God on Trial – DVD Review

Bobby and I watched this together and we both had the same thought, why would anyone waste their time and money making something like this. What good could have possibly come from finding God guilty or innocent of murder. This might have helped those in the actual camps deal with their pain by giving them something to do, to keep their mind off the horrible circumstances the were in.

People try too hard to explain God. They want to think this through logically, put everything into a nice little cubbyhole. We discussed this before, we “Westerners” try too hard to explain God. We need to let go and let God just be.

We feel if we act a certain way, then we can predict what will happen and control our lives. With control comes security. The only true security we really have is that God loves us and wants to be happy.

God created man is His own image, and then He gave us a free will, or the freedom to make our own choices. God is a loving and forgiving Father, who wants only good for us. When he gave us, His children, the choice to live our lives as we so choose, that also means we have responsibilities to our brothers and sisters. A poet once said “no man is an island,” we are all interconnected, all of our actions today have consequences or ramifications. We may not see these consequences today or ever in our lifetime, but know that they happen. Just as a butterfly flapping her wings here today, given the right circumstances could create a windstorm around the world next week, next month or next year.

What could we compare today to the holocaust, take for example a person with a fatal disease, ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. Neither group asked for their life situation, or did anything wrong so as to be punished. So why then, does God allow good, innocent people to suffer? Because it’s His plan, not ours. We do not fully understand God’s plan for us, nor will we ever understand it. What we need to do is to let go and let God work through us, for His purpose. Do you really think St. Anne realized that she was preparing her young daughter, Mary to be the Mother of Jesus our Lord and Savior, when she taught her to be a good Jewish girl. Or did Mary really understand the her baby boy, now a man, but always her baby, was suffering the terrible beatings and death to save you and me 2010 years later? No, you nor I, can ever fully comprehend God’s plan for us.

As long as we human beings live in a self-centered world and not an other centered world, we will feel our sufferings and persecutions. Jesus came to teach us love our brother as ourselves. As long as we are being a servant to our brothers we will not spend as much time dwelling on our problems and they will not seem quite as large and forbearing.

Oh, yeah, we as humans want things done in our time, thank goodness God has a sense of humor. All things will be done in God’s time, according to His plan.

Where does all this evil come from? They never spoke of the devil in the DVD – and his influence on people. Who knows, what if the devil is the one behind all kinds of evils, sickness of the mind, sickness of the body, sickness of the spirit and what if the devil is using all these sicknesses to turn us away from God. Hitler was defiantly sick in the mind when he commanded all those deaths. Is sickness of the body a test of our faith, is it a way the devil uses to push us away from God? I do not believe God ever tests us, although I strongly believe that the devil taunts us. So how are good, I mean really good, caring and loving people stuck down with sickness, injury and other evils? Is it that persons choice, or something that was set in motion generations back, or maybe, just maybe the devil made me do it. We don’t really know the mind of God, He is too great. Only He knows His plan and His timetable. God will walk with us, even carry us, through good times and bad times, in sickness and health on this our journey called life.

Debating the law was a kind of prayer for them, they repeated passages from the Torah, reminding them that God is here among them, even though they felt God abandoned them. In actuality all these horrendous things and sicknesses, remind us generations later that we have the choice, to do good things or to do bad things. Many times the harder choice is to do good things.

“Don’t let them take your God- let that be something they can’t take away from you.”

“One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that’s all I’m asking from you…. Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me the way, one day at a time."

Sometimes, when I sit and pray I don’t feel like God is listening to me, Why do I think that? Well, you see, I feel like I don’t get an answer. I’m a concrete person. I want to be able to reach out and touch my answer. Sometimes we get a material sign that our prayer has been answered, but more than likely the answer we get is a sign that has meaning to only us. What happens when we can’t hear or aren’t listening carefully for an answer?

Is there a difference between “can’t hear” and “not listening”? I do believe that there is a big difference. When someone can’t hear that indicates that something or someone is drowning out or blocking the message. But not listening, that’s all about me. When your not listening, you are not quite settling down and being quiet and letting God’s messages come to you.

Quieting my brain is occasionally the hardest thing to do. At times I have so much on my mind there was no way to block it out, so instead of fighting it I have learned to write down my thoughts. And then go back to quieting my mind, till another thought comes. By writing my thoughts down I don’t have to worry I will forget something.

Other times if I sat still for 5 minutes I would fall asleep, no really, I would feel bad, here I was trying to pray and I could not even stay awake. Well I’m in good company, weren’t there another group of 12 who could not stay awake and pray? As a parent I’ve come to understand God as a loving parent who want the best for His children. If a nap is what I need, I believe God is holding me while I sleep, much as I did when my babies were small. I imagine God looking down on my sleeping face, and talking to me as I did with my babies, telling me of His great plans for my life. As He whispers in my ear He IS teaching me the way, His way, one day at a time.

Music, words from the spirit

Music is so special in my life, and when I awake with a song running through my head, well, I can only guess that is my message or mantra for the day. Whether it’s from God, the Angels, or my guides, I’m sure it’s the information I need to get through my day.

Why is it in my head when I wake up? Maybe my mind is just too busy when I’m awake to hear the message. And possibly, just maybe, it’s there when I first wake up so that I can’t doubt it’s a message sent from above. If it’s in my head when I awake, I could not have consciously put it there. All I can ascertain is that God put it in my head as a message to me.

But why is it always a song? Especially a song I love and am very familiar with? I think that is an real easy one, so I don’t forget it, so I’m up long enough and awake enough to really remember it and to start my day off on an up beat. As I move around and start my day, it reverberates like a prayer, it is with me as I wash up, dress and eat my breakfast. And it’s with me as I start my daily work. Is it there to guide me in my work?Or more likely it is to remind me God is always with me?

What else can go wrong? How much worse can it get? What now?

I do not believe we have a God that punishes us when things get tough. I do believe we have a loving and forgiving Father, a caring Brother who gave His life for our sins, and a Spirit that gives us the most amazing thoughts and words to live by. I do believe our God not only walks with us in times of trouble and strife but He sometimes carries us though the crisis. When faced with adversity why do we turn on God and say “What did I ever do to deserve this?” or “Why me?” why are we looking to blame God when something goes wrong in OUR plan for OUR life? Well that’s an easy one, it’s not our plan for our life it’s Gods plan for our life. And if what we want and what God knows is best for us, is the same well then, that’s great, but it doesn’t always work that way. Many times God’s plan is no where near how we plan our life. Rather than being in dialog with God and asking how our life should be, we decide we know what is best for us. We don’t converse with God, we dictate how we want things. We don’t always listen.

I feel our time would be better spent thanking God for the good in life. Now don’t tell me you have nothing to be thankful for in your present condition. Plenty of people are worse off than you are right now. Maybe your life is not going the way you want it to go right now, if your health is your trouble, look at the young mother in the terminal cancer ward. Your relationship giving you problems? The Army wife with young kids would love to have your problems. Are your children giving you gray hairs, tell your troubles to the parents who just lost their only child. Somebody is always worse off than you. Should that make you feel any better? Well yeah, when you concentrate on others, suddenly you don’t feel so bad.

That does not explain why bad things happen to good people, why some are given more burdens to carry through this life. Sometimes you just have to trudge through the clouds and the rain and storms, or in some cases a hurricane to appreciate all the good in your life.

Or maybe it’s the devil causing you to stumble and question your faith. I once heard something about the devil tempting you the most, the closer you got to God.

I think a gratitude journal is can be you new best friend. Now this may sound silly but at one time when my kids were small and we were going through a rough patch we had a happy book. Any time something made someone happy we recorded it in the book, with words, pictures or drawings. And each week we read the book together going over what each of us enjoyed. So each spend some time recording what makes you happy and things you are grateful for. Get an old notebook or a pretty new journal it really doesn’t matter. Spend 15 minutes each day recording things that made you happy or that you are grateful for. I like to be able to go back and see the good in my life, when I start reading and then add to it I feel like I am not quite so down. On my worst days I may be only able to add simple things such as I got out of bed on time, went for a walk or enjoyed an uninterrupted bubble bath or even someone smiled at me.

The line from this song was stuck in my head all day yesterday “I will raise you up on eagles wings…..hold you in the palm of my hand.” That was my sign, things will not be easy but they will work out! How do I know this is my sign? I just do! And you too WILL know your sign.

Working Womans Cookbook

Hey Folks, I have to tell you about this new cookbook I just got. I've been getting this lady's menu mailer for a few years now and it's been great! Now she has a cookbook with 12 weeks of menu's and shopping lists in it.
Click Here!

It's great and since she is a nutritionist it's also real healthy, real good food. My family likes most all the dishes, as a matter of fact, I now have to name a dish if I make it up on my own, since all her dishes are named and I put them on the calendar by name. It's also great as Bobby likes to cook and will makes a recipe if it's listed on the calendar and he's hungry.

Wealth

What is wealth?

Let us explore that for just a few moments. Wealth is a young child jumping off a swing. Wealth is a young couple just starting their life together. Wealth is a someone who has family, friends, a roof over their heads, a warm bed to sleep in, food within easy reach. Wealth is loving others and getting that love returned. Wealth is being rich and having abundance.

Wealth is not the number of dollars you have, it's what you do with those dollars that makes you rich. Money is not wealth, but money does give you choices. You can have lots of dollars but be neither rich or wealthy.

When I look around, I see I am very rich and wealthy, I have the love of family and friends that we share together, the rich memories we have created over the years, the kind of love money can't buy. So I guess you can say wealth is a state of mind.

Money does give us options though. Do we keep it hidden all for ourselves? Do we share a little of what we have left over? or as the rich man does, do we first share with others, knowing it will come back to us ten fold? Now that is what I call abundance.

Are you rich or wealthy? Do you have abundance? It's really all up to you.

Holy Week: Take Time Apart for Renewal

In the course of our busy week, we most likely have times set apart for certain things that are important to us—a workout, a few social phone calls, or maybe even a short catnap—so that we can renew ourselves, our energy, and our perspective. Holy Week is a time that is set apart in our Church’s year for our spiritual renewal. In fact, the word holy refers to anything that is set apart for God’s purposes. Holy Week is holy precisely because it is time that is set apart for us to focus on how we are spiritually renewed through the suffering, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.

Holy Week is filled with some of the richest and most ancient symbols of our faith.

The waving of palms on Passion (Palm) Sunday reminds us that we are called to be followers of Jesus, not just fans who cheer from a distance.

The washing of feet on Holy Thursday speaks to us of the selfless love that we are called to practice in imitation of Jesus.

The Stations of the Cross on Good Friday reminds us that, as Christians, we believe that Jesus can overcome anything, even death.

The joy of Easter Sunday speaks to us of the new life that is ours because of Jesus’ triumph over the darkness of sin and death through his resurrection.

This Holy Week allow yourself time apart, holy time, to spend with Jesus. It may be a time set apart to un-clutter your mind, lay down your burdens, and renew your faith in Jesus.