The Lie

I've always heard it explained that the lie Satan told Eve that really was the lie is that they would be as gods.

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (said the serpent)

BUT that was true:

And the LORD God (Jehovah elohiym) said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 

You know the rest, God sent them out of the garden and forbid them from access to the tree of life. Therefore, this would be better called the temptation and not the lie.






Now, the lie:


Eve said that God said:

 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 


Satan says:

 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:


God said:
 

 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.



The lie was that they would not die, but the temptation to disobey God was that they would be as gods. (which was true in the knowledge of good and evil respect....God even says so).





It got me to thinking about a couple of knowledge verses:

For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Ecc 1:18

Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Prov4:7

I believe in the sovereignty of God and that if He hadn't intended Eve to eat, and later Adam, it wouldn't have happened. God wanted us to be wise, but why by disobedience?

For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. (Romans 11:32)

Perhaps?

If You Pray, Why Worry? If You Worry, Why Pray?

This is a good saying, something an old friend used to say to me.  It's true.

It's clothed today....

 I've been doing "the worrying" this week. I don't know what's up.



My grandmother used to tell me when I was worried about something to give myself permission to not think about it for awhile. That's also good advice.




I don't even usually worry about important things, just little things that just get under my skin and steal all my peace.




I am a worrier, yes it's true. The Lord has taken MUCH of it away over the years, but I still have my moments.





My littlest lad had a nightmare or something last night and ended up in my bed for the last couple of hours of the morning. As I was trying to get comfortable with five year old elbows and knees jabbing me and such, I thought about some of the things I used to worry about for him, and how those things are all right now.






When I first met the Mr., one of the best things about him is he always said. "It's going to be alright." Sometimes, I would just ask him to say it, no matter what I was dealing with at the time, because it always was, and I just needed to hear it.



Jesus says not to worry, Paul tells us not to worry, Peter tells us not to worry.


So, today, I give myself permission not to.

Clouds XIX

Yesterday, I was taking a break after lunch when my six year old came into my room.  "Look at these clouds, Mom," he chirped, "Can you take a picture of them with your camera?"


So I did.

He said they looked like "ghosts chasing each other."

Man and Woman, Christ and the Bride

and a mist goeth up from the earth, and hath watered the whole face of the ground.

 In Genesis 2 we are now given a name for God as Sarah pointed out on her blog some time ago.

I wonder why not from the very beginning?


 The theme of man and woman , Jehovah as the husband of Israel, and Christ and the bride came to mind when reading the rest of the chapter.

 And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

 I think about Adam and Eve and as Christ the second Adam:

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1Cor 15:45

And the wife of Adam and bride of Christ. 


In Ephesians 5 Paul tells wives and husbands how to behave. Husbands are the head of the wife and are to love as Christ loved His church (which is also His body- for no man ever hated His own body). And wives are to be subject to the husband as the husband "represents" Christ in the (ideal) family model.

Paul says this is a great mystery...indeed. That is something to chew on for awhile.

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:20)

Music Saturday

I didn't plan to post anything this weekend, but I just have to pass this along.

Petra is not only a talented writer and crocheter- check out her A-Z posts this month, but she has shared her husband's music with us today and I want to post it here, too.

I also spent some time this morning on his youtube channel and wanted to post this one, too. I like the mood of it:

So go check it out!

Scripture Reading Thoughts- Day and Night

Okay, so I mentioned that I was going to start reading the scriptures again from the beginning. Clearly this is going to take a lot of time, but hey, patience is a fruit of the Spirit, no?


I won't bore you all with a verse by verse thing, but I do hope to put down certain gleanings or questions here and there so we can sharpen one another.


I am not guaranteeing that anything I write here will make any sense. These will be thinking-out-loud type posts.


In Genesis 1:

Gen 1:5

and God calleth to the light `Day,' and to the darkness He hath called `Night;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day one.

God separated the light from the darkness and I got to thinking about other places where day and night, light and darkness are used.

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. (John 9:4)



For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.(1 Thess 5:7-8)

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.(1John 1:5)


And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.(Daniel 12:3)

I like this because it seems as if as stars we are shining in the darkness...hmm?

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:2Peter 1:19


Its gates will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there) Rev 21:25

There of course are many many more, but these are those that came to mind immediately.



It also struck me (and I have to point out that this is not my idea, but I heard someone say it) that God begins the day with evening and then morning. So, in a way the whole of his plan starts in darkness and ends in light.


That is interesting.



And now some music:)

Spelling Words

I was writing out my son's spelling words last week and they seemed to tell the story of my present mood.

 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed

It's all good, though. He puts us through seasons. Sometimes our biggest fears are just the imaginings of our own minds.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.(1John 4:18)

I find that fear is a huge problem. The what if's, coulda shouldas, not knowing what each day will bring.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -Paul

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.- Jesus the Son of God

If the son of the living God tells us not to worry, then what do we have need to worry?

If God is for us, who can be against us? (from Romans 8)

I would love to read the entire scriptures again, from the beginning, without any systematic theology structure and get the big picture.   I should do that.

I'm a Quitter Part 2

 

Since confessing to giving up the homemade laundry detergent, I should let you in on another secret.






I've been buying toothpaste again.

Remember I tried some homemade concoction?

And then that was not working out so well, so I tried something else?

Well it got worse, and found that my teeth had become very sensitive so much that I went ahead and bought the sensitive tooth stuff (and it is actually working).







Which got me to thinking as to why I started doing all the homemade stuff to begin with. Sure it is fun as a hobby: pioneering and do-it-yourself satisfaction is great. It can be more frugal in some cases, but more often than not, isn't really.



 But there was a bigger issue, issues that stem from my distrust of the entire world and everything in it. The big corporations are out to get us and poison us and it's all a big conspiracy type thing. 



For example:
I was a cloth diaper snob with kiddos 3, 4, and 5, but when 6 rolled around, we had so much laundry that I felt the disposables were worth it.  And you know what?



THEY    WERE    GREAT!


THIS is why people invented 'sposies.





I don't think anymore that all progress is a big conspiracy to destroy the earth or to fill us with toxins or to rearrange our DNA (yes, I have heard pastors online say this).  Some may be, most isn't. So many wonderful things have been invented to make our lives better. Some we don't need, some I don't want, but who wants to go back to pre-electric days really?





So, I'm quitting being scared of the world, of the NWO, of the devil. He who is in me is greater that he who is in the world!

Nutella, Fake Lavender, and More

I'm gonna level with you,

I'm bummed out.

I've got ze blahs and that ain't no fun.




So instead of the me on my soapbox, trying to get a point across and be spiritual but not pretentious post I had planned that later made me kinda want to puke later after thinking about posting it, (I still might, though, someday) I have some odds and ends to share with you.



Petra lighted up my life with the gift of Nutella a while back and then later claimed that a knock off brand was just as good. I put it to the test this week with the Kroger variety. Verdict: Yum! I may even like it better than the name brand.

Meh.........Yum

I also bought this super fancy and quite pricey chocolate and peanut butter mixed up that I have been eying at the grocery for months now. I broke down and bought it last week justifying it that we could eat it on toast for breakfast. Verdict: meh. It looked SOOOO good, too. But it tastes exactly like peanut butter: expensive, chocolate colored peanut butter.



Speaking of disappointments at the grocery, I bought this dish soap on sale, it claims to be lavender scent. Not....even...close. I have smelled actual lavender and this isn't it. It is the color lavender, maybe that is what they meant.

NOT

I'm also a quitter. Remember me talking about making laundry soap?  And then remember finding out that it was probably not all that prudent to save a few bucks on detergent at the detriment of our poor septic system?



I threw in the towel a couple of months back. It all started with a marked-down jug of hippie laundry soap on the clearance table at Kroger, and now I'm hooked.

The ease! The convenience!

I guess I can't do it all, and I really don't want to anymore. My goodness, I've got little people to raise over here.


Lastly, remember the tree that got knocked down? No? I posted about it here and here and here.


We figured it was dead, being pretty well pulled up out of the ground and all. But look at this:

It's blooming, crazy.

Have a blessed weekend!

More Hospitality Talk

Since we last visited this subject, the school kids went back to school and so that has freed me from the constant fear of someone showing up during our school time. Well, not fear....annoyance is a better word.





Surprisingly, my attitude has mellowed quite a bit. I have been praying about it and asking for peace. Peace has been given.

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.



Then again,



 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, Lest he be weary of you, and hate you.

I've set rules and so far the regular(s) (it's (s) now somehow) are complying well with all due respect, who knew? I think know kids need rules and do appreciate boundaries, so if I'm the one who has to set them, so be it. I can do this..right?





For whatever reason the good Lord has seen fit to squeeze my comfort zone, so I really have no choice but to roll with it.



Hopefully we can be a blessing to these kids, or they to us.

Behold the Man

Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.

 
Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And [Pilate] saith unto them, Behold the man! John 19:5



Something struck me about this crown yesterday. I'm sure I'm not the only one to see it (in fact I know I'm not, Wikipedia mentions it) but it got me to thinking about the curse.


There is many things I can't quite put into words, but it's there.



He was wearing a crown of thorns, a symbol of the curse.

He was before all and created all.

God cursed the ground.

God send his son, a son of Spirit and of Man to bear the curse upon Himself.

He started all this and He will make it right.

It was no mistake.

He knows what He is doing.

When it is over, or at least when a new chapter begins, as I don't think it ever ends (Ephesians 3:21), we will understand more, maybe someday all of it. I know scripture speaks of the prophets and angels even wanting to look into these things.

 
God tells the adversary after he had tempted the woman:

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Behold the Man!

Preparing a Home

Wisdom beckons those whom

The Most High calls to Himself

All wisdom of the Ages 

Hid in Christ
Hearing the Voice
I open the door
 Father, teach me to keep His word

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.   Rev. 3:20

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23

Hospitality on Hold

The kids and I took our spring break last week. I, knowing that the public school kids 'round us have two weeks off, figured that I would have the kids (the ones I don't want in my realm, remember) here for the whole FIRST week of their vacation and then when I had to shoo them off the next week, they would already be well sick of us and could find somewhere else to hang.

My Realm

I had it all planned-I would be strict, but fair. There would be a welcome over from such and such to such and such time established. Hey, I was even gonna throw in an afternoon snack maybe once or twice. I may even make eye contact. I felt pret-ty confident about the whole thing.




And then the craziest thing happened.







NO ONE SHOWED UP....all week.






I don't think I managed to scare anyone off, I think that the two regulars were out of town.

They are back now and we are back in school, so I'm off to try again:) Pray for me people!