Quotes from Charles Spurgeon

We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said or sung in Latin or in English; and, secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority.” (Charles Spurgeon, Sermon on Dec. 24, 1871).

 When it can be proved that the observance of Christmas, Whitsuntide, and other Popish festivals was ever instituted by a divine statute, we also will attend to them, but not till then. It is as much our duty to reject the traditions of men, as to observe the ordinances of the Lord. We ask concerning every rite and rubric, “Is this a law of the God of Jacob?” and if it be not clearly so, it is of no authority with us, who walk in Christian liberty.” (from Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David on Psalm 81:4.)

Our family no longer celebrates Christmas for many reasons but I just wanted to share this as I thought it was really interesting that Spurgeon shared our belief not to celebrate this day. We do love to celebrate Messiahs birth around when He was most likely born which would be the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. A week long celebration in the Fall and one our family now looks forward to every year!

Storm Update

Just figured I would update everyone on here as to the status of the storm in our area. Hurricane Sandy is set to make landfall early this evening and already our wind gusts are around 40 mph and are expected to rise to 75 mph. Our Governor has declared a state of emergency and many of our interstates have been partially shut down and will most likely be totally closed tonight. We were told to prepare for power outages of up to a week in worst case scenario. We are as physically prepared as we can be with flashlights, candles, water, food, camping stove and kerosene heater. But what is most important is that we are spiritually prepared and we know that safety is not found in the absence of danger but in the presence of Jehovah! We appreciate all the prayers and I will update when I can.        

Honor Your Father and Your Mother

Ok.. wow. I cannot believe how Yehovah works in our lives and brings things to our attention. Many times He uses other people and sometimes those people bring something to our attention in a way we do not like. I know I had just that experience a few days ago and I was NOT happy with the way my Father was trying to speak to me. Looking back now I am extremely grateful for the gentle and loving rebuke because it really made me see myself for what I really am. So thank you to that sister who obeyed Yehovah and lovingly rebuked me.

For those who dont know I grew up in a home where my parents were almost always at odds with another and I was often put in the middle of the situations which I resented very much. I dealt with watching and receiving alot of emotional and mental abuse and really became familiar with all the ways of a dysfunctional family. My parents always stayed married (still are) and presented themselves and all of us as an amazing and wonderful family. But behind closed doors my home was not a safe place for me emotionally and its something I have struggled with into my adult life. Sadly I carried alot of the baggage of childhood with me. I have worked through alot and done ALOT of healing in the past year  thanks to an amazing sister who has been a mentor to me and an even more amazing Father. I was always the strong- willed child (still am today) and I was always a leader, never a follower. Mom always told me this was a wonderful trait if used correctly and I see what she means now. My spiritual journey has taken a turn from the traditions and ways in which I was brought up in and that has been a source of contention between my parents and I. From my perspective my parents have become less interested in the things of God and more interested in compromise. I feel my life has gone the opposite way and it bothers me to feel like spiritually I am losing the connection with my parents. I do love them but they can tend to be a source of frustration, anger and sarcasm for me. In my most recent "issue" with them I left the conversation feeling very angry, very hurt, very frustrated and so many other negative things. I vented to some friends like I typically do and it was brought to my attention that I was violating the 5th commandment - to honor my father and my mother. I felt convicted and so I decided to study just what honor really meant and I will share below what I learned.

The Hebrew word for honor is "kabed". It is literally a word about weight. It means "to be heavy". Honor is to give weight to someone. That is a metaphor for important, respect, consideration and value. Honor means to treat your parents with the gravity that their position demands. The opposite of honor is "kalel". The word is always translated as "to curse", but its literal meaning is to make light of. One curses ones parents not only if one directs curses at them, but if one treats them lightly. h

The Bible has some pretty strong things to say about this and below are just a few of the verses that speak about this.

       
Proverbs 30:17  The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

Proverbs 20:20  Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Leviticus 19:3  Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

Exodus 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

I know I have been convicted and need to talk to my parents and ask their forgiveness for not truly honoring them. I am so thankful I received a rebuke from the Father. There is so much flesh still in me and I try to crucify it daily, but I often fail. These are the times I so thankful for grace and mercy.

What about you.. if your parents are still alive, in what ways do you honor them?  Just something to ponder and pray about.   

















  

Unplugging!

What a journey these past two years have been for me and my family. The depths of the Scriptures have been a treasure we have uncovered too wonderful for words. The change it has brought in our family has been nothing short of amazing. It has not been without its difficulties I can assure you, but it has been worth every hardship and tear we have endured. Living life abundantly (and I dont mean financially) has been the theme of these past two years for sure! So now its been over a year since I last posted on this blog and I thought it was time to resurrect my blogging skills! I have been so caught up in the Facebook world that I could hardly remember what life was like before it. Now dont get me wrong.. it has been a source of truth, wisdom, encouragement and growth for me these past few years for sure. However, it has recently become a time waster for me and a source of confusion, stress and frustration. After some recent events the Father made it very clear to me that it was time to UNPLUG! It was time to BE STILL and just KNOW that HE IS! My husband confirmed this was what I was to do and I knew it was time to be obedient to my husband and to my Father. I cannot tell you the sweet relief that rushed over me when I hit the DELETE button for my FB account. It was as though a weight lifted off my shoulders and I was free! I no longer had to worry if there was a "fire" somewhere that I had to put out or a post that I had to research the validity of. I didnt have to hear the latest nonsense about a teaching that I believed based on the WORD was totally false. I no longer had to see people parrot information that was inaccurate and I no longer had to hear sad tales of those who had walked away from my Messiah Yeshua! Of course I realize that I still have to live and I live in an imperfect world and will hear negative news for sure even outside of FB. But for now.. the FB drama is behind me! I can now focus on Scripture and submitting to the Spiritual leadership of my husband. I am SO blessed to even have a husband who cares about the things of Yehovah. So this is my first blog entry since I have unplugged and it feels wonderful. I will try my best to write regularly on here and to share as I feel the Father leads me to. I hope you all will along on this journey and feel free to comment and share your life with me. I have much goal setting to do and priorities to set in order now that I have unplugged from a very addictive social media outlet. I cannot wait to begin this new journey.. one of more peace and quietness than I have experienced in the past I believe. Thank you for taking an interest in my journey and I pray the Father blesses each step you take on yours! Shalom!

A Sabbath Rest Poem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy7WXAS8_tI

Whats New With Our Family

I haven't written in a REALLY long time and I apologize for that. Life has just been so busy. I dealt with about sixteen weeks of nausea and now that has finally subsided and only occurs once in awhile. We found out last week that we are expecting a little girl. Nathan is SO excited to be getting a sister. He said he prayed for one :) My little guy is happy about it being a girl to and of course mommy and daddy are thrilled as well. We continue to pray for her health and well-being until delivery and for my health and well being until then as well. Having had two previous csections causes me to pray even more often and more diligently for my uterus to become stronger and hold up well during labor and delivery as well as my scar, etc. I am traveling over an hour away to a see a group of midwives (and their Dr) who are willing to let me try for a VBAC. If I need to have a csection then I am willing to do that but if I can try for a VBAC I would prefer that as each major surgery does not come without risks. My due date is December 12, so we shall see when this little girl arrives.

In the meantime my hubby has enrolled at our local community college for classes this Fall. He will be studying Computer Repair Technology and hopefully he can find a decent paying job in that field when he graduates. He is currently receiving unemployment since losing his job in March. He has filled out several applications trying to get a part-time job but so far not one place has called him back. As long as we are in our foreclosed home we can squeeze by with only his unemployment check but once we are told we have to leave or we find a rental before then.. he will need to have a part-time job in order to be able to pay rent. We are trusting that God knows exactly what job to give him and when to give it to him.

On the rental situation that has been discouraging. Trying to find something within our budget, with enough bedrooms in a safe area has been a huge challenge. Then when we have found rentals that are in our price range once we tell the landlord our income he immediately is not interested in renting to us thinking we wont be able to pay him. Wish I could explain to them just how frugal our family is and just how efficient we are at managing with a very low income. Once again, I have to trust that Abba has just the right place for us and He knows when to give it to us. Its been a HUGE walk of faith these past few weeks. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. When HE is all I have to rely on that is when my faith and hope grow stronger. When I am weak, then HE is strong!

We continue to walk down a path filled with uncertainty but we know that He knows every step of that walk and will carry us through each step of the way!

Genetically Modified Foods

Have you ever heard the term genetically modified food? Or GMO? Well if you pick up a processed food item at your grocery store, you will most likely be eating a genetically modified food (GM) food. That's because over 70% of processed foods contain GM ingredients.

What is genetic engineering? Back in the mid-1970's, scientists discovered that they could transfer genes from one species to another. This was an unprecedented breakthrough in technology. Of course through normal sexual reproduction, parents contribute thousands of genes to their children. Genetic engineers however, force a gene (known as a transgene) into the DNA of organisms that could never acquire it naturally. They break the species barrier by creating completely new organisms. Genetic engineering began so that scientists could implant specific traits into different species, creating crops resistant to pesticides and diseases, foods that can deliver vaccines, and livestock that have more omega-3 fats or other nutritional attributes, among many others. What makes this frightening is that scientists are manipulating animal and plant DNA to create abnormal life forms reminiscent of Frankentstein. For example, they inserted spider genes into goat DNA so that they could milk the goat for spider web protein to use in bullet proof vests. Jellyfish genes have lit up pigs' noses in the dark and Arctic fish genes gave tomatoes and strawberries tolerance to frost. Human genes are also being manipulated. Amazingly, pharmaceutical companies have inserted human genes into bacteria, turning them into living factories to produce drugs. Innovative technological creations? Yes. Things that are safe to introduce into the human food chain and environment? Probably not!

The following statistics are from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agriculture Statistics Service in 2006 (that was 5 yrs ago):

89% of the soybeans planted in the US were GM varieties
83% of the cotton planted was GM
61% of the corn was GM

Unlike in Europe where processed GM foods must be labeled if any ingredient includes 0.9% of genetically modified organisms (GMO) or more, here in the US, GM foods are not labeled.

Out of the four major GM food crops currently being produced (soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton), along with the smaller GM crops (zucchini, crookneck, squash, papaya, alfalfa, and tobacco), nearly three-fourths have been engineered to survive applications of a specific herbicide, and nearly one-fifth of them are designed to produce their own pesticide! Further, more than one out of ten GM crops can do both! These products are highly contaminated.

The process of genetic modification easily results in thousands of mutations. Some risks from GM products containing mutations are as follows:

- Causing overproduction of toxins, allergens, carcinogens, or antinutrients
- Reducing nutritional quality of the crop
- Changing the way that the plant interacts with its environment

And because of our limited understanding of DNA, no one knows what the additional consequences to human health and the environment will be. What is extremely important to understand about GM foods is that neither the FDA, nor any other regulatory agency, is monitoring the potential consequences of these creations. They do not require extensive evaluation of the mutations, despite the fact that the few studies that have analyzed GM crops already on the market reveal significant problems, including:

- Containing scrambled DNA, incomplete genes, or multiple fragments of the inserted
gene
- Gene fragments in GM corn that were suppose to be in a different GM crop
- Significant nutritional differences between GM and non-GM crops

The testing done in animals have had horrible results changing their blood, liver and kidneys and even reporting black patches in both the intestines and liver of some animals, as well as enlarged bile ducts. The only human feeding study ever published showed soybeans, that had been genetically modified to make them herbicide-tolerant, spontaneously transferred out of food and into the DNA of human gut bacteria! This means long after we have given up eating GM soy, which is widely available on the market, the bacteria inside our intestines may produce the herbicide-tolerant protein inside of us!

GM corn and most GM crops are also inserted with antibiotic resistant genes. The American Medical Association, the World Health Organization (WHO), and organizations worldwide have expressed concern about the possibility that these might transfer to disease producing bacteria inside your gut, creating new, antibiotic-resistant super-diseases.

There are so many potential problems resulting from GM foods. Even rats fed GM potatoes for 10 days had horrible results. They had smaller brains, livers and testicles. White blood cells responded to a challenge more slowly, indicating immune system damage. Organs related to the immune system, including the thymus and the spleen, showed adverse changes. And the animals had enlarged pancreases and intestines and partial atrophy of the liver! Do you want to be eating stuff that causes this?!?!

We should do our best to purchase whole foods such as fruit, veggies and meats. However in the instance that you need to purchase processed food make sure you read the label for corn or soy. If a product is not organic and contains either one of these or its derivitives than it most likely contains GM organisms and should be avoided at all costs. The only GM free processed foods most times are organic. Just being aware is half the battle. Let's strive to eat real foods the way God made them and in doing that preserve our health and that of our future generations.