Don't Just Count Your Blessings...

 It's been a while since I posted here because I've been remiss. After saying my morning prayers, I was having my coffee and thought of something to share.

Very often, I marvel at the blessings in my life. Big things - like having a shelter and a loving family and my (sometimes very challenging health). But I think a lot about the little things. Things like a having a good cup of coffee in peace,

It took me a very long time to give up all the sugary creams in coffee and these days I'm down to a splash of half and half and a teeny bit of cane sugar or allulose. 

I was having my coffee and skimming the morning news. The news is, as so often, awful and sad and discouraging. The coffee though... Wow. It was a great cup of java! For a moment, I closed my eyes and just felt thankful.

When I finished my coffee, I still had to live with the burden of bills to pay, health that is not great, and a world in upheaval all around me. But I thank God for that moment of joy. I thank Him for the moments that my body feels better. I thank Him that I have food and water. And I really delighted in that amazing cup of coffee. 😋 So, thank you, Father.

We like to say, "Count your blessings", but I am reminded to be thankful for my blessings and to enjoy them. That great cup of coffee may be my last. That moment of peace and quiet could be the last. 

There are people so rich they could buy up all the gold and silver they desire. There are those so famous that they have "fans". A lot of people have power and influence. I don't, but I feel more blessed than some of those other folks could imagine. I have God's love and protection. I have His grace and mercy. That's not something you can buy. And that pure joy I experienced having a cup of coffee, that is priceless. Priceless and fleeting, but I had it.

I guess I just wanted to share with everyone to count, be thankful, and savor your blessings. Savor every breath and moment of mortal life because it could be the last. For those of us with salvation, there's more to look forward to.

Pray for those not yet living with the promise of salvation.

Peace

--Free

Any Way You Can...

A lot of my Christian brothers and sisters around the world - online and in forums and videos - feel as I do, as if time is getting short. Even if the Lord waits another 1000 years to return, time is short for us mortals. I think we all know we need to reach as many people as we can with the Gospel. If you are like me and don't get out and about much, you can still find ways.

For myself, I have been using a board posted outside me door. A couple of years ago, I bought a large chalkboard and some water markers. I would post a Bible verse or some Bible-related trivia, changing the message a couple times a week. My neighbors loved it and I would even hear from delivery people or cleaners that they like reading the board. Recently I got a larger white board - I needed more space - for the messages. I also ordered some tracts and Bibles to set on a stand under the board. I started with 6 Bibles (and stuck some page size magnifiers inside them!) and 4 were gone the first month.

This is one of the latest messages

That's just my way of reaching people with the Word. Sometimes I will order small Bibles (and magnifiers!) to leave in the lobby of waiting rooms.

I say all that to encourage you all to find some way the share God's Word - other than by living it for people to see. I am going to be trying to come up with even more ways to do so. If I think of other ways, I will update this post.

Peace

--Free

Christ Is Not Popular, or…

 ... a Democrat, Republican; Left or Right; or even an American. 

This post is going to be a little bit rant-y, and all over the place. Bear with me.

I was watching a video by a Christian movie maker. I'd not heard of this man until a couple of nights ago. Not even 10 minutes into an hour+ long video, I had to stop and leave a comment. The comment was not directed at the presenter. I don't know what his views are - except that he is Christian - but his channel seems to reach a lot of people. So, I guess my comment was for them and other Christians in general:

"One of the biggest problems today (just my opinion) is that so many of us Christians have such polarized views of "good" and "evil". One blatant example is Left = evil and Right = good.  Early in this video, 2 guys are discussing Netflix and buyouts. I notice the view that Trump being friends with Ellison was positive while the Obamas were shown as negative. Trump, Obama - none of them are on the side of good. They are all in it for money & wealth and promoting worldly principles. We Christians have to be careful against subtle manipulation. The Obamas don't even try that hard to pretend to be Christians, not even a little bit. Meanwhile, Trump surrounds himself with people who wear crosses and have "ministries". All the while NONE of them are promoting Christ - not by their actions or regular behaviors. I've had non-Christians upset with me for not accepting worldly ("leftist") agenda & Christians calling me leftist because I don't accept so many of the behaviors of those on the political Right. Jesus' kingdom is not of this world - and certainly not of America. We all need to remember that."

That's something I feel like I need to say so often these days.  I feel that one of the biggest manipulations we Christians need to watch out for is that of our national pride. Our traditional pride in our country is something citizens elsewhere notice. Some are surprised by it; others are envious of it and others are maybe just amused. I saw a remark online once that they can recognize an American tourist by how loud they speak and by their clothing - usually something imprinted with our flag or a slogan about our American pride. That is funny (and probably true).

What is not funny but very true is that we are often a victim to that pride. We take our politics personally - much like citizens in some other countries do - but we don't often take it seriously enough to study. Citizens of other countries often make fun of Americans for not knowing world geography or knowing much of about anything outside of America. We are the butt of a lot of jokes about our lack of education.

None of that has bothered me as much as it does these days. It is more important now because our lack of knowledge is allowing us to be manipulated by politicians (and politics).

If we understood our political system better, we wouldn't rely on media to provide an opinion. Or, at least, we would recognize when we were being ill-informed.

We have become fans of the people on televised news. Most major news media outlets count on our liking (or not) of the presenters. Newspeople have stopped pursuing journalism and began focusing on entertainment.

I almost never count on the mainstream news outlets anymore. Instead, I look to smaller news sources. I keep up with a lot of "citizen journalists". I don't care how much a newsperson agrees or disagrees with my personal views; I just want them to present the news so I can be informed. I don't want antics or "personality"; I want information. Period.

Have you noticed how people who are popular for presenting and analyzing data have become so performative? Harrey Enten immediately comes to mind. 

Okay. It seems the steam has run out in my rant-o-machine. 

Seriously, I just want people to pay more attention to everything around them. Are you being informed, entertained, programmed, or distracted? Do you know the difference?

Peace

--Free