Stop judging...

I truly enjoy the book "Jesus Calling".  Today's reading was about not judging, but it wasn't talking about judging others.  It was about not judging ourselves!  The first sentence reads, "Stop judging and evaluating yourself, for this is not your role."  Whew!  I am so happy to read this!  


We judge ourselves all the time!  Do any of you wonder if some day you will be found out?  That you are not as wonderful as people think you are, not as smart or beautiful as people say?  We all have flaws and thank goodness for them!  


Jesus set the example for not judging.  He hang out with the undesirables, those the world judged as unworthy, beneath them.  But we are all human.  We hurt, we bleed, we rejoice, we cry.  You never know if the person sitting next to you at a meeting is struggling with life issues or happy as a lark.  We need to be kind to one another.  It isn't always easy, especially if we disagree with the other person.  Or if they are different from us.  Do we volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter?  Do we talk to the person on street asking for money?  Or are we "too busy" or afraid.


Judge not and be not judged.  That is the goal.


Peace my friends,
Linda

Prayer

Prayer is an amazing thing.  It can calm our inner storms, give us an outlet to praise God and we can beg for forgiveness.  I know Webster has defined the word prayer and yet prayer is so many things and can be done in so many ways.


People complain prayer has been removed from our schools.  Only formal prayer has been removed from schools.  Students still pray as they start a big test, a girl still prays the cute boy will ask her to the dance, and the athletic prays his team will win.  


We offer prayers for those who are suffering, who are ill, who are going through tough times.  We praise God in prayer and are thankful for our blessings.


Prayer can be formal or simple, spoken or unspoken.  It is a conversation with God.  There are formulas for prayer, but God doesn't hold us to it.  Sometimes it is all we can do to just sit in the presence of God.


We must remember to take time to listen to God's part of the conversation.  It isn't all about us. God has something to say to us, but sometimes we are only interested in unloading on God.  


Be prayerful my friend.

Death

"To everything there is a  season: a time to be born and a time to die" 

I have been to many a funeral where this passage was shared.  We are all appointed a time to die.  I believe that, but more times than not, death is not easy to accept.   And saying, "It's God's will" is brutal to hear.  A child murdered and buried in a hole for twenty years cannot be "God's will", can it?  I believe evil has something to do with it.


It has been a long held belief of mine that when it is your time to die, you will die.  It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, or what you are doing.   The circumstances may be up for discussion, but when is set when you are born (or maybe before).


My friend, Joe, was in a motorcycle accident.  He was thrown from the bike and landed on the right side of his head.  His helmet did little to protect him.  From the way his beloved wife, Alyson, described his injuries, Joe is "lucky" to be alive.  But was it luck?  Or was it not yet time for Joe to die?  It has been a blessing that Joe is alive.  He is struggling to regain his health.  For all the struggles and long nights, we are all happy to have Joe with us.  He continues to grow stronger every day.  Please keep him and Alyson in your prayers.  They have a long road of recovery ahead of them, but they will do it together.


Another friend of mine, Jason, lost his life to illness.  He had been fighting the flu or a cold that continued to get worse.  His brother, Jim, took him to the hospital.  Within in 48 hours, Jason was dead.  As he fought to breathe, he cried out to his brother to help him.  Was it Jason's time to die?  God's will? His death was sudden and is still difficult to comprehend. All I know for sure is that those who knew Jason and the community in general lost a champion.  His two children, Maddie and Ben, buried their father.  Danille, his fiancee, buried not only the man she loved, but the future they were planning to share.  The Christensen family buried a son, a brother, an uncle.  The community lost a police officer dedicated to the city he served.  It is difficult to make sense of his death.  He was young and    was one of those people who took command of a situation.  It has been a year since Jason left us.  Please pray for his children and his family.
Death seems so permanent to us here on earth.  It is comforting to know you can pick up a phone to call someone or send a text or email.  But when someone dies, contact is broken.  We no longer hear there voice, feel their comforting arms around us, or create memories.  We have the promise of a life after this, but we are impatient beings.  
My mom passed away 6 1/2 years ago.  There are still times when I reach for the phone to call her.  I miss her terribly.  She often accompanied me and the girls to a parade or on some little trip.  She taught me to respect the dead and we would often visit the cemetery to place flowers.


So I have just rambled about death.  It is late and hopefully this made some sense.  
Love those around you now.  Tomorrow might be too late.
Blessings, 
Linda

Hell -Part II

So... Hell -Part II... I truly believe there is a Heaven and a Hell.  The Catholic Church teaches about both.   I don't believe you can have one without the other.  And to demonstrate how intimately they are connected, we read in the Book of Job, Chapter 1:6-7: "One day, when the sons of God (*angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan also came among them.  And the Lord said to Satan, 'Whence do you come?'  Then Satan answered, 'From roaming the earth and patrolling it."   The same situation/conversation takes place in Chapter 2.  How interesting that Satan seemingly strolls into the presence of God along with the angels.  This is one of those "inquiring minds" question that I would love to have answered.  Does Satan continue to stroll into the presence of the Lord?  He is definitely roaming and patrolling the earth!  Why does the Lord allow this? 


I once had an experience with a demonic "something".  It was an overwhelming feeling of darkness. I was alone in a cabin at Girls' Church Camp.  It had been an especially inspiring morning and I was putting away my bible when I heard a noise on the top bunk.  I was hoping it was a raccoon or squirrel.  I stood up and then the noise moved to the lower bunk.  As I stood there, darkness, like a thick black cloud, began to envelope the room.  Sort of like the Dementors in  Harry Potter without the coldness.   I said the first thing that popped in my head - In Jesus name I command you to leave!  Well I'm here to tell you that actually works!!  Instantly the darkness was gone and it was all I could do  to NOT to run down the hill to the main meeting area.  I thought I would be more frightened than I was, but thanks to Jesus, I felt safe.
So if Hell exists, what can we do to avoid going there?  It doesn't sound like somewhere any one would choose to go and yet I believe there will be those who do.  For those of us who believe, it is unfathomable someone can look into the loving eyes of God and reject Him.  How sad for them.
On the side.... some of you may know that I was raised in the Mormon faith.  It has been awhile, but from what I remember, the Mormon faith does not teach about hell.  They have "Outer Darkness".  It is a complete disconnection with all that is Holy.  In short, there are three degrees of Heaven - Celestial (where all faithful Mormons desire to go), Terrestial (where the "good" non-Mormons will go), and Telestial (reserved for the rapists, murderers, evil folks).  If it turns out the Mormon Church is true, I, my friends, will be banished to Outer Darkness.  That is reserved for the "sons of perdition" -those who knew the truth and rejected it. In the eyes of the Mormon faith, I have committed a more grievous sin than a murderer.  Just so you know, I'm not a big fan of the dark.  Here's hoping they're wrong.


As you go through your days, your hours, your moments, remember that your choices and actions will be recorded by the angels.  Each day, you choose heaven or hell.  You follow God or Satan.  God loves each and everyone of us: the Christian praying for guidance, the homeless man wandering the streets, the thug carjacking a vehicle, the prostitute selling her body, the average Joe just trying to survive in a crazy world.  Love people, see God in them.  Choose heaven. 
Blessings, 
Linda


P.S. Please know that I struggle every day with following Christ.  I get angry and I can be prideful, but I'm trying.  Pray for me as I pray for you.  And please pray for those who have no one to pray for them.  <3

Hell -Part I

My friend -

A week ago I read a book written by a woman about the horrors of hell.  According to her, she was visited by Jesus and escorted to hell for 30 nights.  At the end, Jesus took her to  Heaven for 10 days.  I plan on reading the second book -"A Divine Revelation of Heaven".  I'm curious why only 10 days.

Back to the subject... the visions Mary had of hell spoke of unending fire, inhuman stench, and an overpowering sense of fear and hopelessness..  There were a handful of individual encounters that intrigued me.  There was a man who was preaching the Word of God.  Hmmm... why would a preacher be in the depths of hell?  Well, apparently this man at some point went from preaching the Word to preaching what was good for him.  He led many people away from the Truth.  Interestingly enough, according to Mary, those who had been led astray were tormenting this man in hell.  Moral of the story... be careful who you follow. 

[SIDE NOTE: In my early Catholic years, we had a priest who decided after 25 years of serving the people, he was "owed".  He gave beautiful, inspiring homilies at Mass, but he was also leading a separate life.  He was living in a house several blocks from the parish and had phone calls forwarded to the house.  This man played golf EVERY Tuesday with the Bishop and a couple of priest friends.  Not one of them knew he had a separate house or that he was stealing from the parish.  He was lying to his Bishop, his friends, his parishioners, and himself.  He went from serving to being served.  His indiscretions were brought to light and the parish was ripped apart.  There were those who blindly believed and followed him and then there were those who sought the truth and found it.  Being a "new" Catholic, people were concerned this would make me falter, but my faith and belief was in God, not a man.  There are priests that I love and adore, who challenge me to be a better Catholic, but I do not blindly follow them.  My hope is in Christ.  After reading this book, I wonder if this priest will be like the preacher in hell and will those who defended him be there with them.  I pray they will see the Truth and repent.]

The stories in the book spoke of witches and those steeped in the occult, of a woman who was faithful but became hateful and full of vengeance when her husband had an affair.  He begged for forgiveness, but she refused.  Bitterness enveloped her and she ended up murdering her husband and the woman.  One common thread among them was as much as they begged Jesus to forgive them and rescue them (and they sounded sincere), He reminded them they made their choice.  They turned from begging and pleading to cursing and swearing at Jesus.  I don't know about you, but doesn't help your case to curse Jesus.  Mary related the pain and sadness on Jesus' face with each of these encounters.

Jesus keeps promising Mary that He will never leave or forsake her.  One night, as they ventured deep into hell, Jesus vanished.  She was alone in the depths of hell without her Savior.  She was tormented and felt abandoned.  It reminded me of the early disciples.  They walked with Jesus on a daily basis, lived with Him, and witnessed His miracles.  And yet, they didn't grasp what was right there in front on them.  Jesus promised Mary he would never forsake her and yet she doubted it.  She cried out for him in fear and begged to die.  Jesus appeared and relieved her fears.  

How often do we doubt the Lord's presence in our lives?  Mary was told He wanted her to experience Hell to better lead others away from a life that leads to this unending pain.  I almost wrote ...and sorrow, but with each story Mary relates, there is no sorrow.  There is only self pity and justification for their sins.

I don't know if Mary truly experienced hell and Heaven.  Does it matter?  If her books and talks steer people away from the wages of sin, then that is a good thing.  I know the Catholic Church teaches there truly is a hell and "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin". (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1864)

I think this needs another day.  So tomorrow (or later tonight) will be Hell Part II.  Harden not your hearts, my friends, but seek God's face and be kind to one another.

Be well~

Linda

Lenten Season

The Lenten season has begun!  Since becoming a Roman Catholic, Lent has become one of my favorite parts of the year.  It is six weeks of self reflection, prayer, and almsgiving.  There are those who EVERY Lent give up chocolate, soda, or sweets.  While for some that is a great sacrifice, for most it is not.
At the end of Lent, we should be different.  We should feel different.  It is not just about giving up something, but doing something.  Spend time with another person and completely focus on THEM, not you.  Do a good deed.  Spend more time in prayer or reading uplifting, positive books.  
You have six weeks to be a better you and then celebrate it at Easter.  Easter is my favorite time of year.  If I could choose a time of year to die, it would be during the Easter season.  It is filled with hope, faith, and the joy of the Resurrection.  The messages during the Easter season are positive and uplifting!  He is not dead, He is risen!  But before we can rejoice, we must journey through Lent.
What are my plans?  I'm going to write.  God has given me a talent to write and I need to honor that talent by doing it.  I'm spending time in prayer and reflecting on where God is leading me.  
I must warn you that the adversary does not like Lent.  When we choose to grow closer to God, Lucifer readies for battle.  He knows what brings us to anger, what depresses us, what causes us to move away from God.  Stand firm and strong, my friend.  Do not falter!  God will send His angels to protect you.  Just ask!
Another "thing" I plan on doing is keeping my blog up to date.  So... tomorrow's topic will be Hell.  I finished a book written by Mary K Baxter called "A Divine Revelation of Hell".  I have my own thoughts about it.  
See you tomorrow!
Faith and peace, 
Linda

New Year

Happy New Year!
 Time for resolutions, new beginnings, and change.  Yes, I am among those who will make resolutions this year.  My friend Brenda gave me a book -"The Happiness Project" for my birthday.  So 2012 will be filled with happiness, joy, and all things good.  A perfect project for an optimist!!  So please bear with me when the trials of real life show up.  Okay, with that out of the way, let's move on to resolutions!


I resolve to focus on the positive.   In every situation there is a positive response and a negative one.  In the past six months or so, I seem to have looked at the negative.  A bit disconcerting for an optimist.  A co-worker has challenged me to put a penny in a jar every time I'm negative.  Hopefully it won't be too full.


I resolve to lose 3.3 pounds each month.  (I was going to put 40 pounds for the year, but that seemed too big a goal.)  How will I lose the pounds?  Exercise =I'm going to walk at least three times a week and work out at the gym twice a week and change my eating habits =more fruits and veggies, less chips and cookies.


I resolve to spend 15 minutes every day writing something!  I'd like to resolve to finish a book in a year's time, but I don't want to scare myself!  If December arrives and a book is complete -that will be my Christmas present!


I resolve to be a better wife, mother, family member, friend, and co-worker.  My life is filled with so many good things.  It is the people in my life who help me and encourage me.  My husband is wonderful, my children are kind, loving human beings, my family loves me, and my friends are always there for me.  I work with some really awesome people.  Together we rock!


What do you resolve to do and be?