Last June Sabbath

Good afternoon and Happy Sabbath

No complaints. God is good.  I watched part of a good sermon, a great message from a sister church and am pleased to hear that my sister is tuning in.  I feel like the sermon was mostly for my dad but he has been doing his own thing and there were some terrible things said about him that I believe are true.  God can change anything and anyone if they allow Him and despite my dad's flaws, he is no exception to God's grace and mercy. 

My dad's 79th birthday is tomorrow.  I kept thinking he was at 80 but he is taking a slow long time getting to it.  He is running out of time and so is my mother who turned 68 this year.  I am 36 and almost middle aged. Yikes.  I was looking at photos of myself from 5 years ago and even from last month wondering how long my youthfulness will last.  Lots of things no one tells you when you enter your thirties.  Like how hard it is to lose weight, arthritis is real and sprouting chin hairs...beard life is real for some ladies.  All I am trying to fight and more. 

I reviewed with the children during Bible class this afternoon that God will give us glorious new bodies. We won't have wrinkles or ashy skin. We won't have struggle hair or need to get root canals because the oversized filling done back when we were gobbling candies as children came loose a second time and the tooth is at risk of permanent loss.  We won't have to worry about pms, HTN, and so many other health conditions that plague us as our bodies age and weaken.

We won't have to deal with imperfection.  Food will be delicious, of maximum nutrition and available at no cost to other people's or animal lives.  The air will be fragrant with the loveliest flowers. The eye will see the most vivid color and perhaps ranges of color we never knew existed.  Heaven is what we aught to long for as we age and even now because tomorrow, today is not promised.  We can be gone in a moment. 

I pray it is not too late for him, for my parents, my family or myself.

God is good.  I thank Him for bringing me through another week, for helping me to do good work and helping me to do better, be better this week.  Please say a prayer for my coworker's son who was in a motorcycle accident.  He had surgery on Friday and he has a long recovery period and money is still needed for all of this. 

May the Lord be with you into the new week and into July. May your month be healthy, COVID free, racism free, and awesome :)

Fathers Day and belated Juneteenth

Happy Sabbath

I am having a good week and enjoyed an awesome day off on Juneteenth.  My company announced to as a holiday prior to other companies and before the city did.  I celebrated by doing some gardening, using my grill for the first time this year, and doing my hair.  I stopped over at my parent's home so my son could use their organ for his show and tell presentation.  He almost broke my clarinets so I put them away and wondered what he would do for the class.  I intended to head out of the house only to mail in my ballot for my state's primary but ended up making it a road trip around town, to my parents, a school parking lot, mcdonalds, and other random streets I decided to roll up since my son has not been out of the house except to go to my parents home the evenings I have to work.

I spoke with my sister this week a few times and she shared some disturbing information about my parents.  I don't doubt what she has to say. I'm not shocked by what was said as I have conditioned myself not to be surprised by the terrible truths that come out for a lot of situations. I know the sins I have committed so to rush and take anyones side of things when not hearing all sides is not wise.  I advised her to pray about them and her relationship with them.  God can do the impossible.  The sad and terrible things she shared, God is the only one who can fix all of that. 

I am about to go to Bible class with the children in a moment but I wanted to share that she asked about Bible studies.  I gave her a link for my church's weekly service and where she can get Bible study materials since it sounded like she wanted to search on her own.  I was pleased to see that she joined this morning to watch the service and more importantly, there was something in there to speak to the current situation she/we are dealing with for our parents.  I really hope she gets the answers she is looking for and that she allows the Lord to guide her fully.  I need the same as I have been wayward at times.

I'm going to go, but my testimony is spreading the word of Jesus with family.  I pray that she will walk with Jesus in the manner He desires of her.  I also pray that you as the reader have a blessed and wonderful Sabbath afternoon and new week to come.  No matter what those hurts are, God can heal them all.  Give it to God and trust that He can handle any challenge that comes your way and make wrongs right.

Going Through It

Happy Sabbath

I thank the Lord for another day, a sunny, comfortable, quiet day. A safe day, place for me to just be in a not at all safe world.  I am going through it and I know thousands, millions of other people are going through theirs as well.  The little confidence I may have had in other people who were close at different points to me, in things put in place putting on the face of security, is quickly evaporating and I am less tolerant, less forgiving, and more guarded and isolated than ever before.  The news is lacking, not covering things that are smack right in our faces that are impossible to deny; it is hard to watch. The love of many is waxing cold, people are cruel to one another and I am feeling a similar negativity in my own heart.  God said these things would happen and these times would come.  They have been here and will persist until the time of the end, until the day that Jesus returns. 

We cannot forget who we are living for and why we were given the breath we breathe.  The world is a difficult place to exist in and although you perhaps may feel as I do or who knows, worse things that you are ashamed to speak on, each day we have is another day we can grow closer to God.  Thank the Lord that we were not struck down even with the thoughts we have had and/or the actions we took. Every day truly is another chance. 

Turn to God.

That is the message I have for you and myself.  He is the only One who sustains us.  He can turn anything around and we must not forget that.  The world has turned their back on God. Their hearts have turned against God and against each other.  I don't like what I feel in my heart and I have a responsibility to seek God to work through and fix this.  We have to acknowledge the problem first before we can do anything about it.  As a black person, I have a problem with the way the world views me and treats me and I have a problem with how I am responding to it, to them.  I am conflicted with all that is happening but remember and encourage you to look up. There is a higher ground, a road that the Lord, our God offers us to travel.  There are no separate roads that lead to heaven.  There is only one and that is through Jesus.  Turn to God, turn to Jesus and though we are going through...this, remember that we are "going" and not staying.

Praise God for your blessings and hold on to Him.

I Thank You

Good afternoon and Happy Sabbath

I thank the Lord for this week.
I thank the Lord for my home and family.
I thank the Lord that my tax return is in my account. 
I thank the Lord that my electric is back on after the storm passed. It was out a little over 24 hours.
I thank the Lord that I did not lose my food as a result of the power outage.
I thank the Lord that I can prepare meals using my wood stove.
I thank the Lord for Amazon sending items I was expecting during the middle of June early on.  I just received my fire stick and am watching a church service on my tv.  I had some Bible movies pulled up and access to so many things and I wish I had done this sooner.
I thank the Lord for sunshine.
I thank the Lord for rain that waters my garden.
I thank the Lord for the flowers I can see in my garden and the food I have taken and can continue to take from my other garden projects.
I thank the Lord for summer.
I thank the Lord for sleep.
I thank the Lord that my employer's heart was pressed and they have given Juneteenth to be a company holiday this year and all employees are off.  I also thank Him for also putting it upon my employer's heart for a raise and bonuses for all employees.
I thank the Lord that I can do something to help my community and others who are in need.
I thank the Lord for outlets where I can share the good news of Jesus Christ.
I thank the Lord for many things.

Thank you for the Sabbath and for another day we can enjoy You.