Friday, October 31, 2008

Updated Financial Seminar Information


Saturday, November 29, 1-4 p.m.
26026 Southfield Road, Southfield, MI 48076

Please join us for an informative and challenging Financial Seminar to help get you through these financially challenging times. Asaad Faraj has a passion for helping individuals and families financially by offering excellent information and training tools. Joining him will be Pastor Ed Murray is also gifted in the area of finances, having published a few books on the subject.


Some of the subjects to be covered:
Staying Solvent In an Insolvent World “True Costs” of Purchases
How Credit Cards and Mortgages Work Making a Budget
“Picture” Perfect Finances Sowing and Reaping
Investment Strategies Great Gain
Tangible Way to Get Out of Debt Real Freedom

Get directions at www.asaadfaraj.com. Fee $5/individual or couple prepay, which ensures you get a booklet and a $5 gas card at the door; $7/person at the door.
Please RSVP to: Karen Budzinski, karenbudzinski@mac.com (586.615.2881), or at The Gathering at Oakland Christian Church, or Laurie Girgenti, laurie@girgenti.com (586.764.2040)

Keep moving. Just keep moving!

A great inspiration posted on "Ro's" website:

The Test

The test of a man is the fight he makes
The grit that he daily shows;
The way he stands on his feet and takes
Fate's numerous bumps and blows.
A coward can smile when there's naught to fear,
When nothing his progress bars,
But it takes a man to stand up and cheer
While some other fellow stares.

It isn't the victory after all,
But the fight that a brother makes,
The man, who, driven against the wall,
Still stands up erect and takes
The blows of fate with his head held high
Bleeding and bruised and pale,
He's the man who'll win in the by and by,
For he isn't afraid to fail.

It's the bumps you get and the jolts you get
And the shocks that your courage stands,
The hours of sorrow and vain regret,
The prize that escapes your hands,
That test your mettle and prove your worth.
It isn't the blows you deal,
But the blows you take on this good, old earth
That shows if your stuff is real.

- Anonymous

When I was a child, I was told the story of the Martin-Willie Handcart Pioneer Company. Because they were so anxious to leave for the west, they left a little later in the season than they should have. When they got to Wyoming, unseasonably early snowstorms hit them. Because they were traveling with handcarts rather than wagons and teams, they were overly exposed to the elements and many died under the harsh conditions.

The teacher who was recounting the story to our class told us how important it had been for the pioneers to keep walking. If they gave up and sat down in the deep snow, they froze to death. Even though I was fairly young, I was struck by how hard it must have been for them to continue walking in the deep snow and how much courage they had displayed in their adversity. I remember thinking, “I wonder if I would have kept going. Or, would I have sat down in the snow?”

I have thought about that story over the years, as I have faced trials of my own. I don't want to sit down in the snow, even though it would be so much easier for me to do so. It is important for me to summon the courage inside of me - the grit - the moxie – the drive - to somehow keep myself moving forward, no matter how many challenges keep rolling my way.

I must admit to you that it is hard, sometimes, to keep walking. The temptation to sit down in the snow and rest awhile is overwhelming. It is difficult to keep moving forward when you feel as if the blows are coming at you from every side and you wonder when they will stop – or if they will stop at all.

If you happen to be experiencing such a situation at the moment, just let me say that you are not alone in the fight. There are others like you – many, many others, including myself – that are in the world, getting up each day, wondering how they will manage to continue and, despite the pain and the suffering they know, they keep going. They keep moving and just the act of continuing speaks volumes about them and the hope and faith and courage they own. It is the trying that is meaningful.

To keep moving under such circumstances is heroic (and actually feels heroic, as it is so difficult), and I believe that it is those people who continue the fight, despite financial, social, physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges, that are to be admired.

Do you know what happened to the Martin-Willie Handcart Company? Word finally arrived in Salt Lake City of their terrible circumstances and a rescue party was immediately sent out to save them. They were discovered on the far side of a river and one young man, who was determined to save as many lives as possible, carried people over that river repeatedly. He ended up getting so sick that he died. He was a true hero.

The survivors of the Martin-Willie Handcart Company were strong people and their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren have derived much strength from their story of endurance. In fact, their story has provided inspiration for nearly anyone who has ever heard it. They could have so easily taken the easy way out and sat down in the snow, and yet they kept moving forward with hope and faith that they would arrive at their destination.

If you happen to know someone who is facing such challenges, reach out to them. Tell them that you are hoping for them, that you are praying for them, that you love them, and that you have faith in them. And, mean it. Do pray for them. Do love them. Do have faith in them. And, do support them in any way that you can.

You never know when it will be your turn to be hip deep in snow. You never know when you will wish for a rescue party to be sent for you.

Just please, whether a rescue party arrives or whether you have to keep going with just God by your side, don't sit down, okay? Keep moving. Just keep moving.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Before It's Too Late...

Obama is not about to rethink anything. He is too sure of the "rightness" of his own ideas and thinking. But, some others don't agree. For example:


Hymn to Hitler
By
Lori Kalner


In Germany , when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing. In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene’s Shiloh books.

In those days, in my homeland, Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising "Change.” He blamed the “Zionists” around the world for all our problems. He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had. He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth.

So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote. A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader. Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him.


Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would.

The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler. This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement. It began with praise of the Fuhrer’s programs on the lips of innocent children. Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard. Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school.

My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school. The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.

I will never forget my father’s face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children.

That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5…

‘Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the
Womb I knew you,
And before you were born I
Consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to
The nations.”

Soon the children’s songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. “With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!”

Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God’s Word, were “no longer there.”

Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret. The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as “mercy killing” became the policy. Children with disabilities and those who had Down syndrome were euthanized.

People whispered, “Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery. They are no longer suffering…And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden.”
And so murder was called mercy.

The government took over private business. Industry and health care were “nationalized.” (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party) The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Krystalnacht in the book Munich Signature)

The world and God’s word were turned upside down. Hitler promised the people economic Change?
Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer’s very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction.

What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children. The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it.

Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel.

When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them. Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, “who could bear to read our suffering?”

Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord, unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.

I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah.

Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the “mercy killing” of tiny babies who are not wanted.

There are so few of us left to warn you.

I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians.

Where are your voices? Where is your outrage? Where is passion and your vote? Do you vote based on an abortionist’s empty promises and economics? Or do you vote according to the Bible?

Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb…

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you…”


I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth. I see them again now.

Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion.

In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates. They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture! American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their “tax exempt” status.

And yet I have heard the words of Obama’s pastor Damning America! I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you “Cling to your religion…”

But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction. I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book. (Though the Zion Covenant books are mocked and condemned by the Left in America ..)

I am an old woman and will soon go to be with my Lord. I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble.

I tremble at the hymns to a political leaders which your children will sing at school. (Though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!)

Your vote must put a stop to what will come upon America if Barrack Obama is elected.

I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived. The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth,’ for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!”

I am in Prayer for you, and for the Church!
Spoken to you in the authority of Jesus the Christ,
the Name Above All Names,
Lori Kalner http://www.thoenebooks.com/blog.asp?post=0&id=443#

Not everyone has forgotten. Spinoneone

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Evil!

A great study from Kim!

In the midst of all that is good and pure...EVIL ENTERS!!!

"And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he (dragon) was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short."
Revelation 12: 7-9, 12

We are not alone! The story we are in is not as safe as we think it is! The villian has arrived! We need to be more aware of the unseen! It is dangerous!

WATCH OUT!!! We have an evil angel lurking after us!
He was at God's right hand, an anointed guardian cherub who "was blameless in his ways until wickedness was found in him!" (Ezekiel 28: 15)

He wanted it ALL! (and still does!)
He wants to BE God!
He wants everything to be about him!! (sound familiar?)
He was thrown out of heaven and is "filled with fury"!
He knows he is on a fixed time limit!
He wants to take as many as possible with him into eternal damnation!!
So, WATCH OUT, he is on a mission for our soul!!

Are you SCARED? You should be!!
Do you feel HOPELESS against him?? We don't have to be!

Because Satan, Lucifer, has already been DEFEATED!!! Alleluia!!!!!
God's got our back! Let us be careful NOT to turn our back on Him!!!!!!!

Should we still be ALERT? ALWAYS!!!!
Should we BE PREPARED? We better be!
Our Heavenly Father gives us all the tools- Eph.6: 13-18, Putting on the full Armor of God!

Our Savior, we come to You in prayer, not only because we love being in Your Presence, but also because being in communion with You gives us STRENGTH against the evil one!!

We are bombarded by the ways of the world, the way they are so enticing and the way they sneak into our everyday lives that we can easily forget Your Ways and how much better they are for us!

Financial Seminar! A Plan for Surviving Challenging Times!


Saturday, November 29, 1-4 p.m.

Please join us for an informative and challenging Financial Seminar. Asaad Faraj, primary speaker. 

Location: 26026 Southfield Road, Southfield, MI 48076. 

Get directions at www.asaadfaraj.com. Fee $7/person or $10/couple, which covers cost of printing booklet you will take home. Learn to budget, about “true” costs of purchases, strategies for how to get out of debt and pay off loans, where you should sacrifice and where you should not. Please RSVP to: Karen Budzinski, karenbudzinski@mac.com.

Questions:  Call Karen: 586.615.2881

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Love that Never

Great Bible study from Kim!

"Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory you have given Me because You LOVED ME before the creation of the world." John 17: 24

There is a huge amount of our story that happened even before we were created! God's LOVE for us started "before the creation of the world!" Through God we know that love is real, that it endures, and that we can count on it!!

As it says in the book, Epic, written by John Eldredge, "we need to know that love lasts! The reason divorce is so devastating to children (not to mention grownups) is because it ends the story. Just like that. The past is lost. The future is uncertain. The pictures come down off the walls. Certain names are never mentioned again. The love story is over. You can't count on anything."

We start questioning love, its lasting power and if it is really real! Our relationships are terminated or changed! What devastation to the creatures who were made for relationships!
Our greatest joys are shared with the ones we love!!! Whether it be taking a walk, sharing a conversation, enjoying the sounds of the ocean, the laughter of a child/grandchild, .... these are the best times because they are shared!

"That is why the self-centered life simply does not work. The world is rigged in such a way that life does not work when it's all about you." (Epic)

God's Love LASTS!!!! We came from Love!! We were born out of Love! God's Love never fails!!! THANK YOU LORD for that TRUTH!!! Your Everlasting LOVE for us!!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Joy of Fellowship

A great study from Kim...

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, ..." Genesis 1: 26a

I never noticed the word "our" before in this passage. I just remember that we were made in God's image, but really it goes farther than that, we were created in the image of the Trinity. God was not alone, He was (and still is) part of a relationship! We were created out of relationship for relationship!

Many of us at church are reading a small book entitled, "Epic- The Story God is Telling" by John Eldredge and I will be sharing some of John's thoughts with you this week.

"One of the deepest of all human longings is the longing to belong, to be a part of things, to be invited in. We want to be part of the fellowship....

...Loneliness might be the hardest cross we bear. Why else would we have come up with solitary confinement as a form of punishment? We are relational to the core. We are made, as it says in Genesis, in the image of God or, better, in the image of the Trinity.
("...make man in OUR image, OUR likeness...")

From the heart of the universe come our beating hearts. From this Fellowship spring all of our longings for a friend, a family, a fellowship- for someplace to belong."

Our Heavenly Father, Sweet Jesus, and Holy Spirit, we Thank You for making us in Your Image, for making us a part of Your family, for creating us to be Your Child!! What Joy and Love that brings to us!! What Peace and Contentment it encompasses us with! Thank You for the most important and vital relationship we have- the one with You!!

We also Thank You for the family and friends You have placed in our lives! These relationships bring us such Joy but also, in this sinful world, much pain and heartache! But, we need these relationships, our hearts long to have others to love and to love us!

Please forgive us Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the PAIN, heartache and frustration we cause You each and every day when we turn away from You! Please give us the wisdom to know when the evil one is trying to trick us with lies and/or when our selfish selves get in the way of our relationship with You!!

We Joyfully come before You in the Mighty Name of Your Son, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pay it OFF!

Hi everyone, this is a little unusual for a "Collegiate Wonders" typical Bible study, but this is VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION for your generation right now.

Please understand: DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT charge one PENNY on any "extras" until you are debt-free! Yes, that means no extra CLOTHES, no extra TRIPS, no extra "deserved" VACATIONS, no extra ANYTHING. No extra $5 items nor $10.

THIS is the way my husband Gary and I got ahead. We followed scriptural principles TO A "T" on not borrowing money or charging. At times we lived on RICE and hamburger for more than a week. We made do with one car. We bought NO CLOTHES, and CERTAINLY would NEVER have considered buying a purse OR dress OR extra shirt over $10!!

Your generation is in for a HUGE AWAKENING this next upcoming year. My husband and I want to tell you: GET RID OF ANY DEBT THAT WILL NOT ENABLE YOU TO BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR OWN FINANCES. The borrower WILL serve the lender! You will CONTINUALLY SEE people that (sometimes innocently and misguidedly) lived beyond their means now paying HUGE CONSEQUENCES and losing everything. In fact some people that lived WITHIN THEIR MEANS are losing everything!

Here are some ideas:

*STOP buying! STOP going out to eat! STOP planning trips!
*STOP living like movie stars do! STOP buying exorbitantly priced items!
*PARE down everything you can pare down.
*If you had to go into debt for something, don't just think "I'm just adding a LITTLE more to my debt." Read the article below about "COMPOUNDING INTEREST" and see what that is going to mean if you keep ADDING to your debt!
*Live on as LITTLE OUTLAY as possible and save as MUCH MONEY as possible.
*PAY OFF as much debt as possible -- even $5 here and $5 there will ADD UP and STOP compounding interest!
*Start saving as MUCH as POSSIBLE in as many ways as possible.
*Cut down on monthly bills. DO WITHOUT anything you can do without until you are debt free!!!!

We have been virtually AROUND THE WORLD. The economic CRISES has affected every nation. We are in Palm Desert right now going by stores closed down, and empty businesses. The economic crunch is JUST ON THE FIRST ROUND of a multi-round fight! Any money you borrow now will threaten your financial security later.

Your generation MUST DO WITH MUCH LESS in order to make it through. Do not live "ABOVE YOUR MEANS." How do you live "above your means"? By living on someone else's cash? How do you live on someone else's cash? If you owe ANY AMOUNT of MONEY for ANY THING and you purchase something -- you are NOT purchasing it with YOUR OWN MONEY but with BORROWED FUNDS (and DON'T get caught up in "good debt" or "bad debt" -- ALL DEBT IS BAD according to Scripture because it ROBS you of your financial FREEDOM).

IF any of you need any help in budgeting your money, my husband will be GLAD to help you. It is imperative that you work a solution to get out of debt NOW. SERIOUS times are coming in the next year to three years. Only if you are living by this Biblical standard will you make it through the financial storm that is only just now heading our way!

I love you guys! Please ask for help to get a plan to repay if you have a lot of outstanding debt. Please take this to heart!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Center of the Bible

The Center of the Bible
The pictures are awesome.... but wait until you read the words.




Q: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?

A: Psalms 117



Q: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?

A: Psalms 119



Q: Which chapter is in the center of the Bible?

A: Psalms 118



Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118 

Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118 

Add these numbers up and you get 1188.. 



Q: What is the center verse in the Bible? 

A: Psalms 118:8 



Q: Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives? 



The next time someone says they would like to find 

God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to 

be in the center of His will, just send them to the 

center of His Word! 



Psalms 118:8 

'It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.' 

Now isn't that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of it)? 



When things get tough, always remember... 

Faith doesn't get you around trouble, it gets you through it !! 



Monday, October 13, 2008

Pride -- the enemy of humility!

Great study from Kim!

"Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splender." Ezekiel 28: 15a

Lucifer's heart became proud!!! We can learn much about ourselves from his actions and story....

From the book "Epic"-
"Standing at the head of the vast legions of angelic hosts (millions, as the biblical record counts) was a captian. The most beautiful, the most powerful of them all. The commander of the armies of God. The guardian of the glory of the Lord. His name was Lucifer. "Son of the morning." Glorious as the sun, Unequaled among his noble peers."

WOW! He had it all- beauty, power, and respect!!! Unbelievably, HE WANTED MORE!! He wanted to be the ultimate ruler! He wanted all the recognition! Sound like anyone else we know? Always wanting more than we already have? Never having enough? And to think we already have...
...Salvation,
... Forgiveness of sins,
... His Love,
... His Joy and Peace,
... HOPE,
... through Him, we have Contentment,
... we have the King of Kings fighting for us,
... and many Blessings LAVISHED upon us each and every day!!!

C.S. Lewis writes, "Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst. Of all created beings the wickedest is one who originally stood in the immediate presence of God."

As a child of the King, do we demand more? Do we live as if we have nothing? Whoa, what does that say to the world? It says we are selfish! It says God is not enough!

Almighty One, prayerfully, the countless gifts You lavish upon us daily will not make us proud, better than everyone else and deserving more but THANKFUL for ALL You have freely given us! May we always appreciate Your gifts, being content with all You have lovingly poured out on us!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Anger!!!

A great study from Kim:

"Do NOT be quickly provoked in your spirit, for ANGER resides in the lap of fools."
Ecclesiastes 7: 9

Anger!!! It eventually causes bitterness!
Bitterness ROBS us of our JOY!!!!
EATS AWAY at our spirit!
and does NOT come from God!!!!

God tells us "NOT to be provoked quickly!!"
Even when...
... someone cuts us off on the road! ... someone yells at us!! ... we find out others are talking about us behind our back! ... we are wrongly accused!! Even when...............

WHERE does ANGER and BITTERNESS GET US??
It doesn't solve anything!!!
It doesn't turn back time!!!

Only through Christ are we able to GIVE IT UP!
Only through Christ are we able to FORGIVE!!
Only through Christ are we able to be WISE and LET IT GO!!

Let us remember that there is also GOOD anger! Even Jesus got angry when "He found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money..... To those who sold doves He said, 'Get out of here! How dare you turn My Father's house into a market!!" John 2: 14 and 16
Our anger is justified when someone aborts an innocent child,
....when a loved one is abused,
... when someone abuses alcohol and harms another,
or when............

BUT, the question is what do we DO WITH that anger?? Do we get even? Do we harbor anger for the rest of our lives? Are we a FOOL? (as it says in our Scripture)
Do we take positive and loving action? Do we forgive and move on?
Are we wise in our actions?

Author of Life, please help us in our anger, help us to hold our tongue and restrain from any action BEFORE we say or do anything we will regret and/or turn someone away from You!!
Withholding anger only takes us out of Your Presence Father!! Please help us to constructively deal with it and let it go!

You WARN us NOT to be quickly provoked- not to act on our own sinful desires!!
You know us so well Father!!!
You know how selfish we are!!!
How much we would love to get even at any expense!!!!
How WE want to right the wrong!!!
Take it into our own hands!!
We ask for Your Holy Spirit to CHANGE US Lord, to HELP us respond in a way that brings others closer to You and not to push them away!!!! May they SEE YOU and Your Love Father instead of seeing us and our natural inclination to get even!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

If you are going to boast, boast in the Lord!

Thanks to Kim for another great study...

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips." Proverbs 27: 2

"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." 2 Corinthians 10: 12

We like to toot our own horn!
We want others to know what a great job we've done!
We like when others praise our good deeds!

Study Bible notes for 2 Cor.10:12 are, "The false teachers in Corinth behave as though there is no standard of comparison higher than themselves, but Paul BOASTS ONLY IN THE LORD!!!!!!!!"

Instead of tooting our own horn, let us TOOT GOD"S HORN!!!
Let us shout from the roof tops!
Let us openly share His Love!!
Let us GLORIFY HIM!!!!!

"But, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'" 2 Corinthians 10: 17

Our Heavenly King, help us to DECREASE while YOU INCREASE!!! Let that be our simple prayer every day!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Ch- Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes! Turn & face the strange!

During the 1980’s, Gary and I lived in the great state of Oklahoma for two and a half years. He was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base while I completed my Bachelor’s of Music Education at the University of Oklahoma. We truly loved it in Oklahoma because Oklahomans are some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met.
I have to admit that because I am from Utah where weather changes occur in an expected manner, the fickleness of Oklahoma weather unnerved me at first. I should have realized what it would be like when the realtor that helped us find our first apartment said, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a little bit. It will change.”

Yes, the weather changed. In fact, it changed so rapidly that I quickly learned to carry an umbrella with me everywhere I went.

I learned that changes in the weather are appreciated in Oklahoma. Umbrellas are required because one never knows when a rainstorm will arrive. But, rainstorms are the lifeblood of the area and so they are welcomed. The people there don’t rely on irrigation to water their lawns and agriculture, as we do in Utah. Oklahoma relies on rain and when a drought hits the state, it is a serious matter.

As I began to appreciate this fact, I realized that, sometimes, events that appear at first glance to be negative are actually blessings. Sure, it is a terrible thing when a tornado rolls up Oklahoma. People are rightfully afraid of them. But, it is the same volatility of the weather that sometimes spawns hailstones and tornados that brings great, soaking rainstorms to make the state green.

Isn’t this how our lives are? The stormy times in our lives bring forth the most fruit. While we don’t enjoy life-tornados, the whirling about straightens us out. Illness teaches us to appreciate good health. Financial storms teach us to celebrate times of plenty. When we lose love or friendship, we begin to understand how valuable relationships are. When we suffer, we gain compassion for others, losing judgmental feelings that separate us from our true selves. When we face the limits of mortality, we appreciate the fact that our lives are meaningful.

The funny thing about change is that when we stop trying to keep ourselves still, we open the door to deep, meaningful improvements in our lives. We begin to understand that everything in this life is transitory. We discover that if we don’t like the weather of our current experience, we just be patient because just as surely as the moon spins around the earth, change will arrive to thrust us into something new.

Sometimes, I dream that I am still in Oklahoma, listening to the sound of a thunderstorm roll across the state. But then, I wake up and realize that it was the sound of change rolling through my life that I heard in my ears.

What will happen next? Only God knows. But whatever might come, it will be a change. Change... something you can count on.

- Ro

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Strength to the Weary!

Thanks, Kim, for the great study!

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40: 29a

(We'll look at the first half of this verse today)
What are you weary from? watching the fall of the stock market? ..... being unable to find a job and security? ..... watching the deterioration of a relationship? ..... the ever constant needs of your toddlers? ..... trying to direct your teenager? ..... being over extended at work? (sometimes He gives us the wisdom to change our situation) ..... taking care of an ailing parent? ..... keeping track of the lies we've told? ..... Are you WEARY? Are you just plain tired from it all?

Our Creator KNEW we would become weary and offers us HIS STRENGTH!!!!
Strength to get up in the morning, strength to persevere, and strength to turn to Him away from the wicked ways we get entrapped in during this life on earth!

God WILL give us strength to face it all!! Really, He will and does!!!

Let us remember....
We don't have to continue on our OWN STRENGTH!
We don't have to DEPEND on OUR OWN POWER to get us through!
We are NOT in this ALONE!
We have STRONG and LOVING ARMS we can fall into!!!
God can and WILL Strengthen us when we are weary!!!

Abba Father, Your children come to You tired and heavy burdened! We seek refuge in the shadows of Your Wings and in the protection of Your Arms! You offer to take our heavy yoke and give us Your easy and light one- we are so Thankful!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Watch OUT!

Thanks to Kim for a strong and needed Word.... this is so confirmed in my spirit!

God's Word encourages, comforts, brings us peace, displays His Love for us but it also WARNS us and makes sure we are AWARE of what we are up against......

"And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he (dragon) was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short."
Revelation 12: 7-9, 12

WATCH OUT!!! We have an evil angel lurking after us!
He was at God's right hand, an anointed guardian cherub who "was blameless in his ways until wickedness was found in him!" (Ezekiel 28: 15)
He wanted it ALL! (and still does!)
He wants to BE God!
He wants everything to be about him!! (sound familiar?)
He was thrown out of heaven and is "filled with fury"!
He knows he is on a fixed time limit!
He wants to take as many as possible with him into eternal damnation!!
So, WATCH OUT, he is on a mission for your soul!!

Are you SCARED? You should be!!
Do you feel HOPELESS against him?? You don't have to be!

Because Satan, Lucifer, has already been DEFEATED!!! Alleluia!!!!!
God's got our back! Let us be careful NOT to turn our back on Him!!!!!!!

Should we still be ALERT? ALWAYS!!!!
Should we BE PREPARED? We better be! Our Heavenly Father gives us all the tools!!
(Ephesians 6: 13-18, Putting on the full Armor of God!)

Our Savior, we come to You in prayer, not only because we love being in Your Presence, but also because being in communion with You gives us STRENGTH against the evil one!!

We are bombarded by the ways of the world, the way they are so enticing and the way they sneak into our everyday lives that we can easily forget Your Ways and how much better they are for us!

Thank You Father for taking such GREAT CARE of us!

In these uncertain times Father, we are comforted by the fact that YOU ARE THE SAME today as You were yesterday and will be tomorrow!!

In Jesus' POWERFUL Name we come to You. Amen.