Where your heart is committed, it is muck and mire.
There is no purity. There is no experience.
Where are you embarking?
Where your soul is invested, it is null and void.
There is no sanity. There is no encounter.
There is no release and no peace.
Come out from the marshlands and find hope.
But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.
Ezekiel 47:11
And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.
Leviticus 20:26
But you are a chosen generation, a Royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
I felt like I had a bit of posting overload today, on Veterans Day, but maybe it’s simply because it means more to me today than it ever has.
See, I’ve always been thankful for our veterans, but when you learn a new story, receive a new testimony, and it’s all wrapped up in a life you never knew even living so close to you, your heart grasps a whole new level of gratefulness.
So many never share their stories.
Too many are haunted by their demons.
Even more just ask the question, “Why?”
To unravel these mysteries, it would take too many lifetimes to start, but I have one plea to those who served,
“Please, tell your stories. Share your pain and your victory. Maybe you can’t relive, but if you remain silent, it’s easier for us to forget.”
To reinstall the honor and respect from the young may take decades to come, but I have one plea to those coming behind,
“Please, listen to the ages. Read. Research. Ask. Be curious and be hungry for knowledge. For if we never grasp the value, it’s easier to forget.”
Lives have been lost. Scars have been branded, and tears have been shed to bring you freedom.
Let us not take it for granted.
Let us never forget their valiant sacrifices. ❤️🇺🇸❤️
Charcuterie boards seem to be all the rave right now. If you’re throwing a party and want to have crowd applause, it seems you should set up at least one, or maybe two, three, five, ten of these varieties.
For those who aren’t “up to speed” in the trendy world: a charcuterie board is an appetizer typically served on a wooden board or stone slab, either eaten straight from the board itself or portioned onto flatware. It features a selection of preserved foods, especially cured meats or pâtés, as well as cheeses and crackers or bread.
Personally, I think these boards are pretty cool, when done right, but I also honestly think they are a pressure cooker of ideas, time and money that could really be put to better, more long lasting use. I know. Don’t shoot me for being “plain Jane.”
It’s not that I’ve never made one; I’ve created my fair share, and some have been fun, while a few others, I really wanted to pick up the whole thing and toss it across the room before the guests showed up.
But I do wonder sometimes, maybe more often than not, if we all live on a charcuterie board of feelings in our little worlds…
We’ve got the smooth, delicious days of promise and the mild days of mediocrity.
We have the tangy moments of adventure and the spicy moments of suspicion.
We find the bitter years of grief and the sour months of disappointment.
We discover the indulgent minutes of success and the sweet minutes of victory.
We even stumble upon the meatier times of learning, strengthening and reproving.
All the feels are contained within our small orbit of influence and experience, and unless we jump across the planes of comfort, culture and civilization, we never embark on a different charcuterie board of emotions.
Be challenged to break off from the norm.
Distance yourself from the expected and plunge just once into the unknown, the unexpected.
And I guarantee you.
The flavors of life will explode before and within you!
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 19:11
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Too many want to bash her and say she’s not perfect.
I want to reply and ask them to show me someone here who is.
Too many want to scald her because her mistakes are great.
I want to reply and request the list of those who have none.
I have lived here a long time, and she’s been good to me.
I’ve studied Truth, and the truth I’ve found proclaims light.
It isn’t that I’m blinded to imperfections
Nor am I ignorant to wrongs that need to be righted.
What I will not be is a hater.
What I will not demand is an ideology of impeccable flawlessness.
Rather, I will choose to be grateful for the abundant blessings given.
I will choose to be thankful for freedom and free will.
I will honor, respect, forgive and love.
I will remember the good and try to rectify those things that are feasible.
I will choose to grieve when the loss is imminent and tragic.
I will rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.
And I will choose to, above all else, speak truth and thank the One who created it all.
Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!
It always amazes me when I see competition among believers.
I’m not talking about healthy competitions that compares with the disciples desire to be valued in the eyes of Christ.
Some of that can spur us to greatness as we leave our laziness, apathy and fears and hunger to succeed in the Kingdom of God.
I’m talking about the raw, unheeded ambition of the carnal mind.
That desire to be great that is embraced with the hands of greed that will strangle anyone who dares to challenge.
I’m talking about that ugly, adulterated, sinful lust for power, position and prestige that is bred in the bed of jealousy, envy and pride.
When this epitome of nasty nature raises its eyes to take hold of a prize, never realizing the price paid for what is coveted…
The disasters that follow are both heart wrenching and horrifying.
No one knows the anguish filled steps that led to the other man’s mountaintop.
No one knows the sorrow that held that woman’s hand on her journey to success.
No one knows the torment of her nightmares that she finally turned into the dream.
Never suspire another man’s gain before you realize the price he paid.
You shall notcovet your neighbor’s house; you shall notcovet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
Exodus 20:17
Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus…
Truth is all relevant and opinions can only be accepted by the most liberal among us.
How did we get here?
No one seems to know.
Or maybe no one wants to claim responsibility.
You can be anything you want as long as you don’t declare God as King or Christ as Lord.
You can say anything you desire as long as it agrees with this one and complies with that.
Who have we become?
No one seems to know.
Not sure anyone really cares.
So, if no one cares, then I am better off serving the One whom I know loves me.
If no one knows, then I am more advantaged if I remain with the One who created me.
If no one is concerned, then I am more fortunate to live as His redeemed and await His return.
If I’m considered among the insane and deranged, then so be it.
As Alice said, “All the best people are.”
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Yes. You can speak out truth and goodness, love and compassion.
Yes. You can remain silent as you watch good turn evil and wreak havoc on those beyond your reach.
It doesn’t really matter, does it?
I mean, on the grand scheme of things what does all the chaos, perversion and heresy mean for you?
You’ve lived your life. You’ve accomplished your dreams.
Now’s they time for you to “coast it on in.”
No need to rock the boat when you’re about to hit the shoreline.
Or is it worth a little pause, a glance, an engagement of a whisper that may one day turn into a shout?
Look into your child’s eyes before you answer nonchalantly.
Look into the soul of their future before you so briskly take a nod.
What do you see? What can be predicted?
Maybe on All Saints Day we need to look back and search the meanings.
Maybe we need to listen to Truth that has been written on the pages on time.
Maybe we need to look at their future and not only ours.
Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation.
Joel 1:2-3
Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.
My journey didn’t stop with mere time travel or writing; it led me to become one of the most sought-after empaths, a soulful psychic who reads the hidden depths of the human spirit. I’ve been blessed—or perhaps burdened—with an ability that allows me to feel the emotions of people from every corner of time.
I am a licensed psychologist based in Greece. My love for housekeeping has inspired me to create this blog about home management and family relationships. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!
Dedicated to movie nerdom, nostalgia, and escape. In the late 90s, I worked at Blockbuster Video where they let me take home two free movies a day. I caught up on the classics and reviewed theatrical releases for Denver 'burbs newspapers and magazines. Today, while raising two young, beautiful daughters with my amazing wife, I look forward to anything rated R and not Bluey. Comments and dialogue encouraged!
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