Hacked or Hoodwinked

A recent event has left me stirred, perplexed and extremely concerned, and so should we all be.

Many will be familiar with the social media post that went viral a few weeks ago that started with one person sending another a message that they had likely been hacked and that someone may have cloned their profile. The post offered instructions as to how to remedy the fact that their data and imagery may have been compromised, which included letting all your friends know.

Within hours, I received multiple dozen messages from friends instructing me to change my password, avoid accepting any new friend requests, beware, be alert, and pass it on. When I received the first one, I was standing next to a friend. I asked her to search my profile on social media. She did. There was only one me. I began deleting all of the warnings and alerts I had received and ignored the advice. Problem solved.

However, after seeing the viral response that occurred and how many people were anxious, concerned and panicked over a prank, I began to see a real and valid threat.

Matthew 24:4-14 TPT says,  Jesus answered, “At that time deception will run rampant. So beware that you are not fooled! For many will appear on the scene claiming my authority or saying about themselves, ‘I am God’s Anointed,’ and they will lead many astray. You will hear of wars nearby and revolutions on every side, with more rumors of wars to come. Don’t panic or give in to your fears, for the breaking apart of the world’s systems is destined to happen. But it won’t yet be the end; it will still be unfolding. Nations will go to war against each other and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be terrible earthquakes—seismic events of epic proportion, horrible epidemics and famines in place after place. This is how the first contractions and birth pains of the new age will begin! You can expect to be persecuted, even killed; for you will be hated by all the nations because of your love for me. Then many will stop following me and fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many lying prophets will arise, deceiving multitudes and leading them away from the path of truth. There will be such an increase of sin and lawlessness that those whose hearts once burned with passion for God and others will grow cold. But keep your hope to the end and you will experience life and deliverance. Yet through it all, this joyful assurance of the realm of heaven’s kingdom will be proclaimed all over the world, providing every nation with a demonstration of the reality of God. And after this the end of this age will arrive.”

As we look about, we can see that these words have life in them. There is a harsh reality  revealed here in something that was written many years ago. I see people feeding like piranhas on the words of others and passing those words along as quickly as they are read or heard. And I am bothered by it. Lies have a way of weaving a thread from person to person in no time at all, and the primary reason this is so easily done, is selfishness. People are so focused on their own needs, traumas, threats, struggles and trials that they have no buffer to keep them from instantly bowing to ‘panic and giving in to their fears”.

As my cousin, Lenn said, “Satan shows us the bait, but not the trap.” Profound!

John 8:32 says, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free,” and Acts 17:11 says, “This was evident in the great eagerness with which they accepted the word and examined the scriptures each day to see whether Paul’s teaching was true.” The best way to avoid deception is to know the truth. It is essential today that we verify anything taught or shared with us to discern or understand whether or not it is truth, because there are many deceivers. Do your research; communicate with those you trust to lead you to the truth; don’t take everything others share with you as sound, unless confirmed, and thereby live in joyful assurance. Peace be with you.

 

 

Oh, look at the time!

  And, another year has come and gone. How did that happen? And where did it go? I can only pray that the things that I have accomplished in this past year have been for good – sharing positive things with others, enlightening, encouraging, and to build up rather than tear down.

Having gone through a major spiritual transition, personal losses, and career change in the past five years has given much opportunity for reflection, assessment, and re-direction. Although the journey was extremely difficult, I see much being restored. I see how I have changed, notice the good that has come into my life and I am thankful. God has brought me on a journey of discovery and I have relished the things that He has shown me. I can only pray that others experience the same personal relationship with Him that I have in these past five years. He has shown me without question His loving compassion, tender mercy, and His constant presence as I purposed to follow Him.

I have learned to look at life through a different lens. Leaving behind our need and greed – always wanting more, driven mentality, we have newly uncovered peace and contentment, joy and fulfillment. We are happy, spiritually alive, and loving this season. We are blessed with the rich fullness of living life. We live simply yet our lives are so intensified.

All of this leads me to the thoughts and reflection of today. How can those who don’t know there is joy and love and compassion and exuberant kindness and mercy available to them find their way? How can they know that this confidence is the thing that’s missing from their lives? How far will they go to seek what is right there with them?

I believe that the Lord that has brought me through this journey, loved and rebuilt me, and that my responsibility from this point is to continue sharing positive thoughts, encouraging those I encounter, thinking good things, believing the best. It is my portion to mentor and to pray for others, that He will lead them to that very same path that he has shown to me; that they may find their journey to Him, and they may personally know the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I have seen so many hopes and dreams restored to me, yet different than they were. Each piece of my identity lost and regained has new sense of purity to it, a sense of it having been sent through the press and given back to me in a whole new light. With modifications, you might say. And again, I am thankful. The me I see today is so much fuller and richer than the me of yesterday.

I hope to continue writing on a more regular basis then I have. The journals that had been set aside in the heat of the push to maintain peace are now yearning to give insight to thoughts that ran deep. My love and compassion for humanity has swelled like the tide, and with it, a desire to reawaken expression.

Thanks for sharing this time with me.

Mansions

I have a friend who has written a remarkable blog (and is actually approaching his 4th year wih it), that has brought me much inspiration and spiritual confirmation. His blog is Teresa of Avila turns 500.  https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/9429716  Teresa of Avila is respected as one among the greatest writers of spiritual literature in the sixteenth century. His writing about her writing has inspired me to delve further into some of the spiritual understanding she gained on her journey with Christ.

One particular comment she made that I came across in my own research was this: “It came to me that the soul is like a castle made exclusively of diamond or some other very clear crystal. In this castle are a multitude of dwellings just as in heaven there are many mansions. If we muse on this deeply, friends, we will see that the soul of a righteous person is none other than a garden in which the Beloved takes great delight. What do you think that a place might be like that such a king- so powerful and wise, so pure and filled with all good things- would find so delightful? I myself can come up with nothing as magnificent as the beauty and amplitude of the soul.”

When she spoke about many mansions in heaven, she referred to John 14:2, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Over the years, bible teachers have indicated that Jesus, upon returning to heaven would prepare for us mansions of gold and jewel, magnificent dwellings that would rival no other. I’ve heard many people say with a glow of lust in their eyes that they cannot wait until they get to heaven and see what their mansion looks like and what it will have in it. How absolutely absurd I have always felt this to be, and so very selfish. Of course, our Father has bestowed every good gift upon us, but not so that we may greedily consume it, but rather that we may reflect on the glory of the giver of the gift.

However, as I read this text, I am seeing that the garden of God is not a plot of real estate as so many would surmise, but rather the garden where God walks with us and “dwells” with us, is our very soul. His going to prepare a place for us simply meant that He was preparing for His crucifixion and resurrection, which would redeem our souls and provide for us eternal life with the Beloved.

This understanding then takes me back to the many mansions. What does that mean exactly and how does it apply?

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines mansions as such:

MAN’SION, noun [Latin mansio, from maneo, to dwell.]

1. Any place of residence; a house; a habitation. “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” John 14:2.  2. The house of the Lord of a manor.  3. Residence; above.

AND MAN’SION, verb intransitive To dwell; to reside.

I see my soul as being the house of the Lord or the place where we dwell and reside together. And in His house are many dwelling places (souls).

Teresa also said, “We have heard that we have souls, and our faith compels us to believe that is true. But we rarely consider the soul’s excellent qualities or who it is that dwells within or how precious that really is.” She goes on to explain that people become so involved in worldly matters that they are incapable of entering within themselves, so used to dealing with the worldly evils that they can find no remedy for them, even though they are naturally endowed with the ability to commune with the Beloved Himself at any time.

She fully believed, and I agree, that the doorway to that garden, where our Beloved dwells is prayer and meditation (reflection, contemplation). We have access to that place of refuge and peace, love and acceptance, wisdom and counsel in any moment of every day. We have a living God, who is waiting to walk with us in the garden and answer our every thought or need. And all we need to do is open the door….

 

Sources: http://webstersdictionary1828.com/ ; The Interior Castle Translation and Introduction by Mirabai Starr

 

 

 

 

Behave

I’m not much of one to rant, though I’d like to share an experience I had today. I had a conversation with someone that left me feeling sad and ashamed of what I see that we as a society have become. Whatever happened to courtesy, respect and just being kind?

This person was pretty beaten down by all of the rude and obnoxious behavior that has taken place this election year, and expressing how tiring and frustrating it is to deal with people who want to cast blame, force opinions and vent.  Though I understand everyone has different motives, I do agree.

There is such a big difference between standing firm in your convictions and trying to harass and intimidate others into believing the same things that you do. What many complain has happened in Christianity through judgmental, holier than others, and superior to all behavior has now crept into the rest of the world. Some would say the world brought it to the church, but I don’t think so. I think it came with mutual consent. We think that because we have been given a podium and a microphone through technology like email, social media, and video recording that it means that everyone out there not only wants to but NEEDS to hear our every thought and opinion. And then if they have the nerve to disagree, by golly we are going to set them straight, because all men are created equal, not individual. How crass, and how arrogant. Simply rude.

I’m an old-fashioned girl, I guess, because I still believe strongly in thinking the best of others and as my husband would say, loving them for who they are even if I don’t like who they are. In other words, it’s my duty in life to love all of mankind, though I am not required to agree with every thought, every bent and every mindset. I am free to choose what I believe, so why should I try to force others and take that freedom from them? I can hope to express my thoughts in such a way that perhaps others might see wisdom or rationality in my values, and then perhaps I can learn from the wisdom and rationality in some of theirs. We may even meet in the middle regarding some topics. But if we don’t, I am going to choose to be kind anyway. It makes life so much simpler than having to be angry at and hate everyone, raising ire and blood pressure and stress in my life, creating chaos and war with family and friends alike.

I miss the days when people used discretion, held their tongue, waiting for the right time and the right place to discuss issues with others, and for the sake of decency and civility, chose words like, “I disagree because”, “I understand, but what if” and “do you think”. I miss laughing at our shortcomings, telling stories and jokes, and having fun in the simplest of ways. I miss songs like, “We Are the World” and “I’m Proud to be an American”. I miss sitting on the front steps with your neighbors and watching the neighborhood kids at play. I miss honor and integrity. I miss love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. I miss nice.

Be nice. Behave. Please.

 

 

Experience

What is your experience in relationship with God?
For some, the definition of Chistianity is based on their personal viewpoint of what Christianity should look like. But viewpoints can and do frequently change, which allows veering from foundational truth. Rationalizing that truth can result in deception, even to the point of deceiving self and attempting to introduce new doctrine.
Experience, defined is: practical contact with, observation of, involvement in, participation in, contact with, acquaintance with, exposure to, awareness of, insight into; and to experience is to encounter, to meet, come into contact with, come across, come up against, come face to face with.
Christianity, then, is not a viewpoint. It is a continuous experience. It is a seeking, finding, learning and knowing of the character and person of Jesus. It is the breath of life from God – inhale, exhale, inhale. It’s discovering what “abide in Me, and I in you” really means.

Compassion

Compassion is defined as the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help. Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to help physical, spiritual, or emotional hurts or pains of another. The English noun compassion, meaning to love together with, comes from the Latin preposition cum(= with); the passion segment is related in origin, form and meaning to the English noun patient (= one who suffers). The truest form of compassion, then, is to love together with one who suffers. It is ranked as among the greatest of virtues in numerous philosophies and in almost all of the major religious traditions.
The scriptures say that Jesus was filled with compassion. The greatest gift He gave to mankind was to take our sin and sickness upon Himself, which restored our right standing with God and assured that we would not have to suffer the consequences of sin. He loved together with all who were suffering as the result of separation from God. He was filled with a desire to help those in need.
At the beginning of each year our pastor encourages us to seek God for one word that will define our direction and our focus for that year; an area that will require us to be intentional and ever mindful of God’s presence and His plan for us. My word last year was gratitude as you learned in an earlier blog I posted. This year my word is compassion. When I shared that with a dear friend, she said, “That’s interesting Ann, because you’re one of the most compassionate people I know.”
True to His nature however, the Lord has shown me (and actually He started two years ago though I was unaware), there is a great deal of difference between feeling compassion for others and loving together with them in their suffering.
Our calling is not to sit in a private box at the big race and watch others as they run, feeling empathy for them when they stumble and shouting a “woohoo” when they round a curve, judging their form and performance; but rather it is to run beside them, feeling the burn as they fight for momentum, urging them onward toward the goal, hurting when they hurt and sharing in the exhilaration when they rejoice. Irrational generosity, unconditional love, and intentional purpose is what we bring to prepare them and to provide for them as they struggle to overcome in both the straightaway and in the press. It is not seeing who they are, but seeing who God is and who they are in Him.
So though in days past I “felt” compassion for others, I believe now that I am becoming compassionate and reaching toward being filled with compassion.

Gifts

A word of wisdom from my dear cousin!

Gloryteller

At Christmastime, when I was a boy, my dad understood the relative poverty of his children, so he would give us each a small amount of money to be spent on gifts for the other family members.  What was a small amount to him was a small fortune to us, so we each happily shopped with Mom and picked out trinkets and treasures for our siblings and parents.  Wrapping the gifts was fun, but the best part was the excited anticipation we had for Christmas morning when the family would partake in what we children had built in our minds to be the Olympics of giving and receiving.  It was as good as it gets, and after all the unwrapping, and showing, and laughing, and modelling, and cheering, and thanking, we all felt richer and more blessed than we were before.  But it was Dad and Mom, I think, who…

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Insight from 1965

Very sobering. How little did he know how his words would ring true.

Paul Harvey 1965

Chemically Independent

To all my friends and fellow bloggers. I would urge you to prayerfully consider the products you purchase and pay closer attention to their content. I was recently diagnosed with chemical allergies and since then have done much research on the chemicals we apply to our bodies and their effects. I have found a 100% natural product that I couldn’t be happier with, so much so that I now sell them. If you share the same interests, or have been searching like I did please take a look and take a moment to read my story.

Treasure

I’ve discovered a truth that has been inside of me since the dawn of time without my being aware that it was there. The reality that it has always been there does not escape me now, but the awakening just recently to this heartfelt revelation has been a journey slowly made through many blind curves without really knowing the destination. I kept seeing an obscure form of it ahead of me, but my mind could not bring the clarity needed to fully comprehend what should have been so easily understood. And suddenly, a click and everything changed. My eyes opened wider to the truth and the dawning of this revelation has filled me to overflowing. Thus here it is, so clearly laid out before me and I am giddy about it, joyful, yet bewildered at how it could have possibly taken me so long to understand. And, you may ask, what is this truth? It is the crest of the hill that opens your eyes to a panorama before you that causes you to take in your breath, be still, exhale slowly and smile. It may surprise some that what to them has always been so clear has just occurred to me, and others will still say, “I don’t get it.” Nevertheless, I stand with arms wide open as the curtain is drawn, and if you will look carefully you will see as I see that – life is all about relationships. Tada!! Whoopee, you say, I’ve known all along and what’s the matter with you that you just figured that out? My response must be – I haven’t a clue. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I suddenly understand that I just don’t want to be too busy anymore. I don’t want life to be all about how much I can get done in a day or how many places I can be at once. I have revisited recently the value of time with others and building relationships with friends, family and those I love. It has become my passion and my fuel. A chat online, an evening on the porch, a call or a visit, a family day and a suddenly are all things that now cause me to be stirred and to thrive. My Nana days have become the high point of my week. Where I used to live to work, I find myself working to live. In other words, my focus has changed. Isaiah 49:17-19 in the Good News Translation (GNT) says, “Those who will rebuild you are coming soon, and those who destroyed you will leave. Look around and see what is happening! Your people are assembling—they are coming home! As surely as I am the living God, you will be proud of your people, as proud as a bride is of her jewels.”
I noticed a few leaves falling off the trees the other day and although melancholy that summer may soon fade, I’m excited to see what this next season brings.