Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - Hebrews 10:26...Posted by HandsNHearts |
In reading the Bible this morning, I read this verse, and now
have a question...to me this is saying that if we deliberately sin
after knowing Yahweh, that there is no more sacrifices to take away
our sin...does this mean that if we sin deliberately on something
after knowing Yahweh, that we will lose our redemption??
For example,
Susie is a Christian who kept Sunday as Sabbath, she learned that Sat
is the true Sabbath as spoken of in the Bible, but she continues to
look at Sabbath as Sunday because she doesn't want people to look at
her strange, or change her life or what have you...since she is
sinning because she knows that Saturday is the Sabbath spoken of in
the Bible, but she is refusing to keep it will she no longer have
redeption/eternal life because she essentially turned her back on the
last/only sacrifice necessary for eternal life?
That question was asked on a group I'm on. It's mainly regarding trying to understand Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Here is Gill's Commentary --
Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully,.... Which is not to be understood of a single act of sin, but rather of a course of sinning; nor of sins of infirmity through temptation, or even of grosser acts of sin, but of voluntary ones; and not of all voluntary ones, or in which the will is engaged and concerned, but of such which are done on set purpose, resolutely and obstinately; and not of immoral practices, but of corrupt principles, and acting according to them; it intends a total apostasy from the truth, against light and evidence, joined with obstinacy.
After that we have received the knowledge of the truth; either of Jesus Christ, or of the Scriptures, or of the Gospel, or of some particular doctrine, especially the principal one, salvation by Christ; of which there may be a notional knowledge, when there is no experimental knowledge; and which is received not into the heart, but into the head: and whereas the apostle speaks in the first person plural, we, this is used not so much with regard to himself, but others; that so what he delivered might come with greater weight upon them, and be more readily received by them; when they observed he entertained no hard thoughts or jealousies of them, which would greatly distress the minds of those that were truly gracious. Moreover, the apostles use this way of speaking, when they do not design themselves at all, but others, under the same visible profession of religion, and who belonged to the same community of believers; see 1Pe_4:3 compared with Act_22:3. Besides, these words are only hypothetical, and do not prove that true believers could, or should, or do sin in this manner: to which may be added, that true believers are manifestly distinguished from these persons, Heb_10:38,
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins; meaning, not typical sacrifice; for though the daily sacrifice ought to have ceased at the death of Christ, yet it did not in fact until the destruction of Jerusalem; but the sacrifice of Christ, which will never be repeated; Christ will die no more; his blood will not be shed again, nor his sacrifice reiterated; nor will any other sacrifice be offered; there will be no other Saviour; there is no salvation in any other, nor any other name whereby we must be saved. These words have been wrongly made use of to prove that persons sinning after baptism are not to be restored to communion again upon repentance; and being understood of immoral actions wilfully committed, have given great distress to consciences burdened with the guilt of sin, committed after a profession of religion; but the true sense of the whole is this, that after men have embraced and professed the truths of the Gospel, and particularly this great truth of it, that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of men by his blood and sacrifice; and yet after this, against all evidence, all the light and convictions of their own consciences, they wilfully deny this truth, and obstinately persist in the denial of it; seeing there is no more, no other sacrifice for sin, no other Saviour, nor any salvation in any other way, the case of these men must be desperate; there is no help for them, nor hope of them; for by this their sin they shut up against themselves, in principle and practice, the way of salvation, as follows.
Thoughts?
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - "Natural" GMO meds?Posted by HandsNHearts |
WASHINGTON – You've heard of making cheese from goats' milk, but prescription drugs? In what would be a scientific first, an anti-clotting drug made from the milk of genetically engineered goats moved closer to government approval Wednesday after experts at the Food and Drug Administration reported that the medication works and its safety is acceptable.
Called ATryn, the drug is intended to help people with a rare hereditary disorder that makes them vulnerable to life-threatening blood clots.
Its approval would be a major step toward new kinds of medications made not from chemicals, but from living organisms genetically manipulated by scientists. Similar drugs could be available in the next few years for a range of human ailments, including hemophilia.
Ok, I'm always on the rather outside of popular thought here I know, but am I seriously one of only a few who think this is just a bit beyond normal? I understand the medical ramifications here, and of course I'm not saying allow folks to suffer when a potential 'help' is out there. But this GMO craze the government is on is so obviously NWO.
I'm not even going to debate anything, I'm just making an observation.
We are being given Hell in a handbasket and accepting it with not only willing, but grabbing hands.
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Jan. 7, 2009 - Make your own butterPosted by HSB Front Porch |
One day last week I remembered that I had bought some heavy cream over the holidays for Moma's Favorite Cookie, which I am GOING to post the recipe for! REALLY! :) Well, I thought with this much cream, it would be a good time to show the children how to make butter... well the easy way to make butter.
We pulled out the ole food processor.
 Poured in all that cream and turned it on...
 There were a few different stages that I told them we would see...
First of all we saw it just as a liquid, as it is as cream.
We would start seeing the cream slowly becoming thicker, until we had it at the whipped cream stage.
They all tried it at this point and sneered... sadly they thought it would taste like cool whip. Pitiful, huh? I told them at the enormous amounts of 'stuff' added to cool whip and this was so much better, and that we could add a little sweetner if we wanted whipped cream, but we want butter!
 Keep it moving, keep it moving...
FINALLY!
BUTTER! :) HURRAH!
 Please forgive the skunk stripes down my child's hair... our New Years Party got a bit crazy! :) haha
 Mmm... this butter is good, Mom!
We even took the buttermilk and put it in a jar to use later and washed the curds with ice water to help get all the milk off so the butter would last longer.
Now a solid. How crazy are we? Doing school when we are supposed to be on holiday? haha... so is the life of a homeschooler.
I hope you have a great day friends.
From My Homestead to Yours,
~Chas~
Chasity L. Burrell
Heritage Acres Farm
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - Wednesday DoingsPosted by HandsNHearts |
I have a large canner full of ground meat sitting on the stove, simmering away with some onions and a touch of beef base.
It's my 18 or 20 qt water bath canner..darn thing takes up a burner and part of another. I thought about taking it out to the front porch grill, but then I'd be battling cats and dogs all day. Didn't seem like a perfect plan.
So it sits on my stove.
There is just shy of 30# of ground meat in that beauty. Actually, ground meat covered with water looks rather ickish...but it sure beats trying to fry patties and keep them warm for canning. And they really look icky in the jars. I know -- who's gonna see my pantry, and even so, when (not if) push comes to shove and we are living out of what's in that pantry, who is gonna care what it looks like as long as it tastes good? It's just me. I would like the fruits, or in this case meats, of my labor to be asthetically pleasing lining those pantry shelves. Just call me vain. It's ok.
Next on the agenda today is some laundry -- finally a sunny yet cool day to get those clotheslines filled. We are still using the washing machine, such as it is. It barely spins out at this point, so we run things through another set of rinse cycles, spinning them by hand. Sort of jump starting the spin cycle. Dewey wants to get another machine. I'm still not inclined. Yes, it's a pain to stand over that machine and babysit it just to make it spin, but I choose to do it. It's not so bad really. Doesn't take any time extra anyway. I know it's taking some extra water and electricity, but until we start doing it by hand, I'll muddle along this way. Besides, I have some upwardly mobile friends who totally get irked when I press on to the frugal and backwoods lifestyle :o) I like to provide them plenty of cause for talk when I can (truth be told, I probably provide them far more talk than I actually know about...they think I'm just this side of insane most the time).
Bread baking today. I'm using the 20 qt mixer and we're doing up at least 1 6 loaf batch. It's been so rainy, the last attempt with bread baking went a bit wrong on us. It was edible, but oh goodness did it fall out terribly and barely rise. Made a decent toast, though. Even if we couldn't have eaten it, there are chickens out there still so it wouldn't have been a total waste at any rate.
That's about it. We are having Beef Nachos for dinner. Church tonight -- I'm teaching the teen class. Note the excitement in my tone there...not. There are only 7 teens -- 3 being my own, 2 sisters, 1 other girl and the boy we bring from down the road. No one has the slightest interest in doing anything besides toying with cell phones...one girl in particular. And that disrupts the entire group. I have a feeling it will be an issue to end once and for all tonight. Keep me in prayers. I'm sure most of you know by now that sometimes (ok pretty fairly often) I am a tad bit less than tactful. I'm going to try me best, but... |
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Jan. 6, 2009 - Wish Books...Posted by HSB Front Porch |
Oh, those tempting little darlings are arriving daily in the mail  ...yep, you know what I mean...SEED CATALOGS!
What lovely thoughts they do bring to mind, gorgeously blooming flowers, luscious fruits and bountiful vegetables all in a perfectly tended garden  .
Making a long list of new things to try and some old favorites to replant comes next.
Then reality sinks in when I actually add up the cost of my wish list ; and the paring down begins. I still usually end up with more seeds than garden space; but they make nice little gifts to tuck into a card or letter for a fellow gardener, and many can be saved for planting next season.
I've yet to sit down for my list making this year, and it is just about time to start some things indoors  ; but this afternoon looks to be cold and dreary outside- perfect weather for "seed shopping" in my book!
I will probably order from Bountiful Gardens and Seed Savers Exchange this year. I love The Cook's Garden catalog, too; though mine has not yet arrived. What are your favorite places to order seeds from?
Next week I'll try to post a few picks for 2009 from my wish list. Please share your own favorite seed catalogs, and any "must have" items from your own wish list this year!
With Wishes for a Bountiful New Gardening Year,
Catherine |
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Friday, January 2, 2009 - Cutting Some Cords in 2009Posted by HandsNHearts |
I'm ready.
I am 150% ready and on the ball with going off the grid. Now. Today.
No, Dewey isn't quite 'there' just yet...but he isn't living here and I can make some changes a bit more easily that way, right??? Nothing overly intense at all, just some lifestyle changes...some rather big lifestyle changes.
Honestly, I guess I'm not at all 'ready' in a truly 'prepared' sense.
I have an electric stove. Can't cook without electricity unless I use the grill, and truthfully, grilling has never been my forte. I can certainly learn, though, when properly and sufficiently motivated..which I most definitely am right now!
Our hot water is electric. I have that huge mega monster grill, though. And I have a fire pit outside. I can manage hot water I'm sure.
My lighting is electric. We are using the lamps much more often now, for lighting needs, but from a practical stand-point, they aren't ideal. The light for reading just isn't very good for old eyes like mine...and probably not much better for younger ones, either. And the lamp oil costs and storage issues...it's simply not practical for permanent usage. Rise and bed with the chickens is probably a much better solution.
My heat, what little we use here really, is electric. Ugh...an electric heat pump, no less :o( I am going to skip the cookstove for now I think and simply get a small woodstove for heat. I don't have a space readily available for both the heat and the cookstove, so in light of what I'm about to tell you here next, a heat stove is a better option. And I can cook on top of it...just won't have an oven for baking.
We received our electric bill Tuesday. Please sit down. Please make it a chair that is sturdy and has good support to the armrests. It's for your own safety, really. Trust me.
For the billing cycle from Nov 18th - Dec 18th, our electric bill was $439.35. A average daily kw usage of, they say, 151.7 More than doubled from the previous cycle, as well as more than doubled from the same cycle a year ago.
Yes...I wrote that correctly. It's FOUR HUNDRED. Can you even imagine what that did to my heart opening the bill? Or what it did to the budget, as I most certainly had not figured in anything remotely close to that amount.
This is winter. In the South. I'm sorry if I offend any true heart Southerners here, but this is hardly what I consider much of a winter. Yes, that billing cycle had some really really cold days in it, and several wind-chills here on the homestead in the teens. And it's been rainy and windy quite a bit the past month and more.
But this isn't what I look at as being classified as 'winter' yet look at that bill. Granted, this is a mobile home. They are not even partially constructed like a brick or stick frame house is. The materials are altogether different, the insulation is different. They are hardly air-tight in construction at all. They are not known for allowing an abundance of natural light in, although with the amount of air flowing in and out, you'd find that rather odd. We simply are not a traditional home style and that certainly adds to the electric bill.
That and the increase that went into effect of 17%. We were expecting 20% or more, so I will concede that 17% is to be considered a blessing.
If I could do it...if I had the fortitude of spirit might be a better phrase...I would flip and lock that main breaker outside today. Cut the cord completely and be off the grid now.
I'm scared to death of summer coming, given this bill. I may be well beyond able to tolerate and thrive in the 'winter' down here, but come summer, you might as well lock me in the looney bin. I can not handle being hot at all. I can not tolerate heat and humidity that sucks the breath from you almost daily. I'm a wimp. Given the current bill, I could guess-timate my summer bills easily being in excess of $600 a month during say July and August especially.
Six hundred dollars a month is well beyond even the remote outskirts of INSANE. I can't budget that in at all. Even if I could, I wouldn't even consider budgeting that in for something like electric! Surely somewhere in my history, generations of pioneering women lived a good and rich life without any of these trappings of today.
I just have to do it. I just have to take that step and keep walking...or in this case, I really ought to be running. We are already 2 weeks into the next billing cycle! My biggest problem is I don't have anything set up for back-up.
Well, I suppose I have the electric cord as a back-up for now. While I have the ability to do otherwise, I need to start getting better acquainted with that grill out on the porch. What all can I really do on a grill folks? I know nothing about them at all, really. But I'd rather foot the bill for propane for the grill than this electric bill.
- I'm canning up the rest of the meat. It won't happen overnight, but I will get it all finished and empty those freezers once and for all. We are doing ground meat today.
- I'm getting back to once a week baking for our needs. It's easy to do -- just requires I think ahead and make some plans. When it's gone, it's gone. We will learn quick enough that it's better to spread out whatever treats we have than to go totally without.
- Laundry is going to take a hit. We will start focusing on that hand-washing. I will do towels, the blankets and thick items, boys pants in the washing machine still as I don't have a suitable way to wring them out well enough to even hang dry. But they will only be done once a week. This having something to wash almost daily is ridiculous. I need to get back to a real schedule here. And it will be...has to be...carved in solid stone, no more written in pencil.
- I'm going to look for a small wood heat stove instead of worrying about connecting the cookstove up right now. I'm not set up space-wise to have both operating, and I think the larger need is for some alternative heat right now. I'd rather put $600 into a heat stove than the electric bill.
Cut-back, cut-backs, cut-backs. We are going off the grid before this month passes by much more. Off the grid at least in terms of that electrical usage. I simply don't have a choice. I have most definitely not agreed to having my husband away from home, away from his family, working just to feed the electric company and their families. His being away from us was supposed to be for our better in the long-term. I just can't sit back and find excuses for not taking the steps I've been working toward any longer.
If you have any thoughts or ideas to share on helping us cut the cord, do let me know! I could use all the tips I can get. |
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - Blessings in 2009!Posted by Cynthia Robin |
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
~Romans 15:13
Hugs,Cynthia Robin
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - The Missing Link....Granny Miller's blogPosted by HandsNHearts |
Well, I tried to fix the goofy non-link I put in the last post, but the form here at HSB didn't feel like opening for me.
Ahhh, the joys.
Here is the link to Granny Miller's Blog. She has amazing information over there, full of pictures and tutorials. Just fun and informative reading.
GRANNY MILLER
and in case it doesn't link this time.... http://grannymillerblog.blogspot.com/ |
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - Are you prepared if your bank fails?Posted by HandsNHearts |
Granny Miller shared this -- there's more to her post, go visit.
I was happy to see our bank was very near the bottom of the list, but honestly, the way things are going (and have been for quite some time...hind-sight is 20/20, isn't it?) I'm still not comfortable with that.
No, we aren't giving up the banks altogether. At least not yet. DH's paycheck is direct-deposited, so I have no choice but to use the banking system. At least for that day. I pull out all money as soon as it's in there and deal in cash. One, it keeps me from messing up and handing the bank some extra fees for not paying close attention to the checkbook. And two, it's just plain good sense these days when the phrase 'bank run' seems to be on so many lips.
Just say it happens. Just play a what-if game. What if...you had all your money in a nice, safe, bank account and you bank was unable to open for access to you? What would you do? What if...you savings, your stocks and bonds through a work pension, etc. were just pieces of printed paper and you really had nothing? How long could you last?
Yeah, I know, people freaked over the whole Y2k things years back and look, nothing happened. But what about the folks who were prepared, at least on some level, if it had happened as reported? It was winter for most of the country. They had heat sources set up. Some people didn't. They had food and other needs set aside, at least for several weeks, some were prepared for a much longer term. Some folks barely had a cupboard of needs, let alone a pantry. Some had money kept in cash and the like for use in bartering, trade and what purchases might be available. Some didn't.
What would you do? I mean, really....no food in the house, little in the way of ready and accessible cash, no alternative sources of heat, water, and so on? I know...I'm an odd duck. My family said so many times (ok, they still do, quite often, actually). But where would everyone have come to if Y2k amounted to something? My house. I had food a plenty, I had water and heating and lighting. I had resources already in place to sustain for a good while, and then replenish for the most part. LOL...I had no short supply of toilet paper, either. Don't laugh...never underestimate the power of a well-stocked toilet paper supply to those in need.
What if it never happens...a bank run or closure? Would you \really be any worse off learning some new skills, knowing how to do something, even if you never have to actually put the skills into practice? What if it isn't a bank run in the future...what if it's something that happens in great numbers every single day in our country....plant closures, jobs leaving in droves, unemployment lines growing by thousands? How do you eat? How do you keep living the life you are used to?
I'm an odd duck. Yes, I'd like to be off the grid here, but that's just me. I prepare and plan and work for that day, and I train my children for that day. If we never have to actually live that lifestyle, that's ok. My family is prepared to keep living with a very little bump in the road should it be thrust upon us just the same. I like knowing that we have the skills to do without the common luxuries, and that we can be just as happy without them.
Are you brave enough to see if your bank is the next in line to fail?
Are you and your family prepared to survive if you should lose all of your money (Federal Reserve notes)?
Can you survive without money?
Do you understand hyperinflation?
Chris Brunner's post over at Lew Rockwell yesterday got me curious and I checked my bank.
The Texas Ratio of my bank is 14.
But then I'm not surprised.
Small locally owned banks aren't in trouble and are not beholding to Wall Street, nor to the criminals at the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank .
The current wave of predictable bank failures is due in large part to central economic bank planning and global fiat currencies.
The large multi national global corporations and entities which seek to nationalize private property and make us all dependent debt slaves have lost control of the current economic situation.
The proof of this is in the overnight interest rate and the artificially controlled prices of oil, gold, and silver.
Never forget, Federal Reserve notes are NOT real money.
Nor are they Constitutional.
Federal Reserve notes do not define wealth nor are they dependable security.
Hard assets have always been true security in difficult economic times.
Stored food, guns, ammo, land, gold, strong community ties, silver, livestock, energy independence and the skills of self reliance are the foundations of security and real freedom.
Our ancestors knew this. |
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - Hope in uncertain economic times...Posted by HandsNHearts |
An online friend shared this and I felt I wanted to pass its wisdom along as well. My children are fairly easy-going with simple and basic things...we don't have yearnings here for iPods and Wii and such things. For the most part, my children have grown up finding fun in basic things...we have an assortment of plain wooden blocks here and matchbox cars and tractors, my 8 year old is tickled pink with a new notebook and some colored pencils. LOL...they were telling everyone at church about the peppermint sticks they just got.
Alot of what most people label as a need isn't that at all. It's a pure, selfish want. There is a big difference in wants and needs. We could all get along with much fewer things in our lives, even those so-called time- and labor-saving devices we stock our homes with. I have a friend who was so happy to receive the gift she claimed she just had to have to make her transition to a more simmple lifestyle...a breadmaker. LOL...I'm not laughing at her (and she knows it). I had one once. It kept me in bread for many years. Then I realized I could just as quickly produce more with the same amount of effort as I was getting one from that machine. I suppose it's a growing step.
Look seriously at what you claim you can't do without. Look seriously at the things surrounding you that are supposedly there to make your life 'easier' or more 'simple'. More than likely, if you are truly honest with yourself, your needs weren't really needed, or even appreciated, at all. They were just wants.
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phillipians 4: 12-13
Each day, I see emails or other writings from people who are struggling financially. Yes, times are hard for most families now. In the emails and blogs, I often read how the struggles are affecting the families. They are very worried about everything from their employment, losing their home or car, and just making the utility payments. Many of the emails come from those who read my blog. They read about our lifestyle and tell me that they wish they had thought about living that way before all the struggles happened. For some reason, they feel we are untouched by the economic issues. We may not be as affected as those with huge debt, but we are affected in some ways.
I often think on the stories I have read in the Bible about the times when the Lord stepped in and brought about change in His people. If I may, I have to go on memory here as I have been unable to read the Bible in nearly a year due to my vision. I wanted to say that there were times when the Lord's people were doing very well. They were living a life of plenty and had riches. It seems that each time they reached that position in their lives, it wouldn't be long after that they would start to forget the Lord and that the riches they had came as blessings from Him. They built up idols that had more importance to them than the Lord. They were puffed up with what "they" had acheived of their own efforts and work. When they would reach this point, the Lord always stepped in. The people had to be humbled and reminded of the Lord and from Whom their blessings came from.
Over my adult years, I have watched how society in general has become. I am speaking in general terms, please take no offense for what I am saying , I say with love. I have watched as many families are consumed with the ideas of having the best of everything. They want a large home, new vehicles, and the newest version of anything that catches their eye. They have convinced themselves that they "need" these things and are willing to get into a deep debt to obtain them. Credit cards have been a downfall to many families. The convenience of being able to get what they want on a whim has gotten out of control. People, in general, have forgotten what it is like to save up for the expensive things. They want it now and buy it on credit with little thought to what their payments will be like.
Many parents are feeding this example to their children in heaping spoonsful. The child asks for the newest video game system or other equally expensive entertainment and the parents give it to them. As soon as a newer version of that gift is on the market, the kids are asking for it because they "need" it. Often the system that they already have is still sufficient, but the child sees only that there is a newer version that is better. That gift that was given is no longer viewed as being acceptable. The same goes for clothing. I remember one family who's daughter was obsessed with having jeans of a particular label. The family was not wealthy. They had to save up to give each child a school clothing budget of $150 for buying their clothing for the new school year. This daughter used over half of her budget on a single pair of jeans! The mother then spent a large portion of the son's budget on the daughter so that she would have enough new clothing to start off the school year. The son was left with enough money for a single outfit that certainly did not come from the mall, as his sister's clothing did. The daughter's whim and desires came before the true needs of her brother. She was raised without the knowledge of the difference between a need and a want. Nor was she taught to show love to her brother by being sensible with her own budget so that he would have what he needed also.
Over the last month, I have watched on the Freecycle group the wanted ads. People were doing their Christmas shopping through Freecycle. Normally it wouldn't bother me at all. This time it did. I saw ads from people asking for laptop computers, game boys systems, a Wii system, iPods, and other such items that are very expensive. They seem to have forgotten that Freecycle was originally set up as a way to keep unwanted items out of the landfills. One ad said that they "needed" a DVD player for their 18 month old. The ad that really got to me though was a woman who had been through a house fire. Insurance had paid for the home but not the contents. She was asking for furniture. She went on in her wanted ad to say that she would like 3 TVs, and gave a list of solid wood furniture she also wanted. The last thing she stated was that she wanted pictures of the furniture you offered her, which would give her a chance to pick and choose what she wanted. I am sorry for her. She is in need of prayer. She has lost everything in a fire, yet she still is not humble enough to want only the necessities. She is instead wanting donations of furniture and furnishings of the quality that she had prior to the fire. She is a prime example of what I am writing about. Because she had the items once, she feel entitled to have them again even though she cannot afford them herself.
This brings me back to my original point. Whenever the Lord's people became too prideful in their wealth, He allowed them to be put into a position of becoming humbled again. Today, we are seeing families (and governments) that have allowed over spending of their financial resources to get out of control. Families and governments are living beyond their means in an effort to have it all.
I don't see the financial struggles and hard times as a punishment from the Lord however. I see it as an opportunity for us to be humbled and reminded of where our priorities should be. It is up to each of us to decide if we are going to use this as a time of reflection on how the Lord may be using this in our own lives or are we simply going to panic and blame the Lord for our struggles. The Lord is loving and does nothing to cause us harm. While His ways are not always easy for us, sometimes what may seem the hardest is the thing that is the most loving. It is like when your child strays a bit too far in one direction and you have to rein him in help guide him into the direction he needs to be going. I see this situation as one of those times. The quest for possessions and living beyond our means has gotten out of hand and in order to save us from our own folly, the Lord has allowed this time of learning and growth.
It is my prayer that each of us will truly open our hearts and minds to what the Lord wants in our lives. That each of us will get honest with ourselves and our Lord in how we have handled our stewardship over the blessings He has given to each of us. And if the Lord has to grow us in an uncomfortable way, I pray that we all are willing to be humble enough to allow Him to teach us. |
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