Month: November 2008

  • It’s a Miracle!

    OMG! I can’t believe it! I’m back people! I’m really back! The daggone pc is finally fixed! I’ve got my online service up and running! Halleluia! I think I’ve been in the dark with this situation since about June, so it really feels nice to be able to do this from home as opposed to the library.

    The pc had picked up a bunch of virus’s and worms…don’t ask me how, but I seriously think it’s attributed to Limewire. Just having that system and its components on my computer, seriously messed things up. I didn’t download here. I downloaded at the library on my thumb drive. The McAffee would catch the worms and so forth before I downloaded anything from the thumb, but I think the damage was done the day I just accepted the Limewire system in the first place.

    I’ve also noted that many of the alleged “free” software offered on Limewire has backdoor trackers, worms, and adware attached. So really, it’s not even worth it to deal with anything from that site.

    So lil big man and I are sitting here, listening to Christmas music on the radio, while I work.

    What have I been up to in my absence? Too much to go into here, but I have been learning a lot of new things. It amazes me sometimes, the things God allows into our lives just so we can learn and draw closer to Him. Sometimes it’s the worse thing (in our minds) we can imagine, but God has a purpose in allowing it all. Please note, I said allowing it, not bringing it nor causing it…as in when He allowed Satan to come into His courts to challenge Him about Job; and subsequently allowed Satan to have Job with a catch. He allowed Satan to “touch” Job, but not to kill him.

    I went to look up the word “touch” because oftentimes, people don’t recognize when they’ve been touched, whether by the enemy, or by God. Some people don’t recognize when God has allowed a “touch” in their lives such as Job received. In addition, there are so many ways to apply that word “touch,” that I thought I’d put some definitions here to help our collective understanding. Here’s dictionary.com’s definition(s):

    1.to put the hand, finger, etc., on or into contact with (something) to feel it: He touched the iron cautiously.
    2.to come into contact with and perceive (something), as the hand or the like does.
    3.to bring (the hand, finger, etc., or something held) into contact with something: She touched a match to the papers.
    4.to give a slight tap or pat to with the hand, finger, etc.; strike or hit gently or lightly.
    5.to come into or be in contact with.
    6.Geometry. (of a line or surface) to be tangent to.
    7.to be adjacent to or border on.
    8.to come up to; reach; attain.
    9.to attain equality with; compare with (usually used with a negative): a style that cannot touch that of Shakespeare.
    10.to mark by strokes of the brush, pencil, or the like.
    11.to mark or relieve slightly, as with color: a gray dress touched with blue.
    12.to stop at (a place), as a ship: The ship touched shore several times during the cruise.
    13.to treat or affect in some way by contact.
    14.to affect as if by contact; tinge; imbue.
    15.to affect with some feeling or emotion, esp. tenderness, pity, gratitude, etc.: Their sufferings touched his heart.
    16.to handle, use, or have to do with in any way (usually used with a negative): She can’t touch the money until she’s 21.
    17.to eat or drink; consume; taste (usually used with a negative): He won’t touch another drink.
    18.to lay hands on, often in a violent manner: Don’t you touch this child!
    19.to deal with or treat in speech or writing.
    20.to refer or allude to.
    21.to pertain or relate to: a critic in all matters touching the kitchen.
    22.to be a matter of importance to; make a difference to; affect: This grave decision touches all of us.
    23.Metallurgy. to stamp (metal) as being of standard purity.
    24.Slang. to apply to for money, or succeed in getting money from: He touched me for five dollars.
    25.Slang. to steal from.
    26.Archaic.
    a.to strike the strings, keys, etc., of (a musical instrument) so as to cause it to sound.
    b.to play or perform (an air, notes, etc.) on a musical instrument.
    –verb (used without object)
    27.to place the hand, finger, etc., on or in contact with something.
    28.to come into or be in contact.
    29.to make a stop or a short call at a place, as a ship or those on board (usually fol. by at).
    –noun
    30.the act or state of touching; state or fact of being touched.
    31.that sense by which anything material is perceived by means of physical contact.
    32.the quality of something touched that imparts a sensation: an object with a slimy touch.
    33.a coming into or being in contact.
    34.mental or moral perception, sensitivity, or understanding: He has a marvelous touch in dealing with people.
    35.ability, skill, or dexterity; knack: to lose one’s touch.
    36.Fencing. the contact of the point of a foil or épée or the point or edge of the blade of a saber with a specified portion of the opponent’s body, counting one point for the scorer.
    37.close communication, agreement, sympathy, or the like: to be out of touch with reality; Let’s keep in touch.
    38.a slight stroke or blow.
    39.a slight attack, as of illness or disease: a touch of rheumatism.
    40.a slight added action or effort in doing or completing any piece of work: to provide the finishing touches.
    41.manner of execution in artistic work.
    42.the act or manner of touching or fingering a keyboard instrument.
    43.the mode of action of the keys of an instrument, as of a piano or typewriter.
    44.Change Ringing. a partial series of changes on a peal of bells.
    45.a stroke or dash, as with a brush, pencil, or pen.
    46.a detail in any artistic work.
    47.a slight amount of some quality, attribute, etc.: a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
    48.a slight quantity or degree: a touch of salt.
    49.a distinguishing characteristic or trait: the touch of the master.
    50.quality or kind in general.
    51.an act of testing something.
    52.something that serves as a test; touchstone.
    53.Slang.
    a.the act of approaching someone for money as a gift or a loan.
    b.the obtaining of money in this manner.
    c.the money obtained.
    d.a person considered from the standpoint of the relative ease with which he or she will lend money: I can always hit him for ten—he’s an easy touch.
    54.Slang. theft.
    55.Metallurgy.
    a.an official mark put upon precious metal after testing to indicate its purity.
    b.a die, stamp, or the like for impressing such a mark.
    c.an identifying mark impressed on pewter by its maker.
    56.Soccer. the area outside the touchlines.
    57.Rugby. either of the touchlines or the area outside of the touchlines.
    —Verb phrases
    58.touch down, (of an airplane) to come into contact with the ground; land.
    59.touch off,
    a.to represent or characterize precisely.
    b.to cause to ignite or explode.
    c.to give rise to; initiate: This incident will touch off another crisis.
    60.touch on or upon,
    a.to mention a subject briefly or casually; treat of in passing: In his lecture he touched on the major aspects of the controversy.
    b.to come close to; approach.
    c.to relate or pertain to.
    61.touch up,
    a.to make minor changes or improvements in the appearance of.
    b.to modify or improve (a painting, photograph, etc.) by adding small strokes or making slight changes.
    c.to rouse by or as if by striking: This should touch up your memory.
    —Idioms
    62.put the touch on, Informal. to try to borrow money from: Willie put the touch on me for another ten last night.
    63.touch base with. base 1 (def. 36).

    The reason I thought this was relevant, is that many of us, myself included, don’t understand the reasons why certain things and events happen in our lives, particularly if it is a situation or experience that we (or others) could perceive as negative.

    Seeing as how we all seem to be caught up in the ultimate battle between God and Satan; and considering that we have to choose sides in this invisible battle in the spiritual realm, sometimes the lines get blurred, and it can be hard and confusing to see where you are.

    For instance, in the case of Job, all these negative situations began to be reported to him. His flocks and herds (his livelihood) were attacked and destroyed, then he lost his family ( his children were killed), and then he himself, was attacked in his body with physical ailments.

    All of these uncomfortable (to say the least) situations were happening to God’s guy, and you gotta think that this guy was saying to himself, “What did I do wrong?” and “Why is this happening?” and “God, where are you when I need you?”

    On top of his own mind playing him, Job also had to deal with his friends dogging him into the ground; telling him what a worthless piece of crap he was, (some friends!) and that God was punishing him for his imperfections and shortcomings (sins). Even his wife…the one person on this earth who is supposed to love and support him the most; turned on him, telling him basically, that God had deserted him, and that his best option was to curse God and die.

    That’s a whole lot of oppression, which leads one to depression and crazy thoughts most of the time. Personally, the last six months have been extremely stressful, grievious, and painful because of a situation I’m dealing with. When I say painful, it even got physically painful, not just mentally via stress. But you know, God made an incredible piece of artwork/machinery when He created mankind. Our bodies are so adaptable.

    It took me a few weeks…about a month or so to figure out that although the situation I’m in is not conducive to my walk with God on the one hand…it is part of His purpose and plan for me. I never hid from Him on this. I was/am ashamed of the situation, but at the same time, I know that it will come to its own end in its own time…when God’s purpose has been fulfilled, and I have come to the level of understanding this experience is supposed to teach me. (I hope that made sense)

    I was so grieved, like I said earlier, that when some other unexpected situations arose…not going in what I considered a positive light, or the way I would have it based on my own expectations; I imediately assumed that these perceived negative events/situations were the result of my misalignment with God.

    So I figured that God had lifted His hand off me, and I was no longer entitled to His blessings. Wrong!

    The thing is…when we are deepest in the fog…that’s the point in which God is looking to see if we are still clinging to His hand. When we stop trying to see ahead, because we can’t…when we give up using our natural senses, and just let Him guide us…we will always find our way out of the dark place and back into the light.

    You see, the church often preaches, teaches and lectures on “obedience.” It’s like the catch phrase of the church, and I’ve come to think that its part of their set “programming.” I’ve tried all my life to break out of programming, because I can’t hear God as long as that preset programming is in the way.

    God calls us to walk in faith, not in obedience. We can’t possibly do the obedience thing…despite the “obedience is better than sacrifice,” scripture. We just aren’t built to handle that. Check Genesis…the clay was formed from a damaged and subsequently rebuilt/restored earth. We are damaged…and we aren’t capable of obedience all the time.  That’s why this walk, and this life is about the faith we have, because without that…we’d never make it through all the times when we fail to be obedient. We’d never stick with it…and with Him. Without faith, we’d have no reason to hope at all.

    This life is not about what we earn or what we deserve. It is only about what we believe and receive. That is the ability in us that God is watching for, because in this life…there are too many distractions, and too many traps out there to trip us, hurt us, and destroy us. Our saving grace comes via our faith…and our ability to hold on to that faith no matter what. It is our faith that draws us, that keeps us honest with God, and close to God at all times. Peace and blessings.

  • A Lot on My Mind…

     

     

    Greetings friends. I know that I have been out of sight for a while, and I have been very quiet about all the political mess that’s been going on, but no more.

    Today, I’m gonna say what’s been on my mind for a while now. Let’s start with the elections and the reactions.

    First of all, after the votes came in, and it was official that Barack had won, the reaction of republicans has been disgusting to say the least. Let me just say that I am neither republican nor democrat. I changed my status this year; something I’ve been meaning to do for a while, because my father signed me up as democrat when I first signed up to vote.

    However, I have long been in the middle on things; my vote depending on the qualities I see in the candidates in question, which is why I changed my status to independant.

    So in watching this whole scenario play out, I found several things quite interesting. Long before the final vote, while the campaign trails were heating up, the “church” was busy attempting to “influence” the vote.

    The first example I saw of this came from an alleged pastor from a church called Morning Star. I happened to be at a meeting per an invitation from a former friend, and this pastor allegedly prophesied that Romney was God’s choice to lead the nation, and that if he was elected, we’d experience 7 years of peace. This “pastor” did not try to “influence” us; he outright told us this in his “alleged” message. Btw, he was supposed to be a prophet…but I personally cannot attest to his being one of God’s.

    The next thing I witnessed was more attempts by the “church” including my church, to influence the vote. I notice that when elections are coming up, suddenly all the “revelations” teachings and end times teachings come out of the closet, and we are told how close we are to the time of the second coming. It’s a fear tactic, and it bothers me that ministers don’t just trust God and let it be.

    So in my church, the Wednesday service after the elections, everyone was strangely quiet. After all the subtle and not so subtle solicitations going on during services for months, which has caused a rift in the congregation and upset and disgusted many people; suddenly all that is said is, “Well, God is still in control.”

    Well excuse me, but He was in control all along!!! He was in control long before any comments and sermons and other attempts to influence the vote were done! He was in control long before Barack or McCain were confirmed! He was in control long before all the debates, and the alleged tightening of the race! What on earth made any of these churches and pastors think that God wasn’t in control all along!

    See this is the consolation card they pull out when they don’t get their way, and the guy they want or the referendum they seek does not pass. Suddenly, when they can no longer influence opinion, then “God is in control.” Well, give God a little credit why don’t you! Thanks for acknowledging His supreme authority!

    What irks me even more is the disgraceful display by both the party and the people who claim this party represents God. I sat back for months watching and waiting, because I was undecided, and I didn’t know enough about either candidate. I don’t vote just because a church or pastor claims that one person represents God more than another. No. I look at both people and watch their character, because usually, we haven’t much else to go on.

    In the case of this race, we had more to go on because only one candidate actually told us his plans, while the other simply postulated about how he could “do it,” and that he was the more skilled candidate; but never once until almost the end, did he lay out any solid plan. At the end, he simply threw in some ideas trying to appear on top of things.

    Worse still though, was the manner in which the alleged “representative of God” candidate ran his campaign. The smear tactics and the dirt digging and slinging was the same ole crap we’ve seen every election, but it’s ok as long as it’s the guy representing God, right?

    It’s apparently ok to get into office by hook or by crook…to do whatever it takes, as long as the one who’s alleged to represent God is the one who gets in. Well, I’m sorry, but I take issue with that. Bad behavior is bad behavior, and does not represent God.

    Mike Huckabee is the only person I saw running that actually seemed to represent God in how he conducted his primary campaign, because from what I saw it was clean. Even his appearances on the late night shows were above reproach.

    Now, since Obama won, republicans are angry?!?! What the hay? Apparently, you didn’t trust God, and still don’t trust the outcome now. People are, once again, in the name of God, taking violent actions and making threats. This is not what God is about people. It’s just ridiculous the things we are hearing on the news about racial attacks as a result of this election.

    People like Elizabeth on the View, who I generally am ok with, wouldn’t let anyone get a word in edgewise if they disagreed with McCain as the choice for president. Her arguments…trying to out-talk everyone was pretty disgraceful imo, and she only succeeded in making people angry.

    If the republicans really are the party that represents the church, they need to tell these people to sit down and shut up. Take a chill pill, because none of this behavior makes you or God look good. It is not a reflection of Him. Actually, the Republican Party shouldn’t have to tell the people to stop this affront. Besides, the republicans are too busy playing the pity party card. The church should step up. There is nothing God-like about this sort of behavior or reaction, and it should be addressed.

    On a slightly different track, for those who don’t know it, the name Barack does appear in scripture in the book of judges. I want to do a study on it when I have time, as I know the general story in that section.

    That section is, in part, about someone I previously mentioned in a different post, in which I talked about women. However, in this section, a woman led the call or charge and this man, Barack became victorious and defeated the enemies. There was also a song of praise which mentions that Barack would arise.

    It’s an interesting parallel, I think, to what the democrats did with this election. Certainly, Hillary lead the charge, rallying the party to get prepared, and get people registered, but she didn’t win the battle.

    I also find it interesting that the number 40 has resurfaced in this scenario. Being the number of the Spirit (and I know some of you may not agree, but check the link, as I came to this conclusion through study), it’s interesting that Barack is the 44th president, coming into power 40 years after Martin Luther King’s dream. A lot of 4’s there. There’s more, but I just can’t remember them all at the moment. I’m just noting some things that I’ve noticed.

    Also, I happened to be working for the supervisor of elections when all this was transpiring, and the vote was in progress. Basically, there was a serious party in there, and some people cried, thanking God for not forgetting them.

    I personally teared up when I saw that 102 year old woman, who had lived through slavery, in a wheelchair casting her vote for Obama. Just that fact that she lived to see a day such as this was enough for me.

    Remember, God is the God of us all, including those of us forgotten or disregarded by society (the rich and powerful). For anyone who calls themselves a believer not to understand that…is not to know the God you claim to serve.

    This is why I say to republicans, be more gracious. Show some dignity in defeat, and recognize that you cannot expect to always have your way. If God is truly in control in your eyes, you should not be angry and you should not have any bad feelings. This is not about your expectations, but about your faith. Peace.