Ever Tilting, Ever Turning

Sometimes poetry simply jumps into my head. This morning while walking my dogs, I looked to the sky - searching the air for a hint of fall - and the poetry began to flow. I was afraid it would be gone before my two tiny terrors were done sniffing everything in the neighborhood! But, as soon as I sat down to my computer, it came fast and strong. So, I share with you.....

THIS WORLD

EVER TILTING
EVER TURNING
ALWAYS AGING
AS I AM YEARNING

FOR THAT PLACE
BEYOND THE SUN
WHERE GOD'S PEACE REINS
WHERE GOD IS ONE

I LOOK AROUND
I SEE GOD'S HAND
AWESOME CREATION
IN THIS LAND

I WONDER HOW
HEAVEN WILL BE
JESUS PREPARED
A PLACE FOR ME

THE BIRDS CRY OUT
THEY DO NOT KNOW
FROM WHENCE THEY CAME
OR WHERE THEY'LL GO

BUT I HAVE PEACE
I'M NOT UNDONE
I TRUST MY LORD
TIL KINGDOM COME

I STAND ON GOD'S WORD
AND REST ASSURED
THAT ONE DAY I WILL SEE
THE PLACE JESUS HAS PREPARED FOR ME

BUT FOR NOW
I LIVE FOR HIM
WHILE LIFE GOES ON
NOTHING LEFT TO WHIM

THIS WORLD IS:
EVER TILTING
EVER TURNING
ALWAYS AGING
AS I'M YEARNING

Darlene
9/17/08

Apathy and Compromise

I have suffered with a serious illness – just like many, MANY fellow Christians. My illness was APATHY AND COMPROMISE. I'm here to tell you that APATHY AND COMPROMISE will cause the death of our nation…..

If your idea of Christianity is to go to church, sing our little songs, listen to a sermon, then go home and live the way your flesh wants to live, you are WRONG. You should be living out your Christianity every minute of every day. Yeah…I know…it's too hard…yada, yada, yada. We all have flesh and we all fall down. JUST GET BACK UP AND THANK GOD FOR GRACE!!!

What if Jesus lived his life on earth like us happy little Christians? What if Paul lived his life like a happy little Christian? How about Dr. Luke and Peter? You HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE CONVICTIONS!!! YOU MUST STAND UP FOR YOUR CONVICTIONS AND BE HEARD!!!

OK...Now that we understand each other, here is the REAL DEAL. Our nation has been railroaded – BIG TIME! We have been lead to the slaughter – cleverly and cunningly. We have stood by while prayer has been removed from schools, Roe vs. Wade gave women choice, our American Flag has been desecrated, same sex marriages…the list goes on. Our youth are deep down the rabbit hole of drugs, alcohol and sex. WHY???? APATHY AND COMPROMISE!!!

IF YOU THINK FOR ONE MINUTE OUR NATION WILL NOT OR HAS NOT ALREADY COME UNDER THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD, YOU ARE IN FOR A RUDE AWAKENING!!!

We have looked the other way. Most of us have done nothing to rock our little world. I have been as guilty as the rest of you. We have lived in our "I'm a happy little Christian…just let me sit here and sing my little songs, hear my weekly sermon… not my problem…, see...wearing my Jesus pin... " world. We let things happen - laws passed - morals sliding while we DID NOTHING to uphold moral standing in our great nation!!!

Well, I am about done with my rant. I just want every Christian to research the candidates and pray before you go to your polling place. God is NOT going to help us unless we ASK. We can stay in our little APATHETIC , COMPROMISING ruts or we can RISE UP and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

HOW? Don't vote without doing your homework. KNOW what your political candidate stands for. Don't let other people do your thinking for you. God gave you a really good brain…USE IT! Do not let yourself be fooled.

Please do not let your current dissatisfaction with the state of our nation be your building block nor your stumbling block. PRAY…THINK….EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!

MAY GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU IN YOUR DECISIONS FOR PRESIDENCY. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON OUR NATION.

FEAR THE LORD

FEAR THE LORD

Many places in the Old Testament, we find the term "Fear of the Lord". What, exactly, does that mean?

Fear, scripturally, does not mean to be afraid. Fear means respect for God's power and might, reverence, and obedience to the Lord.

Fear of the Lord is:
The beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)
To hate evil, pride, arrogance and the perverse mouth (Proverbs 8:12)
The beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10)
Prolongs your life (Proverbs 10:27)
There is strong confidence and a place of refuge (Proverbs 14:26)

How do we come to a place where we "fear the Lord"?
Keep God's laws and commandments. Teach your children the same. (Deuteronomy 6:2)
Walk in His ways, love Him and serve Him. (Deuteronomy 10:12)
Serve Him and obey Him. (I Samuel 12:14)
Incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding (Proverbs 2:2)
Ask for understanding and discernment (Proverbs 2:3)
Seek wisdom and search for hidden treasures [in His Words] (Proverbs 2:4)

"Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of His saints, then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path." Proverbs 2:5-9

Fear of the Lord – THAT is wisdom and to depart from evil – THAT is understanding. (Job 28:28)

The Book of Proverbs IS a book of wisdom. I would encourage you to read a chapter a day until you get the wisdom and understanding deep into your spirit. A good program is to read the chapter corresponding with the day of the month. For instance, on the first day of the month, read chapter 1. When you read the chapter corresponding to the day of the month, you will always know where you are in the book. There are 31 chapters in the Book of Proverbs – that is one chapter a day for 7 months out of the year. How you handle chapter 31 in February, April, June, September and November is up to you. Read thoughtfully and, if you have a study Bible, check out some of those cross references.

In the Book of Proverbs, you are repeatedly encouraged to "get wisdom – get understanding". There is no better advice! I can assure you that if you follow this plan for 3-4 months, you will grow spiritually by leaps and bounds. Also, I might add, this reading plan is a sure cure for those "desert" times in your life.

"Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name." Malachi 3:16

MY HEART IS BIGGER THAN MY BRAIN

MY HEART IS BIGGER THAN MY BRAIN!!

I have a history of a heart/brain disorder. It seems my heart is bigger than my brain! This has been proven over and over. I once had rental properties….NEVER try to have rental properties when your heart is bigger than your brain! I can assure you that it is disaster in the making… I have another disorder from birth… I actually trust people and believe what people say until they prove to me that they lie… Needless to say, I lost a lot of money, including property damage, in my miserable little sideline business of renting property. I could give other examples; however, I think you get the idea…This is my brain/heart ratio:

Once again, I have proven that my heart is bigger than my brain. I DO know better than to feed the wildlife, however, when wildlife looks like this, my heart melts and takes over my brain:

We moved into our house 18 years ago. My heart sang when I discovered that cute little raccoons lived in the woods behind my house. So began my long-time love of the raccoons. For 18 years, I have thrown table scraps, stale food and whatever edible discards out in the back yard. I named them all – and I can remember every name over the past 18 years… "Rocky!" Sorry…just my sense of humor…but this is true. Yes, I DID name them all "Rocky"… Raccoons came and went. Occasionally, one or more made my back yard their hangout. I never minded once I got smart enough to move the cat food from the garage to the Florida Room…......

Most recently, there are two raccoons that made it a habit to stop by for supper every evening. Usually they waited patiently for their hand-out, however, three weeks ago, little Rocky got a little impatient with me, so decided to bite me on the leg. ....




Let me tell you folks…raccoons have razor sharp teeth!!!....


So, here I am – treating to prevent rabies. I have most of the shots behind me and one more before I am done. Rocky is still looking for food. Every night she is on my patio – looking all confused because I dare not toss another morsel of food into the yard for my own welfare, but she does not understand. So, she paces around the patio, looks thru the glass of my back door and sniffs the air for food…any food! I don't feed her. My husband wants to kill her…I won't let him. So then, hubby wants to trap her and cart her off….I won't let him. Rocky has three little Rocky babies…how will they eat? Once again, if Momma Rocky is not here to feed her babies, I am afraid my heart will become bigger than my brain……..AGAIN!....

July 6, 2008....

HONORING DAD ON FATHER'S DAY

HONORING DAD ON FATHER'S DAY

It was 1947
That you first became a Dad;
As you tenderly held your new daughter,
What fears you must have had!

Within three years,
Our family grew.
Two more daughters!
How would you ever get through?

But...as time will,
The years flew by.
You heard us laugh,
You saw us cry.

You watched us play
And run and grow.
Your love and guidance valued
More than you'll ever know.

You are my Rock
Through good and bad.
You've earned your name
You are my DAD!

(Written for Dad's Birthday -1989)

I have now added another verse:

With wisdom you have guided me
To who I am this day.
My heart is full of riches as
I honor you today.

IN HONOR OF FRANK OWENS
9/1/28-2/14/04