Do you have negative energy today?

Created by Natalie Pascoe

You know that like attracts like, right? Positive people are drawn to positive energy; negative people are drawn to negative energy. We tend to perceive negative energy as something other people have. Sure, sometimes we feel negative – as in, “go away and leave me alone, world!” but did you know that negativity can be so ingrained in you that it goes unnoticed? 

That’s because negativity sometimes wears a disguise called ‘reality’. It’s easy to rationalize that you’re ‘just being realistic’ in not daring to act on a dream – and believe it! You may assume that positive people are not being realistic – that they’re being naive, that they are in denial with their heads stuck in the sand, that they put on fake smiles in the face of difficulty and so forth. But are they really happy fools or is there something to their positive attitude?

Consider this: since when does ‘being realistic’ necessarily mean that things will go wrong and that you have to accept that as the truth? That doesn't mean that being realistic is automatically negative. When you view the world from a ‘realistic’ standpoint, you can’t help but be negative.

"IF" your version of reality is negative, you are conditioned to believe that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong and whatever can go right, will probably go wrong too. Your unconsciously held beliefs make you into a negative person without your being aware of it!
So – if this negativity is so ingrained in you that you don’t notice it, how do you determine whether you’re stuck in a cloud of negative energy that is attracting the wrong people, wrong situations and wrong feelings? And how can you be sure you’re not perpetuating that negativity?

Goodness and Mercy

This is a repeat of a post from 2013.  I thought it needed repeating! 

I was praying for a good friend of mine this morning.  She has lived with agonizing pain for nearly 10 years.  A nerve is being fused within a bad vertebrae in her neck.  On a scale of 1 to 10 her pain is an unbearable 10.  But the medications bring it down to 9.

She's been waiting months for nerve block surgery.  They gave her a trial surgery to make sure the electrical box they insert into her body will work.  It gave her a full week of NO PAIN whatsoever, the first time in 10 years.  She's in the military and unfortunately, she's in an area of the country where there are many delays before the doctors will do something.  If she were in the private industry this would have been taken care of years ago... but I digress. 

As I was praying the Lord brought this verse to mind...

Sometimes the 'goodness and mercy' God sends come in the form of 2 sheep dogs, nipping at our heals to get us going in the right direction.

So I prayed, asking God to send 'goodness and mercy' nipping at the heals of those making the decisions for her surgery.  And Lord, if you could sharpen their teeth before they get there?  To make 'em move a little faster?  Father, please send her the relief she needs?  You promised that if we ask anything that is within your will you would grant our request.  I ask you to let Thea get a phone call today, with the scheduled procedure she needs.  Father, you are closer to those broken in spirit and I ask you to be closer still to her today.  Thank you Father for answering my prayer and it is for your honor and glory I ask.  AMEN!

And what did she hear this afternoon?

.... Her surgery is scheduled for August 23rd.  HOW AWESOME IS OUR GOD???

Who do you need to sic the dogs on today?

A good reminder

 

No doubt about it

I studied at Faith Baptist Bible College in the 80's. During my first year, a brilliant man named David Powell was one of my instructors. His class on Old Testament Theory was, by far, my favorite class. He taught in a way that made you think outside the box, to dig deep for the answer. I loved his class. After each test, I found myself striving to get a better grade than the one before.

In 1985, I was 25 years old. 7 years earlier I almost flunked out of high school. I received a 1.42 out of a possible 4.0 grade average. While enrolled at FBBC, I worked 50 hours a week, drove an hour each day to classes, and studied when I could. I worked full-time as the owner of a small business with 5 employees. I also worked part-time as the manager of a 64 unit residential facility. I could only attend FBBC part-time, it was all I could afford at the time.

In David Powell's freshman class, as we studied each book in the Old Testament, one of his assignments was to create a graph of the book. We were to break the book down into events and chart each one as it progressed to the next event. In the evenings, I dove into each graph with gusto. I learned things about the Old Testament I'd never thought of before. I started out the class getting a B, or 80%, but by the end of the semester I received 100%+ on my graphs and tests.

In the middle of the semester, mummering started on campus. At first, I tried to ignore the whispers that reached my ears, as I studied in the campus lounge above the cafeteria. But the whispers became bolder as time went on. Freshman who were in the class with me began to grumble about how hard the class was, Powell was a bad teacher, he did this and he did that...mur-mur-mur-mur. And I began to wonder why am I doing so well if he is such a bad teacher?

Once, I nearly stood up in class to ask them what was going on. Mr. Powell was late to class that morning and the little rebel inside me wanted to ask why someone who nearly flunked out of high school 7 years earlier and worked 50 hours a week was getting A's and they weren't? I chose to remain silent. Instead, I chose to make my sentiments known in Dr. Houghton's presence. 3 decades later I still regret my decision.

As each decade has passed, I've often thought of my time at FBBC. I love my school and pray for the students and teachers to this day. Dr. Walton and Dr. Shipp changed my life through their kind and loving example. They loved us, truly loved each student. It was an honor and privilege to attend FBBC and I look back at my time there with fondness. Today, I look forward to reading the alumni newsletter and always look for people I knew in the pages.

But I'll never forget how gossip took away a brilliant teacher. A few students wanted mediocrity. They wanted an easy road and they received it. He was let go at the end of the semester. He was replaced by someone, I don't remember who they hired. Through the power of gossip, a truly great teacher was sent away.

Gossip destroys. It should be hated by more than just One Person.

Good thought for the day

 

Ron Archer awesome testimony

 I was floored by this man's testimony, I know you'll enjoy it as well.

Gideon Testimony - Ron Archer from CCF Siloam on Vimeo.

American Quilt

I watched "How to make an American Quilt" last night for the umpteenth time.  This movie has subtle life messages in it, and some not so subtle.  Each time I watch it something new stands out.  For instance, last night there was a scene where Constance says the hardest thing about being friends with women is that they're women.  She lost her husband to cancer a year before, and although she joined the other women in their quilting task, it seemed she was singled out as the one they picked on. I thought she handled their treatment of her graciously and with forbearance.

As the movie progresses, we're shown the various struggles each woman has had in her life.  The only woman whose life was picture perfect was the woman they picked on.  Constance had a wonderful relationship with her husband, she missed him terribly.  A husband of one of the other women targeted her vulnerability, and was rebuffed.  Her character, out of all the women, was notably the most sterling.

If someone picks on me, (it happens to all us) I try to keep this in mind, you don't know what they've gone through in life.  The mere fact that they're picking at you, is proof they have some struggle going on.  Sometimes I fail, and lash back, but most times I absorb it... and let it roll off my back at a later time.

Anyway, these are just thoughts running through my head this morning.  How is your morning going?

Smile for the day

"For fun, he hit's people..."



Jack Mook is a tough detective working at the Pittsburgh Police Department. He met brothers Josh and Jesse through his volunteer work at the Steel City Boxing Gym and one day they turned up missing. When he found the older brother, the startling truth he discovered set up a chain of events that changed these boys’ lives forever. This man is a true hero.

Were you the victim of bad, bigoted parents?

(Please note, I did not write this.  You will find this on Carl Trueman's blog.)

Carl Trueman

 In light of this story, about a girl who became a boy at the age of five, I resisted the temptation to rearrange the word 'lunatics,' 'asylum,' and 'have taken over' to make a well known phrase or saying, and instead spent a moment or two reflecting on my own childhood.

I well remember one afternoon at age three deciding that I was not a human being but actually a monkey -- to be precise, a common marmoset. Consistent with my identity, I ran round the house making monkey noises and climbing on the furniture.  I subsequently refused to eat chicken nuggets, preferring fruit and raw nuts.

Tragically, my parents were a pair of reactionary bigots.  Rather than facilitate my self-realisation by handing me over to the zoo or taking me to a rain forest in order to release me into the wild, I seem to remember my mother physically and verbally abused me (by clipping me round the ear and telling me not to clamber all over her nice furniture).   I know, I know: It sends shivers down the spine to imagine the psychological damage wreaked upon me by the imposition of what Insider Movement advocates would no doubt call the Greco-Latin-European concept of 'human nature' on a common marmoset trapped inside a three year old human body.  But those were dark, ill-informed times.





It is good that we now live in a more enlightened age, is it not?

Pay it forward

Have no doubt

I studied at Faith Baptist Bible College in the 80's. During my first year, a brilliant man named David Powell was one of my instructors. His class on Old Testament Theory was, by far, my favorite class. He taught in a way that made you think outside the box, to dig deep for the answer. I loved his class. After each test, I found myself striving to get a better grade than the one before.

In 1985, I was 25 years old. 7 years earlier, I almost flunked out of high school. I received a 1.42 out of a possible 4.0 grade average. While enrolled at FBBC, I worked 50 hours a week, drove an hour each day to classes, and studied when I could. I worked full-time as the owner of a small business with 5 employees. I also worked part-time as the manager of a 64 unit residential facility. I could only attend FBBC part-time, it was all I could afford at the time.

In David Powell's freshman class, as we studied each book in the Old Testament, one of his assignments was to create a graph of the book. We were to break the book down into events and chart each one as it progressed to the next event. In the evenings, I dove into each graph with gusto. I learned things about the Old Testament I'd never thought of before. I started out the class getting a B, or 80%, but by the end of the semester I received 100%+ on my graphs and tests.

In the middle of the semester, mummering started on campus. At first, I tried to ignore the whispers that reached my ears, as I studied in the campus lounge above the cafeteria. But the whispers became bolder as time went on. Freshman who were in the class with me began to grumble about how hard the class was, Powell was a bad teacher, he did this and he did that...mur-mur-mur-mur. And I began to wonder why am I doing so well if he is such a bad teacher?

Once, I nearly stood up in class to ask them what was going on. Mr. Powell was late to class that morning and the little rebel inside me wanted to ask why someone who nearly flunked out of high school 7 years earlier and worked 50 hours a week was getting A's and they weren't? I chose to remain silent. Instead, I chose to make my sentiments known in Dr. Houghton's presence. 3 decades later I still regret my decision.

As each decade has passed, I've often thought of my time at FBBC. I love my school and pray for the students and teachers to this day. Dr. Walton and Dr. Shipp changed my life through their kind and loving example. They loved us, truly loved each student. It was an honor and privilege to attend FBBC and I look back at my time there with fondness. Today, I look forward to reading the alumni newsletter and always look for people I knew in the pages.

But I'll never forget how gossip took away a brilliant teacher. A few students wanted mediocrity. They wanted an easy road and they received it. He was let go at the end of the semester. He was replaced by someone, I don't remember who they hired. Through the power of gossip, a truly great teacher was sent away.

Gossip destroys. It should be hated by more than just One Person.

Time to rest

Isn't this a great bible verse?

One Nation Under God

Built into our constitution, our founding fathers built a foundation of freedom. From the beginning, Christianity was not the law of the land.  Christianity was the principle behind the law of the land. One undeniable fact: At its core, the United States of America is a Christian nation.  A noble and significant quality embedded in the Christian faith is freedom for the religions to compete in the public arena of ideas. Americans have the freedom to change their nation from a Christian nation to any other type of their choosing. The majority will decide. While giving us this freedom, there were warnings given by our founding fathers.

On April 29th, 1607, the birth of a nation began.  Sea-weary Englishmen landed at Cape Henry on the shores of Virginia and lay the foundation for what would become the most powerful country the world has ever seen. What was to be the United States unfolded that day, America's destiny and purpose were sealed at Cape Henry.  All that would follow hinged on the single proclamation that this land belonged to Jesus Christ. In the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the Pilgrims reaffirmed the mission set forth by the original Virginia settlers.

The Puritans carried the Cape Henry legacy further. On the deck of the Arbella, halfway between England and Cape Cod, leader John Winthrop declared, "We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world."1

This is the heart of America, 'the city upon a hill,' and the core of what America's been all about since day one. The basis for American life, at that time, was to be committed Christians who were to so let their light shine to one another and then to the whole world, that the world could see that as an example.

More than 100 years later, America set off on her own course towards independence, the Godly foundations laid in Virginia established the character of our Revolution.  "Before God, I believe the hour has come," said John Adams of the Revolution. "My judgment approves this measure and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, all that I am and all that I hope in this life I am now ready to stake upon it. And I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment. Independence now and independence forever."2

John Adams wrote:

“Statesman, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but 

it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles 

upon which Freedom can securely stand. 

The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired 

into our People in a greater measure than they have it now, 

they may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, 

but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”

George Washington's reverent, Christian heart, Benjamin Franklin's call to prayer and John Adams' reverence for the will of God symbolize the undying commitment of our Founding Fathers to the creation of a nation which would glorify God. The American character was born in Scripture and nurtured by the Holy Spirit, yet today, our national heritage is under siege.

Four hundred years have passed since America was first conceived at Cape Henry, and respect for our roots is growing cold. Yes, one undeniable fact will remain: At its core, the United States of America is a Christian nation... with the gift of freedom. Americans have the freedom to change their nation from a Christian nation. Christianity is not the law of the land.  Christianity was the principle behind the law of the land.

James Madison warned of a risk in 1795:

"The moment that religion, the pure and undefiled religion, loses its influence 

over our hearts, from that fatal moment, farewell to public and private happiness. 

Farewell--a long farewell--to virtue, to patriotism, to liberty."

John Adams wrote in June 1776: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.  Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people."

Yes, our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.  And the people have the freedom to change.  Place that constitution into the hands of an immoral and unreligious people and you see the America of today.  The moral and religious people of yesterday laid down their right, choosing comfort rather than politics.  They turned a blind eye to difficult topics, and chose topics that were pleasing to their ears.  And like a frog in a pan of water on a stove, morality and religion was shed slowly, without realizing it was happening.  It happens.  Layer by layer until bare bones and stark reality hit.

What will you do?  The bright light that shown to all the world is dimming.  Will you continue laying down, rolling over to change the view... choosing the more comfortable scenery of your pew?  Your soccer field? Your quilt guild meeting? (Please fill in the blank here)  Did the founding fathers die for nothing?

You have the freedom to change this country... or not.   Ezekiel 33:8

My thanks to David Norris for contributing to this article.

Do you have 5 minutes?

85 lb. Civil War soldier

150 years ago, my great, great grandfather nearly gave his life for my country. He left for the war weighing 180 lbs.  4 years later, after the March to the Sea, this is what he looked like... 

That's him, up there at the top of the page.  Take a moment and think about those you know...who gave everything they had. (pause)
I'll share one, Army Sgt. Kevin A. Gilbertson was 24, Killed in combat on Aug. 29, 2007 in Ramadi, Iraq. Left an infant son and wife behind.

With the one you loved in mind, consider the following, take 5 minutes?



It was all about our government supplying guns to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian rebels. Our US ambassador knew this was taking place and our government knew he knew. 

In order to keep Americans from finding out the truth, when it hit the fan, someone needed to make sure there were no leaks.

The only way to not let those leaks out, were not to help out that Ambassador in his time of need when he needed us the most. Oh, the warnings were sent out. There was a base 20 minutes by air to assist with any attack, if warranted. He warned of a coming attack about 48 hours prior to the attack! 

After he was tortured, why was the place torched? To destroy any evidence left behind?

Hillary 'bumped her head' ... then she didn't testify to what she knew about... all an act.

Remember Obama, during talks in Seoul, urged Moscow to give him "space" until after the November ballot, and Medvedev said he would relay the message to incoming Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The unusually frank exchange came as Obama and Medvedev huddled together on the eve of a global nuclear security summit in the South Korean capital, unaware their words were being picked up by microphones as reporters were led into the room.

"This is my last election ... After my election I have more flexibility," Obama said, expressing confidence that he would win a second term.

"I will transmit this information to Vladimir," said Medvedev, Putin's protégé and long considered number two in Moscow's power structure.

I have to ask myself..... do I care?  Do I go back to my sewing machine and live life as if it doesn't matter? What will you do?  Maybe I should ask, what would those who died for you do?

I'm a mother. 20 years later.

My mind couldn't wrap itself around the thought back then, when a few people said tyranny had come to America.  I remember being unable to contemplate the thought that my government would ever begin to treat it's citizens the way Russia or China or South Vietnam treated their citizens.  This was unthinkable.  I clearly remember putting the thought of an unarmed mother holding her baby out of mind, and I went about my life.

I'm a mother.  20 years later.  And I think back on the murder of an unarmed woman holding her baby.

Her last photo

An unarmed woman holding her baby was labeled a threat by my Justice Dept at Ruby Ridge.   20 years later, my Justice Department is making an attempt to legally label someone else a threat... without due process... to legally murder anyone they label a threat.

NBC: Justice Department memo reveals legal case for drone strikes on Americans

Randy Weaver and his family were just another set of "troublemakers" who wanted to be left alone.  While I, and most of Americans like me, paid no attention to the atrocity, a substantial minority on both sides of the political spectrum did pay attention.  They were outraged and wouldn't forget. And dear Lord, forgive me, I want to forget.  I don't want to remember.  I remember seeing the funerals on the news.  Yes, I prayed for the baby who would never know his mother.  I remember.

The actions at Ruby Ridge were studied long ago.  And, damning as the Justice Department investigation was, officials are believed to have destroyed evidence to keep it away from investigators. The Justice Department completed a 542-page investigation on the case in 1995.  Then hid the report from the public.  However, the report was acquired by Legal Times newspaper, which placed the report on the internet.  The report revealed that federal officials may have acted worse than even some of their harshest critics imagined.

Federal officials claimed a violent confrontation between the Weavers and the government began when the Weavers ambushed federal marshals, but the report tells a very different story. A team of six U.S. marshals, split into two groups, trespassed onto Mr. Weaver's land on Aug. 21, 1992. One of the marshals threw rocks at the Weaver's cabin to see how much noise was required to agitate the Weaver's dogs. A few minutes later, Randy Weaver, Kevin Harris, and 13-year-old Sammy Weaver came out of the cabin and began following their dogs. Three U.S. marshals were soon running away through the woods.

At one point, U.S. Marshal Larry Cooper "told the others that it was ['expletive deleted'] for them to continue running and that he did not want to 'run down the trail and get shot in the back.' Cooper told them to take up defensive positions. They took a position behind a stump and waited.  As Sammy Weaver and Kevin Harris came upon the marshals, gunfire erupted. It was Sammy who was shot in the back, killed while running away from the scene (probably by Marshal Cooper, according to the report).1

Does tyranny begin when an angry young man, remembering Ruby Ridge, blows up a federal building filled with babies in a daycare, along with men and women innocently going about their day?  Or would that be anarchy?

When does tyranny begin? A dad, a 13 year old boy, his mother and his baby brother were innocently going about their day, too.

My government wants legal permission to send drones, instead of federal marshalls, to kill Americans they think are a threat.  And I want to be protected!  I want my government to do a good job keeping my family safe.  But what happens when my government runs amok?  They want to control who gets to buy automatic weapons, to protect me they say.  Like they protected me from an unarmed woman holding her baby?

Slowly, like a child testing the weight of ice on a lake in winter, my government has tested the waters of tyranny, to see how far they can go.

The U.S. Supreme Court said "It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error." - in American Communications Association v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, at 442.

Please God, please help the American people ask what I'm asking now.  And dear God... please let the powers in Washington listen to the American people they serve.  Please let them ask, when does tyranny begin?  No, better still, let them ask what will the anarchy that follows look like?

1.  source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ridge