public really should be illegal. We don't need to hunt our food. We have grocery stores. Why does anyone need a gun? They don't. They really should be banned in every state, period. 

We all need to just trust our police to protect us rather than thinking we need to protect ourselves. Conspiracy theorists have notions that the police might turn bad, and then we won't be able to trust them. Rather than worry about if the police can be trusted, why don't you trust God to help the police do their job right? I have always trusted the police. Someone cannot become an officer unless they are mentally sound. I am not saying they are all super nice, but at least they are tested before becoming officers and they pass. If you want to be an officer, you cannot be on any medications. That is a wonderful rule for them to have. 

I had an ex who had a gun. He was on medication. The night he decided to shoot up a building he had missed 3 doses of his meds. That is a common thing among people who commit violence with guns. They either just got put on a medication, they missed doses, or they are trying to quit their meds. 

I did not know that my ex owned a gun. His dad had given it to him at some point. Good job to his dad. That is sarcasm. One night he was really angry about a few things. I had said that I missed my ex, maybe just because he was older and more mature. He had been fired from his previous job. He then listened to his angry emo music for 5 hours straight on his headphones. After that, at midnight, he went to a former work place and shot the building 6 times. He went to jail for 6 months. He is lucky he wasn't sentenced for a longer time. 

I drove over to that business two nights later, just to see the damage. The owner thought I was him, since I was driving the same car. He literally started shooting at me. Well I didn't know if he was shooting at me, or into the air, just to scare me off. I thought if I went late at night he would not be there. Why in the heck was he there at 1am? But curiosity killed the cat right? He didn't injure me, or do damage to my car but my goodness, that scared the crap out of me. I felt like I was in a movie. Reason number 512 why guns need to be banned. Like seriously. 

All of that would have never happened if my ex, Josh, was never given a gun. He was cute too. He looked just like Justin Bieber. All because of a gun, I lost the hottest and coolest boyfriend I had ever had. It was a very sad tragedy in my life. I cried about for quite a while. 

That only increased my disdain for guns. He was only 21 and that event probably messed up the rest of his life. Once you get convicted of anything, jobs are much harder to find, no one trusts you. Who can you live with? Your parents are probably scared of you, siblings probably are. If you get in a relationship and tell them what you did, they might kick you out if they start to get scared of you. There is no good outcome for someone who commits any act of violence with a gun. 

And that is why, guns should be banned in every single state. But that is just my two cents on the topic. You are welcome to have your own opinion. :)

Wanting to Go to Jail

 I just asked God what percent of the population really wants to go to jail. God said about 50%. Why? Because there are no bills in jail, no jobs, no terrible bosses, the food is probably ok and you get lots of friends. They really should make people in jail work harder so less people will actually want to go there. 

I was thinking how, for anyone who commits a mass shooting, that could be their motive. They just want to get taken to jail. Or they want to become famous. It's too bad they couldn't figure out another way to become famous. If you do nothing that is constructive, your only other option is to be destructive. You can either create new life or kill life. Most people do one or the other, sadly. 

They maybe are tired of feeling invisible and they want the world to see them. Usually shooters are very quiet people. They should write. Writing helps you express your inner most pain. If you don't get it out, it festers and only gets worse. 

The solution is not banning all guns. The solution is helping people resolve their inner angst and heartache. 

Never Be Afraid of Satan

Luke 10:19 

"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you."

We have total authority over Satan. Why? Because "greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." Satan might have great power, but God's Holy Spirit has a ton more power. How else was Jesus able to cast demons out of people? His power was greater than Satan's power. He was using the power of the Holy Spirit. We have that exact same power inside of us as Christians. You can pray for more of the Holy Spirit, which can increase your ability to cast out demons and heal people. "According to your faith it will be done to you." 

The more faith you have, the more of the Holy Spirit you will get. The more of the Holy Spirit you have, the more faith you will have. Which comes first? I would say faith comes first. You have to belive that "God is good and that is a rewarder of those who seek him." You have to believe that God wants you to have his power. That God wants to use you to really help people. Once you believe that, God will fill you with his Holy Spirit more and more every single day. 

When you have this full power of the Holy Spirit, you can do the impossible. You can have total authority over demons. You can do whatever you believe that you can do. Jesus said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Be removed into the sea' and it will be done. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" Do you believe that? It's true. You only need to have faith. Faith in yourself that you can maintain that faith and faith in God, that he will do what the Word says he will do. 

What did Jesus mean by saying "nothing shall harm you?" He meant nothing shall take you out totally. Satan might knock you down for a while, but you will always be able to get back up and continue the race of faith. He won't be able to keep you down for long. 

I love the idea of treading on serpents. Not only will we be able to overpower Satan, we will walk all over him. He will be like an ant to us. If you think about it, the only alive thing that is easy to tread on is ants. Here Jesus is saying Satan will become like the ants to you. You will find it easy to walk all over him and have total domination over him. Think of how easy it was for Jesus to cast out demons. He didn't need to argue with them. He simply said, "Come out of her," and the demon immediately came out. We were meant to have that same kind of power over evil forces. Some try to cast out demons and it is not as quick and easy for them, because probably they don't believe they can have that same great power that Jesus had. They do not have a close connection with Jesus, even if they are deceived into thinking they do. Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." Keep that close connection to Jesus, and then the impossible will be possible for you. 

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

That seems overly harsh, but if they didn't really know Jesus, they were posers. They were just acting. A lot of people are great at acting like they know God, but they don't. They are then lying. That is why Jesus calls these people evildoers. They were not the real deal. They deceived many into thinking they really knew God when they didn't. They had a loud public ministry, but not a quite private relationship with God. They wanted the power of the Holy Spirit just to put on a good show, but they did not talk to God. They were too consumed with their own thoughts and their love of money and fame. They did not care to hear from God. They just wanted to use the name of Jesus to get rich. They didn't actually care about Jesus. They just pretended to care about him. 

Don't be like that. Have your own thriving personal relationship with God. Don't just put on an act. Most people will see through your fake faith anyway. Be genuine with God and with others. Stop lying. Be real. Be the person God wants you to be. 

Death in the Last Days

Revelation 2:10 

"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

I have been curious for a while now if we will have a second world-wide Holocaust. Not that I want us to, but it seems like it is inevitable. There is so much hatred against Christians now. This has never happened before, at least not as far as I know. In no other time in history have Christians been as hated as we are now. It makes me very sad. It is partly that we try to force the world to follow our laws, but how can they unless the Holy Spirit has transformed their mind? Try to ease up on trying to stop the sins in the world. Those people who sin often need to be saved first. Then it will become easy for them to not sin, once the Holy Spirit has regenerated their minds. 

In Revelation it says there will be a worldwide beheading of the saints. Obviously, I am a bit scared of that. I feel God has been telling me I might just be shot, rather than beheaded. That would be nice. :) I wouldn't mind dying by being shot. This verse says, "Be faithful unto death." I promised God that I will be. You have to not deny Jesus in order to not die for your faith. God doesn't want cowards. He only wants people who are not ashamed of their faith. Jesus wasn't ashamed to save you by humbly dying on the cross. 

I have seen amazing YouTube videos about people who had dreams about the end of the world. One guy was on the Sid Roth show and said he dreamed he was in a line of people. At the front of the line someone asked the person, "Are you a Christian?" If they said yes, they were shot. In his dream Jesus appeared to him and reassured him that he would be ok, and that he was strong enough to do that. Another person said they got burned for their faith in a dream. When the fire came over them, they didn't even feel it. It just felt like an odd and comforting warmth. So don't be afraid if Satan does cause a worldwide murdering of Christians. You will be ok. You might not even feel the sting of pain when you are killed for your faith. Stay strong. At least it will cause you to go straight to heaven. 

Hope

 I have been super hopeful so many times and had things not work out. I tried a lot of ways to make money. I opened a craft store for awhile. It was a flop. I tried making bracelets, dresses, purses but those didn't sell.

 I tried being married. I thought it would last forever but no. It blew up in my face. 

Our world is so broken now. Is it because of Satan? Is it our own stupidity? 

Things almost never go as planned now. All you can do is try a new thing. 

Don't give up dreaming. The love will come. The money and fame and success might come. Just hang in there. Your rainbow may be about to appear. Where there is rain, there is always a rainbow. ☺

Satan Causes Many Divorces

1 Corinthians 7:5 

"Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."

Satan seems to really hate marriage. Maybe it's because he can't get married and enjoy marriage like us humans can. :) He tries everything he can to pit spouses against each other. He accuses husbands to their wives a lot. Think of most women's Bible studies. They don't always do this, but often women just sit in a circle and complain about their husbands. This dishonors God. Jesus said, "What God has joined together, let no man separate." Satan ultimately causes women to do this. Anytime we complain about other people, that is generally caused by Satan. 

Paul is saying here that spouses are not to deny each other intimacy. If one needs it, the other needs to give in and accept that it is a good time to do that. Spouses are meant to serve each other, and that is a big way they serve each other. Paul says if you do decide to abstain due to a mutual agreement for a time, make sure it is not for too long. If you wait a long time to have intimacy with your spouse, Satan might tempt you to chase someone else. 

This is how affairs can happen. One or both spouses feel rejected by the other. They feel hurt and decide to seek what they need from someone else. To be rejected for a time of intimacy is the strongest pain a person can feel, especially by the only person who is meant to meet that need for you. If you want your mate to stay faithful to you forever, keep them happy physically. That is very important. A lot of Christian women think they can deprive their man. That actually is a sin. It is good to fully realize that. 

Of course you don't want to get overly needy in your need for sex. Most couples only do it once a week. Others do it every day. Whatever you feel is right and appropriate, depending on work demands, do that. If you feel it should be more often, discuss that with your mate. Don't let Satan tear you two apart due to a lack of communication about this subject. Stay unified. Stay in love. Then Satan will never be able to break you two up. Praise God. 

Satan's War

Genesis 3:15 

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This is the best description of spiritual warfare in the Bible. Satan is always trying to attack us just like a snake. This was quite ironic. About 4 years ago my youngest daughter drew a picture of a bunch of snakes. I knew spiritually that was meant to represent my ex and his family. They kept trying to attack me as viciously as a hoard of snakes. I felt like they were trying to take me out. They were highly influenced by Satan. That is why I had to clear my head and get space from all of them. 

Part of me wonders if that will happen again. Satan always seems to succeed in getting inside those closest to me and pitting them against me. It is scary really. I probably should just lay low, forget about trying to save everyone, and maybe Satan would leave me alone. But it is very hard to do that. Life gets super boring when you stop trying to fight spiritual battles and help save the lost. It is hard to just ignore all the things I know Satan might be doing to people out in the world. So I have always tried to wage war against him. 

I can't wait for him to be defeated at the end of the world. Until then I will try to scare him away from those I love the most. I can only hope my writing will equip you all to stand firm in your fight against Satan. 

You can't ignore Satan. You can't think he is not real. Lots of people want to pretend Satan doesn't exist. Then he has already won with them, because they don't have their spiritual defense armor on. Most people let their guard down too often, and then Satan has the advantage over them. They have no idea that some spiritual entity is trying to harass them and make their life horrible. They think it's just themselves or other people. 

So many people get mad at other people, but it's Satan that we all need to remember to get mad at. Our battle is not against other people. It is against Satan. Don't put that weight on others and hold it against them forever. What if Satan really did make them do whatever they did to you? What if it wasn't them, but some other spiritual being inside their mind? 

Forgive others more readily. It will help to realize this, that it often is not actually them that are hurting you. It might be just a demon in them compelling them to commit evil acts and say evil things. They might be just as much of a victim as you are. Pray for them. This is why Jesus said, "Pray for your enemies." They might be plagued mentally by Satan, and that is why they hurt you. Not that we are not at all responsible for our actions. We all need to say sorry and admit it if we do wrong. Ultimately that person let Satan have control of their mind, so they are partly at fault. 

When you see what is happening behind what you can see, it helps to get over things faster. Your enemy is not that person as much as it is Satan. Get mad at Satan more then you get mad at them, and forgive them. "Hate in your heart will consume you too." Keep your life free of hatred and bitterness.  

Satan's Game

Genesis 3:1-3

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 

What has always stood out to me about this is that Satan re-worded what God the father told Adam and Eve. Satan probably already knew what God had commanded them, but he worded it in a way that would start discontent in the heart of Eve. He accused God of not letting them eat at all. He was hinting to Eve that God was totally holding out on them, not just with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but with all the trees in the Garden of Eden. 

He does the same with us. He tries to convince us that God isn't really good, that God is holding out on us. He tries to make us think that God doesn't really love us, that he doesn't want to provide for us. 

How often does Satan try to turn you against God, or someone else? He is called "the accuser of the brethren" for a reason. He is always trying to cause division between us and God and us and other people. He hates unity. There is strength in numbers right? As Maximus said in the movie Gladiator. The more Satan can divide and conquer, the more happy he is. 

He tries to accuse us to God, which generally doesn't work. He also tries to accuse us to each other. He tries to accuse God to us, and make God appear a lot worse then he is. He is jealous of any fellowship we have with others or God, so all he wants to do is destroy it. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. But God wants us to have life. 

Decide today to stop listening to Satan. You might wonder what his voice sounds like. It is a very negative voice. It brings you down. It is full of hatred and rivalry. Any negative thought you have is from Satan. Cast it out of your mind. Get rid of that thought. Take control of your mind, and don't let Satan pollute your thought life anymore. 

Have Great Boundaries

 Boundaries are needed to keep you from going crazy. If you try to keep everyone happy all at once, you will go crazy. If you care too much what every single person thinks about you, you will go crazy. 

You can't make everyone happy at the same time. It is impossible. No matter what you do, someone will be mad at you. This is why the majority of people just don't do anything, so they won't hurt anyone's feelings. But that is sad and depressing. Do something and just decided to grow a thicker skin. Stop caring if people are upset with you. Who cares? It could just be something silly like they are hungry. It might have very little to do with you anyways. I used to work in customer service for a super long time. Often times I would have difficult customers who wanted to complain about something. I would always want to ask them, "Awe how is your home life?" I wonder if that would have gone over well. :) 

Everyone has something that they want. They might try to get it from you. Just because they want it or need it, that doesn't mean you have to be the one to give it to them. They can get their want met in another way. You are not meant to help everyone. God probably just has 2 or 3 people that he wants you to help and that might be it. You can consider them your assignment for this time in your life, like an angelic assignment. :) Everyone else can go find someone else to help them. If you try helping too many people, you won't be able to help each person too much. You will feel spent and worn out quickly. No one was meant to help everyone. Just help the few people that you feel God has told you to help. 

To some you just have to say, "Too bad. I need to take care of myself." Of course you don't want to be overly selfish, but you don't want to bend over backwards for people either. Some people cannot be happy no matter what you do. For those people, just give up trying. You might feel bad if they are related to you. Try to not feel bad. If they are a toxic person, they need to be avoided. They will drain you dry. You have to fill yourself up more before dealing with difficult people. Sometimes, no matter how full you are it is still hard to deal with them. 

It is possible they are difficult because they prefer to be left alone. If they are sending the message that they don't want to be around you, then don't be around them. What is the point to hanging with someone who doesn't seem to like you? 

Protect your mental health. Stay sane. Stay in control of your life. Limit your interaction with toxic people. You will have a much happier life. 

My Crazy Ex

 I texted my ex 6 months ago asking if he was still alive. He is taking care of our girls so I deserve to know. He waited 5 months to text me back. I'm sure it's all some retarded game for him. Maybe he wants to get me back for moving on finally and starting a new family. But I had no choice. He blocked me from visiting with my girls for no reason. Maybe his hundreds of demons are still telling him lies about me, so he felt justified to block me from them. Freaking most annoying thing anyone could ever deal with. 

Don't have kids with just anyone. Make sure you pick a worthy person. The only reason I thought he was worthy was because he had his own apartment. His mom was paying a lot of his bills, but still he had his own place.  He was the first guy I had ever met who, I thought, supported himself. All the other guys I knew were still living at home. Losers. 😂 But there was a reason he was living alone, because he probably hated his parents. Now he has to live with them forever so they can help him care for our girls. Oh the irony. 

Pray for him. Hopefully someday he will get free of his legion of demons and be a sane and normal human being. 

God's 40 Laws of Power

God said, "My people die due to a lack of knowledge." Here is more knowledge for you. Knowledge is power. 

(Quotes are from the book The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.)

1. "Never outshine the master.

Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power."

Boost the ego of your boss. Flatter them. Cater to them. You can only keep your job if they continue to like you. Do anything they need you to do and then some. But don't do more then them or they will start to despise you. They will fear you want to replace them, and they will fire you before you can.

Law 2: "Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies.

Hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove."

Jealousy can be very powerful. If you're friends are jealous, they will become your enemy instantly. 

A former enemy wants to be on your good side again, so they can be more of an asset then your friends. 

Law 3: Love Your Neighbor as You Love Yourself 

Don't forget yourself entirely while loving your neighbor. You can only take good care of others if you first take good care of yourself. 

Law 4: "Always say less than necessary."

Stay humble. No one likes a person who thinks they know it all. No one likes a chatter box. The biggest asset in life is knowing when to shut up. 

Law 5: "So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life.

Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen."

Keep a good name. Don't needlessly attack others. Then they will attack you. Never get too emotional. Watch out for making jokes that many will not think of as funny. 

Law 6: "Court attention at all costs.

Surround your name with the sensational and the scandalous.

Better to be slandered and attacked than ignored."

Law 7: Always work hard. Never become lazy. 

Law 8: "Make other people come to you, use bait if necessary."

Never ever chase someone. If they want you or need you, that is great. If not, oh well. 

Law 9: "Win through your actions, never through argument."

Don't take the bait to argue with someone, ever. You will loose all your power. If you can learn to always control your anger, you are the most powerful person alive. 

Law 10: "Infection: Avoid the unhappy or the unlucky."

Don't let depressed people bring you down. Don't let them ruin your life just because they ruined their own life. 

Law 11: "Learn to keep people dependent on you."

Make yourself irreplaceable. 

Law 12: "Use honesty and generosity to disarm your victim."

Help people trust you. But actually be trustworthy. Most can detect a con artist a mile away 

Law 13: "When asking for help, appeal to people’s self interest, never their mercy or gratitude."

Most people do not care what you have to offer unless it benefits them. All of life is bartering. It is a trade. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. How can you learn to scratch their back? 

Law 14: Be a really good friend. It is hard to find great friends these days. 

Law 15: "Crush your enemy totally."

If you let them in a little, they will get total victory. Learn to cut toxic people off entirely in order to protect yourself. 

Law 16: "Use absence to increase strength and honor.

The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear." 

No one enjoys an annoying person. Make yourself half invisible so as to annoy no one. If you are totally invisible, no one knows who you are and you have no influence. If you are too visible, people want you to go away. Be half invisible. 

Law 17: "Cultivate an air of unpredictability."

Never become a boring person. Always keep your life and your time with the other person spicy and creative. Surprise yourself with what you do everyday. Never fall into a routine. You will lose any love of life. 

Law 18: "Do not build a fortress to protect yourself, isolation is dangerous."

You need allies. You need people on your team. Try to keep at least 3 people that are totally loyal to you and would do anything for you. Accept that things always change. You might need a plan B and C and D. 

Law 19: Don't sweat the small stuff. 

Don't get overly worked up over little things. You can spend months worrying about something that will only last a few hours, like child labor. What is the point? It will happen no matter how much you worry about it. 

Law 20: "Do not commit to anyone."

Stay free. Remind yourself you are free. You are never stuck. You always have other options. Don't let any person know they totally have you. They only have you if....

Law 21: "Act dumber then your mark."

Act dumber then you are. Everyone likes dumb people more then a smart alec. 

Don't flaunt your intelligence too much. If you need someone, don't act like you totally don't need them. Don't be clingy, but don't act aloof and prideful either. Either demeanor will cause them to run away. 

Law 22: "Re-Create Yourself"

Always learn new things. Learn to master everything you can think of. This will increase your confidence and keep others in awe of you. 

Law 23: "Enter action with boldness.

Boldness strikes fear, fear creates authority."

Don't be double minded. Know what you want and hunt it down until you get it. 

Law 24: Never let them see you sweat. Never appear nervous. When dogs can tell you are nervous, they are more likely to attack you. You have to exude confidence and no one will try attacking you. Always appear in control. Always act like you are on top of it all. Stay calm. Appear strong. No matter how scared you feel, never show it. 

Law 25: "Control the options, get others to play with the cards you deal.

You give people a sense of how things will fall apart without you, and you offer them a “choice”: I stay away and you suffer the consequences, or I return under circumstances that I dictate."

In dealing with any addict, you need to do this. Keep strict guidelines. They need to know what is ok and what is not. Don't slide on the rules. Stay firm. 

Law 26: "Be royal in your own fashion. Act like a king to be treated like one."

If you see yourself as special, others will see you as special too. What you project to others is how they will see you. 

Law 27: Love the Lord your God with all your heart. 

Ultimately God is the king. If you do not submit to his authority, no one will submit to yours. 

Law 28: "Disdain things you cannot have, ignoring them is the best revenge."

Law 29: Humble yourself so God will exalt you.

You first have to die in order for God to resurrect you and glorify you. 

Law 30: "Despise the free lunch."

Nothing is free. Know there are Always strings attached. 

31: "Preach the need to change, but never reform too much at once."

Accept others while trying to change them. 

Jesus was great at this. He made friends with sinners in order to transform them. No one cares what you know, until they know that you care. Relate to them in some way. Show you understand. Then maybe they will want to become more like you after you show that part of you resembles them. 

32: Have no idols before God. You shall have no other God’s before God. The last person you want to make angry with you is God. Respect him always. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." 

34. Honor the Sabbath. Take a day off once a week. Your brain and your body need to rest. Never arrogantly think you don't need any breaks. 

35. Honor your mother and father. They know more then you realize. 

36. You shall never Kill. Don't kill with your words either. Then people will be afraid of you and they won't trust you. 

37. Avoid porn. That is borderline Adultery. It will affect your relationship. Either it will make you run away or they might run away. It causes great division. 

38. Do not lie, generally, but some lies are allowed. Be careful what you lie about and who you lie to. Some people have impossible expectations and if you tell the truth you will lose the peace. In order to remain at peace with all men, some lies are required and necessary. 

An ex did not want me to buy anything online. I needed to buy clothes and snacks for my daughters online. I should have discussed this with him. Instead I ordered things without asking him, as he wanted me to. 

39. Never Steal. Work for your money. You should contribute to society in some way every day. 

40. Treat others as though they are better then yourself. Because maybe they are.

Learn well how to get advice from others. Never stop learning. You never reach a point where you know all there is to know. Always remain humble. 

Do you feel more wise and powerful? I hope so. ☺ May God bless you all! 

Make Yourself Irreplaceable

 Everyone likes to think they are irreplaceable, but only a few of us are. How can you ensure your mate wants to keep you forever? Make yourself irreplaceable. My man gets me groceries twice a week and never complains about it. To me that seems like an irreplaceable thing. I find new sermons for him to watch every day that will help him grow in his faith. I feel like that makes me irreplaceable. Who else might do that for him? 

Some might be the best ever at giving massages. Some might give incredibly great pleasure in bed. Some people are super great at cooking. Some are great at making their mate laugh. 

The trick is finding someone who really wants whatever you have to offer. I could have helped my ex grow spiritually too, but he didn't care about that. I never could figure out what he wanted the most. 

You have something to offer that your soul mate out there really needs and wants. Go find them. 

Try Match.com. 😇 It just might work out for you as well as it did for me. 

Smart People

 Smart people are often mean. Be nice, even if you are smart. It seems smart to be mean, but is it? 

How to Not Care as Much

 When I was in high school I would always say, "It sucks to care." 

If you care too much what every single person thinks, you will go crazy. Limit the amount of  friends you keep. Being popular isn't always a good thing. Joyce Meyer always says, "No matter what you do, studies have shown that 10% of the population won't like you." But what does it matter? Chances are, you wouldn't like them either. 😂 

"Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." -Dr. Seuss

This is my philosophy for life. The people who truly love you, will give you freedom. Any who won't give you freedom to be who you are, most likely don't or can't love you. Forget about those people. It does not need to be your problem if they want to be cold and heartless. Just let them be that way. Go live your life and forget about them. Haven't they hurt you enough? Forget them so they can't keep hurting you. 

The more cold certain people are with you, be equally as cold with them. Don't throw yourself at people who are jerks. Jesus said, "Don't cast your pearls before swine." Hold back if they seem to despise you. You can simply walk away and find nicer people. You might hang on to the jerks because you doubt nicer people actually exist. They do. Just have faith that there are people you can find who will treat you right. Now go find them. ☺ And let go fully of the mean people. Fu## them. Go be happy and live a great life. 

You deserve to be happy and have fun. Don't let them convince you that you deserve to be abused. You do not. I don't care what you did to them or anyone, you deserve to be treated well. 

Go find a great life and forget about the as###oles.

Satan's Power

 This has bothered me for a long time now, why does God allow Satan to have as much power as he has? Because we let him. That is the easy answer. Is it all Satan causing our suffering? Maybe we bring about a lot of our own suffering. 

Paul said he had a thorn in the flesh. I have that right now with a terrible headache. He said his thorn was a messenger of Satan sent to torment him. Why did God allow Paul to be tormented? To make him stronger perhaps. God only said to him, "My power is made perfect in weakness." 

We lean on God more when we are weak. Joseph said, "What Satan meant for evil, God used for good." Paul said, "All things work together for your good." Jesus said, "God let this cup pass from me. Yet not my will but your be done." 

God allows Satan to hurt us, to humble us. To remind us of our frailty so that we will cry out to God more. 

James said, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." 

The people who suffer the least are often the least mature. Those of us who have suffered a ton have the wisdom of a 70 year old. That wisdom can only be gained through extreme pain and heartache. 

The next time you suffer you could say, "I know this will make me a better person. Thank you God that this will have that effect." Amen. 

God Looks at Our Heart

 Hollywood says

"Wear this, do that

Get these clothes

Wear a bunch of make-up."

But Jesus walked this earth

Not looking like a GQ model

He wanted to look plain and blend in

To relate to us all

He wanted us all to get him

Jesus didn't care about fashion

And maybe we shouldn't either

The Hatred

There is so much hatred

Between all the races

We are all humans

Can't we see that?

Why not help each other?

Rather then hate each other

What is the point to hating others?

Let the love in

See that all our hearts are similar

We all feel the same suffering

Why make life worse,

For each other?

Let there be love in this crazy world

And unity, and peace

May our nation be filled with joy

More then hatred

Stay in Faith

 So many things can rock our faith

Our boat swells with water

We start to sink

And we think, "Where is God?

Doesn't he care?"

He is right there with you

Seeing how you might overcome

Let him teach you

In the valley of hard days

Rise above your challenges

Until you are a victor

Over the storms

Until that gold medal is yours

Never let the storms stop you

Keep going

Keep doing what you love

The clouds will part 

When you need it the most

Keep your faith intact

Keep pushing toward your goals

Pray

 "There is a way that seems right

But in the end it leads to death."

That is why prayer is important

Do you think you know what is best?

Or does God know what's best?

You know God knows more 

Then any of us claim to know

We might be smart

But God is smarter

Keep praying

To get God's advice and wisdom

You need it

Serve with Love

It isn't easy 

To get up every single day

And be kind to your mate

But do it anyway

Forget how you feel

You are there to serve them

To show them love

Don't hurt them

They have been hurt enough

Be an angel for them

They need it

Make them coffee

Rub their back

Talk if they want to talk 

Be silent if they want to be quiet

Watch funny things

Learn a lot from YouTube videos

Be a fantastic partner

You will feel better about yourself

And you will be a blessing to them

Mind Over Feelings

 

God wants us to love him

Through our mind

Love is not always emotional

It is often just a decision

I will follow God no matter what

"Though none go with me

Still I will follow"

It can be just a mental decision

That you won't give up

The feelings can be great

But decide to follow God

Even when the feelings are gone

Humility

"Contentment with godliness is great gain."

"You can't get all that you want."

Be patient and wait on God

He will give it to you when you need it

When you deserve it the most

Never give up on your dream

But be happy while you wait

You already have so much

Don't you see it?

Don't you realize how much

You have right now?

Treasure it

You don't need more, yet

Stay humble

And accept the little you have

Because the little that you have

Is enough

Be grateful 

So that you can have more

Satan's Destruction

Satan makes people fight

And steps back to laugh at them

He sneers when people are in love

He hates love

And anything relating to love

He can't wait to get people to feel bad

To bring us to the end of our rope

He wants us to feel desperate

And alone and scared

Our pain is victory for him

Don't let him win

Stay in love

Stay close to your mate

Love your children

Don't let Satan win

When Dreams End

All you can do when it's over

Is lay there for a bit to recover

And then pick yourself up

And begin to dream again

What new thing can you build?

What exciting thing is yet to be created?

Keep running, keep climbing

Get to the top of whatever your mountain is

Maybe there was a fail

But the next thing might be a victory

Keep climbing up your mountain

You will make it to the top

If you don't stop

Never give up

My Dream Coming True

2 Corinthians 6:18 

"I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

I feel like I have finally arrived at my own promise land. All my life I wanted to inherit a free house. I thought that would have been through my grandma. She had a few extra houses and maybe I could have had one. She always said I was her favorite grandchild. "You have not because you ask not." I never asked for one, so perhaps that is why she never gave me one. But now I finally have a free house through my boyfriend's grandma, ironically, and it is wonderful. It is just as great as I thought it would be. Less bills to worry about. We don't have to worry about it being taken away from us.

Ever since I saw the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when the dad gives the newly married couple a free house, that became a dream for me. Like a serious dream. Finally I got it. 

I quit my job at Papa John's due to way too much drama. I had savings so I took time to relax and write. I felt God tell me, "You deserve to be somebody's wife." He told me to get on a dating app. I picked the Match one. I was thinking that might lead to something more long term. Tinder, if you haven't noticed, is mainly about just one day hook ups. Most people on there don't expect or want anything beyond that. 

My current boyfriend was the third date that I tried. He messaged me his phone number saying to call him. So I called and one of the first things he said was, "I have a house over in that area by your apartment." I was thinking, how does he have a house? He is only 30. I invited him to come over. Then he said it was his grandma's house. I was like, "Oh then it's not really your house." But she said he could have it, so it was his. Literally a few days later we moved into our house. 3 months later I ended up pregnant, which was the plan. :) And now possibly we will stay here forever and enjoy our free house. The backyard is nice. The neighborhood is safe. The house was remodeled some so it is old, but it looks new and nice. 

Does that make you want to try the Match app? 

But all things that are great can be hard. My pregnancy hasn't been all bliss. I have had bad digestion issues and heartburn. It is worth it, or at least it will be. No pain, no gain right?

I have been thinking since we moved in here, what else can I get from God? If God made that dream come true, what is next?

My next big dream is owning and running a beach house Bed and Breakfast. But I don't have to be exactly like my grandma. She did that. I don't have to do that. But if it did ever happen, it could be tons of fun. It is nice to have some extra dream for the future. It makes you excited to live the rest of your life. 

I have never wanted to just be like everyone else. I have always wanted something big for my life. I wanted to travel the entire world. I have wanted to save thousands of people for many years now. Whatever dream I have, it is big. I never dream for small things. 

I think my ex couldn't handle my big visions. For him it was overwhelming. That is why we didn't work out. He wanted to just get by. His dreams were limited by his many fears. He couldn't let go of his poverty mindset. He didn't think he deserved big things. We moved into an upper class neighborhood and I think he felt as though he didn't deserve that, so he messed it all up for himself. He didn't feel that he belonged there, so he gave it all up by allowing himself to loose his mind. 

If you want great things, you have to first believe that you deserve it. You have to see that as something that is possible for you before it can happen. You can't limit yourself by your past or all the insecurities you have. Confidence goes before any great dream being received. 

Let your mind be free. Set yourself free to dream huge dreams. What is possible for your life? "All things are possible for those who believe." You never know what you can accomplish until you do it. You can do a lot more then you realize you can do. 

Getting There

A land flowing with milk and honey

Maybe I am already there

Or maybe there is more

What else do I want?

It seems I am always wanting more

But what?

Why is it that what I have 

Never seems like enough?

Fame, popularity, a ministry that helps millions

Those things would be great

Importance, feeling like my life matters

Is that what else I need?

Just to do something that helps others

All my life I worked hard serving others

Hopefully that will never end

Hopefully I will help in the way

That people most need help

The healing of their soul

May I figure out what I want 

And may it become easy to get

Thank you God for making me content

While I keep looking for more

The search never ends

But that keeps us 

Working for something

And work is good for the soul 

Getting to Your Promise Land

1 John 3:1 

"How Great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God."

In the Bible, the Promise Land for the Jewish people was said by God to be a land flowing with milk and honey. He wanted nothing more than for them to enjoy this land that was promised to them. They were difficult and did not get to enter it when they could have. Eventually they made it into their promise land and loved it.

Everyone has their own version of what their promise land would look like. Their own heaven on earth. Their own pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

For some that is earning tons of money. Others don't care about money as much. They just want love. That seems to be a common decision in my own life, do I want money or love more? You can have both, but the more you chase money, the less you are focused on love. The less inclined you are to care about love. 

What are your innermost desires? God wants to give his children what they want, but the problem is that most have no idea what they want. They don't know what to pray for, because they are always confused about what they want, about what is best for them. They very often want two opposite things at the same time. 

The book of James says, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." 

Are you double minded? You have to know what you want and pursue it. Focus on it like a laser and never give up until you get it. "Never give up on something you cannot go one day without thinking about." I had always wanted to publish a book on the topic of Feminism. Yesterday I finally did it. Praise God! Should women work and raise children? That has been the question on my mind non-stop for the past 20 years. My answer is moms should stay home if they can. Their kids will be happier and turn out better. 

What is your longing? Your deepest need? Your strongest desire? 

It might be sex. Maybe it is a partner to spend your life with. Maybe it is children. Maybe it would be buying your ultimate dream house. 

When I was a kid my two biggest dreams were to have a daughter and to become a published author. A New York Times best selling author would be awesome, but mainly I just wanted to publish a book. Thanks to Amazon's KDP that dream has come true. 

You might not realize how easy it could be to accomplish your dream. You might be able to simply reach out and grab it. It will take some effort, but it might not be as hard as you think it will be.

When God told Moses to go save the Israelites, he asked him, "What do you have in your hand?" He had his shepherd staff in his hand. He used that staff to perform every single one of his miracles, through God's power. 

What do you have in your hand? What do you have right in front of you that you can use to accomplish your dreams? 

If you want a great partner or spouse, you will have to risk getting hurt through online dating. The wonderful thing about that though, is there are plenty of people to choose from. If one person rejects you, it is quick and easy to move on to the next one. Don't let go of your dream even if you have a few losses. All of life is risky. Don't let the risk of failure stop you. 

Maybe you want to rent or buy a beach house. That has always been a big dream for me. Do what you need to do to make it happen. You probably already know what you need to do. The only way to accomplish your dreams is to put the work in to get them. Never let that dream go. Hold tightly onto it until you make it happen. 

I used to have a dream of having a large family. I am a tad jaded now though. I don't know if that is a good idea in our modern world. My grandma had 5 sons with her husband. Then he cheated on her, so she left, and she had to fend for herself. Raising 5 boys on your own must seem like climbing a giant mountain. But she made it out of her hell ok, without the smell of smoke. She went on to get a Masters and a Doctorate degree. Maybe her thought was, "I'll show him I can be somebody." And she became somebody great. She became a school principle. Then she ran a 20 acre Bed and Breakfast and apple orchard. Then she got to retire in Hawaii. 

Sometimes what knocks you down can actually propel you forward into greater things. If you let it put a fire under you to make your dreams happen, it will. 

Often people think they can't accomplish their dreams because of a traumatic experience. They think that ruined them for life. Maybe you were sexually abused as a child. Joyce Meyer was sexually abused by her dad, like me. She went on to write over 80 books. She has been the most influential Christian speaker to women all over the world for the past 40 years. She didn't let her childhood sexual abuse stop her. 

Beth Moore was also sexually abused by a family member but it didn't stop her. I used to work at a Christian bookstore and she had about 3 or 4 shelves full of her books and prayer journals. Don't let one tramatic event stop you. Push through the pain and become the awesome person you want to become. 

What doesn't kill you, will make you stronger. They probably felt, like I did, that they were going to show everyone that they could become great, despite what happened. They wanted to prove to the world that they could still be somebody amazing. And they did it. They both became two of the most famous Christian writers to have ever lived. They inspired millions of women with their breakthrough victory. 

Don't let Satan tell you that thing meant you can't accomplish anything big. Get back up and keep running your race. You will make it to the finish line. Maybe you will even get the gold medal. Just keep running. 

Angelic Visitations

I have never seen an actual angel

But I see an angel every day 

When I look at my man

He is so kind and loving

He is the biggest blessing I've ever had

His face is peaceful like an angel

His strength keeps me strong

I want nothing other then to hug him

As often as I can

To get wrapped up in his arms

And feel happy and in love

Treasure Your Children

 Most parents never totally get 

How lucky they are 

To have cute little friends

Around the house 24/7

Their cute little faces 

Are often taken for granted 

The little smiles and laughs 

The joy of seeing them play 

Nothing beats getting to be 

With super great kids 

Don't let a moment go by 

Without telling God a big thank you 

For the adorable kids 

He has blessed you with 

Gift Card

 I have never been so excited about anything in my life. I got a Walmart gift card in the mail just for getting the internet. If you sign up for AT and T, you might get a free Walmart gift card. So cool! It is just really nice when marketing people follow through on their offers. 

In a sense this is very justified, because I was wrongly charged by Suddenlink many times about a year ago. I am still bitter about it. But this is like AT and T paying me back for Suddenlink conning me. I tried to call to tell them I wasn't even using the internet anymore and we had tried to cut it off. They didn't care. They said I needed my pin to do anything. I didn't remember setting one up. Freaking most annoying thing I ever dealt with. So I went without the internet for a whole year just because I was so annoyed by all that. The run around. The shady internet people. They charged my bank account twice a month for like $120. It was insane! That went on for two months. Finally a lady let me cancel my bank card that was on the account.

Don't ever get Suddenlink. Get AT and T for your internet instead. 

What should I buy with the Walmart gift card? I'm sure I'll think of things. Maybe new curtains. :)

Flaky Fathers

Where have all the cowboys gone?

And where have all the fathers gone?

Did they all forget how to be a dad?

Maybe no one trained them

Maybe their insecurity told them to run away

They got too scared

They didn't feel up to the challenge

It got to be too much for them

The bills, the stress, the in-laws

So they bailed and ran 

"The wicked flee when no one pursues."

These dads felt wicked and left

They figured their family

Might be better off without them

In some cases, maybe they were right

Hang in there men

Don't run away when you get scared

Be the man your kids need you to be

Be the husband that your wife needs

You can do it

You can be a good father

Don't worry about how your parents failed you

That doesn't mean you will fail

Stay hopeful

Believe, pray, rest in God

Let God do the work 

When you already feel done

Like you want to throw in the towel

Stick with it

In the long run, you will be very happy you did

You won't have any regrets

And your sleep will be better

Don't run away

God is My Dad

Ever since I was 6

God became my daddy

I realized he was far better than 

My biological dad

Who failed me greatly

But I clung to the hope

That God would never let me down

He has been the best dad anyone could want

I could never pay him back for all he gave me

All the ways he blessed me

All the great jobs, great friends, good times

I am so glad I let my birth dad go

And started to follow my heavenly father

My life has been so full

As a result of that

God you are a wonderful dad

I could not ask for more

Then all that you gave me

Jesus was Manly

Jesus was not a coward

He was resilient

A warrior

He said it like it was

He didn't hide the truth

Because he knew the truth would set us free

He was in your face

Rugged, bold, our brave savior

He was not like the girly men of today

He knew what he wanted

And pursued it

He always knew where he was going

And what he wanted to do

He was not double minded

He didn't quit

He kept up his good work, no matter what

Saving others, teaching, healing

He wasn't afraid to get the demons out

Of all those who suffered and needed to be free

He had no fear, no doubts, no regrets

He was pure and holy

Respectable, to be admired, well loved

Why can't men be like that now?

Why can't we all be like that now?

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

 

Why do bad things happen to good people?

But we are not good people, are we?

We all deserve suffering and heartache

We break other people's hearts

But we only get upset when our heart gets broken

We lie to other people 

But we only see it as bad when others lie to us

We have our own fantasy life

But we only despise the fantasies of others

We expect others to do what we don't do

We want everyone else to be perfect

Then our life will be perfect

But what if we are a big part of the problem?

The same mistakes we make on repeat

Like a hamster on a wheel

And we never see it

We never change

We just keep going and going

Not realizing what we do that hurts others

But it doesn't matter right?

Because we aren't the one being hurt. 

The Homeless

We pass by them every day

We try to ignore their inner cries

Their sad faces

Their worn out clothes

We justify the hardness of our hearts and reason,

"They must have done something to deserve that. 

Surely there is some shelter they can go to."

We harden our hearts over and over again.

But God said, "If you close your ears to the poor,

when you cry out, you will not be heard."

Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of these,

you have done unto me."

What would Jesus do?

Would Jesus help the homeless?

He would have an overwhelming amount of compassion 

for them.

He would look at them, like sheep lost without a shepherd.

He would give them food, water and a blanket,

to guard against the freezing, bitter cold of the night.

He might even pay for them to stay in a nice hotel for the night.

He might take them out for a steak dinner

and listen to them tell their whole life story.

He would offer them rides to job interviews,

and try to help them get back on their feet.

Heck, I bet He would even give them the clothes off his back

and any money that He had.

He knew His heavenly Father would take care of him.

He knew His Dad had his back.

He would heal them emotionally.

He would listen to them.

He would not walk away from them.

He would NOT pretend to not see them.

And He would not harden his heart towards them.

He would help them.

And they would LOVE Him.

Aren't we supposed to be Jesus to the world?

Aren't we meant to take His place now that He is gone?

Aren't we meant to be the body of Christ?

Why don't we act like the Holy Spirit is actually inside of us?

Why don't we have compassion on the poor and the lost?

"What does the Lord require of you?"

Answer: "To care for orphans and widows in their distress."

But we callously think, "Aren't there programs for those people?"

"Isn't that what welfare is for?"

"Surely God doesn't want me to actually give some of MY money to, them,

Does He?"

Yes, he does.

He calls us to care, REALLY care, about people.

To really love people.

How can we love others

when we see them in pain and do nothing?

How can we say the love of Christ is in us, if we ignore their poverty?

The love of Christ ought to compel us to feed the hungry, yes?

And to give of our time, money and resources to the needy.

Are not all men created in God's image?

Are we not all God's people?

God cares about every single person alive.

And He wants us to care about, them, also,

as much as He does.

To REALLY love them.

May we soften our hearts to the homeless that we see

And try to help as many as we can

Because we are Jesus' hands and feet to this world.

He wants to use you.

Will you let Him?

Will you care for his sheep?

Porn

 The most dangerous thing about porn is it may lead to sexual confusion. Threesome porn is quite common. If a woman watches two women giving each other pleasure, it will mess up her mind a little. It could potentially make her gay. If a guy watches that, sure it might turn him on, but what if it leads to him having sexual confusion also? 

If you don't want to ever be tempted to be gay, don't watch threesome porn. 

The ideal situation is to cut out porn entirely. Get your needs met in an actual human relationship. That is a lot more satisfying and rewarding. 

How Satan Wrecks Marriages

The main way that Satan wrecks marriages is by getting fathers to fall into sin. 

I have seen Satan destroy so many fathers. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. He especially wants to destroy fathers, because they are meant to be the head and leader of their home. If you take out the leader, the whole house crumbles to the ground. 

The last time my dad was sent to prison for molesting kids, my brother texted me about it saying, "Damn Satan and his lies!" I knew exactly what he meant, and I was glad that he realized that was the issue too. Satan very much played with my dad's mind, probably his entire life. It has always been frustrating to me that my mom couldn't see that and stop it. Ladies, see your man. You need to know their heart and mind and lead them into a good direction. The man is the head, but the woman has the most influence over her man. Where you try to lead him, he generally will go. Lead him into a good mindset and onto paths of righteousness. Not fake godliness, but true godliness. 

If Satan can get demons into the minds of fathers, he can destroy the entire world, and he has. Think of where we are now. Think of how things used to be. Technology is great. I love it for being able to write publically and hopefully correct the evil that Satan has used to ruin our society with. But think of how much technology has killed our families and our societies over the last 50 years. 

A big reason why things didn't work with my ex-husband and I was that he was looking at porn a lot our whole 7 years of marriage. It wasn't just that he was looking at it, but he kept lying about looking at it. When he finally confessed to me, about a month before our final break up, I felt completely distraught. I thought it was because I wasn't frisky enough for him. I thought maybe I wasn't exciting enough for him. It shattered my whole world. No news has ever hit me as hard and as heart breaking as that did. I thought he was a good man. After that I could not see him as good. I basically just saw him as a dishonest pirate. 

I will say, for any who watch porn, it will make you more displeased with your mate. It can be easy to think, "I wish my mate would do that. But they never would. Maybe I shoud find someone else who would do that." It can open a door to causing friction in your relationship. All of a sudden you feel disatisfied with the person you are with. Then you get mad at your mate and they don't even know why you are mad at them. It is because you saw what other couples do, even if it's staged, and you get mad that they don't do that. Porn sets unrealistic expectations. Be careful of not letting that ruin your relationship. 

Jesus Lost His Temper

 Jesus Lost his Temper

Matthew 22:29

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."

This was Jesus responding to a question the Pharisees asked him about what heaven will be like. He was very good at insulting people. He was very straight forward. He did not mind offending anyone, no matter how high their position was. He was courageous and bold in how he confronted others. Of course to him they were merely humans, so he did not worry about talking down to them. They were under him. Also maybe he really wanted things to sink in with people. Sometimes only frustration sends a message in strong. 

You might have heard the story of him flipping the tables in the temple. He was mad people were making lots of money from selling sacrifices. That reminds me of pastors making way too much money these days. 

Jesus often got frustrated with his disciples. He would say things to them like, "Are you still so dull?" He said to Peter, "Get behind me Satan." Peter was trying to thwart God's plan of Jesus dying for our sins. That is why he said that. He said to the Pharisees when they asked for a sign, "A wicked and adulterous generations asks for a sign." When the disciples could not cast a demon out, Jesus said to them, "“You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?" 

He was always testing his disciples. He was amazed how long it took for them to understand. They didn't fully believe that he was sent from God until pretty much after he rose from the dead. It makes sense that he was constantly frustrated with them due to their lack of faith. 

I wonder if God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit get frustrated with us when we are lacking in faith. I'm sure they do. 

Mental Breakdown

 The pastor of a major church in Colorado that makes the best worship music ever, had a mental breakdown. He had 3 kids. Was that why? Maybe he had too many kids. 

My ex had a mental breakdown and we had 2 kids. A friend's dad had an ongoing mental breakdown and only had one kid. Maybe the amount of kids doesn't matter. It is what the man builds the foundation of his mind on. 

Why are so many fathers not able to handle fatherhood? Why don't they last very long? Maybe they stay married, but they aren't really there or they don't really want to be there. 

It can be like the parable of the wise man who built his house on stone. When the storms came, his house did not fall down. His mind did not collapse under the pressure of raising a family and providing well. 

Have you built your house on the rock of Jesus? How do you do that? Read the Bible, pray, listen to Hillsong worship music, take time to rest, save the lost, have a hobby that you feel is your calling....always be kind to your mate. 

Don't just watch stupid things on TV or in movies. That can be building your house on straw rather then rock. It might fall down when the storms come. 

Do you want your house and your mind to be indestructible? Build it on the rock of Jesus. 

Pray for your mate. Pray over your house. Be careful what you listen to, and what adds you see on TV. Don't watch rated R movies. Try watching only Christian movies. Don't stay on your phone 24/7. Interact with real people. Be careful who your closest friends are. Pray about who God wants you to be around more then others. Be careful of the conversations you have at work. Don't gossip too much. Don't allow evil spirits to get in you from your co-workers. That really can happen. Respect your parents always. Be mostly conservative with your money. It is good to spend a little so you won't resent working hard, but have good self-control in what you spend money on. 

And always focus on God. Forget the world. Remain focused on God always and you will be much less likely to have a mental breakdown. May God bless you and always watch over you. 😀

Holy Spirit Facts

 He is the one who empowers believers to live a Holy life. 

He is God but also in submission to God the Father. 

He is sometimes viewed as an electric force but often times evil spirit are mistaken for the Holy Spirit. 

He helped God make the world and humans. 

He can become our best friend.

He fills people to help them witness more effectively. 

He prays for us when we forget what to pray for. 

God Facts

God is love. 

He wishes that All people are saved. 

He is holy and just. He cannot tolerate sin. Some sins he forgives and some he is less inclined to forgive. 

God is near to the broken hearted. 

God never changes. He is the same forever. 

He created the world in 7 days. Evolution is of Satan. 

He loves children but wants people to make wise choices on how many kids to have. 

He loves to hear us pray but wishes we would listen more then we talk. Some people are very good about that. 

He is all over and fills all things at one time. 

He is not sure when to end the world. He is taking his time on that. ☺