Praying for Our Nation

Independence Day reminds me of why our country was founded, religious freedom!  I'm so glad that I was able hear God speak to me thru my pastor Jim Mindling.  What a great sermon he had this past Sunday!  I took several notes and even researched on my own.  It's funny that sometimes we only know what we are taught, we need to continue to be one thirsty for knowledge.  In school, textbooks do not include much about religion when it comes to the Government.  Why aren't all truths told?  Do we not have a right to know? Yes, there has been a division of Church & State but not always.  It's very interesting to go back to the times of our forefatheres in seeing their take on religion and government.  Take a look at what I've found :) 

Let me begin with a Prayer for our declining Nation who needs God more than ever!

Psalm 80
Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us. 3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. 4 O Lord God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful. 6 You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us. 7 Restore us, O God
Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. 8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. 12 Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? 13 Boars from the forest ravage it and the creatures of the field feed on it. 14 Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, 15 the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. 16 Your vine is cut down (cut off), it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. 17 Let your hand rest on the man at Your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on Your name. 19 Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”

John 15:5
"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."

Revelation 3:17,19-20
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

James Madison conceived the branches of government by inspiration from Isaiah 33:22:

“For the Lord is our Judge, (Judicial)

the Lord is our Lawgiver, (Legislative)

the Lord is our King. (Executive)

He will save us.”

The 1st meeting in Congress was a 2HR PRAYER MEETING, followed by a BIBLE study!!

Interesting Quotes:
(from sermon notes & found on the net)

“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”
-President George Washington

"Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. For democracy to work, the majority of the people have to be religious and moral at their core, or it falls apart."
-President John Adams

“We recognize no Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus.”
-President John Quincy Adam

"When wrongs are pressed because it is believed they will be borne, resistance becomes morality."
-President Thomas Jefferson

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained”
-President George Washington

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."
-President Thomas Jefferson

"And as it is our duty to extend our wishes to the happiness of the great family of man, I conceive that we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world that the rod of tyrants may be broken to pieces, and the oppressed made free again; that wars may cease in all the earth, and that the confusions that are and have been among nations may be overruled by promoting and speedily bringing on that holy and happy period when the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and all people everywhere willingly bow to the sceptre of Him who is Prince of Peace."
-Samuel Adams

"Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. ... Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.
-John Hancock

"When we view the blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good."
-President James Monroe

"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man."
-Alexandar Hamilton

"A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district--all studied and appreciated as they merit--are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty."
-Benjamin Franklin

“This nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
-Patrick Henry

"Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ."
-President James Madison

"I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers and consolations; and to no one of them, more than to yourself."
-President Abraham Lincoln



DID YOU KNOW?
This edition of the bible was recommended to US inhabitants and approved by Congress! 
Very interesting!

In GOD we Trust!

To listen to Jim Mindling's 7.3.11 sermon, please visit: http://churchoftheopendoor.org/stream.html

**Info gathered in notes from Jim Mindling's sermon at Church of the Open Door, churchoftheopendoor.org, Bible research and web research.**

Streetlight...Dust Bunnies...O O Ohhhhh!!! ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

Dust Bunnies... where did this phrase come from?  Have you ever thought of that?  I honestly never have. It makes total sense now that I think of it... dust multiplies as quick as rabbits do!  
We've come a long way in our defense against this inevitable lurking enemy!  Remember feather dusters?  AACCHHOOOOO!  The dust bunnies began to see color when the oh so colorful fuzzy dusters came about.  Still, pushing the dust into air... just dispersing it everywhere else.  Your house "looked" dust-free because you could not see that layer that had gathered, but the bunnies where still hopping about. 

I've come to the conclusion that I am allergic to dust.  Anytime I would dust, I began to sneeze n' wheeze, so not fun.  Wiping the dust away with a cloth was my best bet.  Until swiffer made its debut.  And, I bought into it. I no longer need a chair to dust things I could not reach with the cloth, I was loving the extending and bending new dohicky... the swiffer.  It was amazing that the dust was actually sticking to this device.  However, this fabulous new product came with a cost...replacement cloths are needed.  *bummer*  Even though I approved of this new fandangled duster, it didn't fit into being frugal. Should I resort back to the cloth?  I could, but then the cloth would need to be washed and more dusting spray would be needed.  Was there something that I had already that could be used to do the job? 

DRYER SHEETS!!  They are fabulous dusters.  I buy them anyway because, for us, it's a must when it comes to comfy fresh clothes.  I used to just throw them in the trash after my laundry duties.  Not any more! They now serve a dual purpose for me!  I love finding things that can be used for more than what it was designed to, just like I enjoy multi-tasking. Dual purpose items and multi-tasking are not only time savers but also a money saver.   Time and money... the two "evils" of life.   If you want to save time, you give money... if you want to save money, you give time (*side note: Does this only apply to givers?  What about takers???).

I became THE multi-tasker as time went on... I just didn't attend college full-time but I also worked full-time while doing so. Once I graduated college, my jobs tweaked my multi-tasking skills. So much so, that I was over burdened with stress. Not only did my company consolidate 4 offices into one (leaving me to do the work of 8 individuals), but I felt that all I did was: wake up, go to work, be a slave, fight traffic, come home, go to sleep... REPEAT! This is NOT how I wanted to live life! But, in giving up my time meant that we would have more money to pay our debts. Again, the time vs. money struggle. I took my concerns to God... it was time to cast all my cares upon him. Talk about the ultimate relief of stress... PRAYER! Knowing that God is in control and He loves me is so reassuring! It brings me so much peace and so much joy!

I began talking to my husband about my conversations with God. Not knowing, that he had the same concerns and wanted us to live more simply. He was watching me dwindle away to stress.  He missed me, the former happy me.  I'm so blessed to have a husband who wanted to give me the opportunity to slow down and drink life in. I LOVE HIM SO!

After much  prayerful consideration, I exited the work force. It was a bitter-sweet moment for me. Everything I had been about, was no longer... I was now letting God take control of my life. And guess what? We did not need two incomes, GOD DOES PROVIDE! He always has and always will :)

...alright, time to get back on track with what I was speaking of....

I'm sure many homemakers have already come across this thrifty idea for dryer sheets. And, I know that I'm not the first to recognize the whole time vs. money issues. But, I'm a little behind most of my peers.  There is so much I'm learning... things I never thought of before. Are you ever too old to learn? NO!

For me, you're not living if you're not learning. I used to think of "learning" as something that is done in a classroom setting or something kids do from adults. I've made my past 30yrs so chaotic that I never took the time to find the life lessons all around me. I would like to think I noticed lessons here and there... but did I learn what I needed to learn from the lesson? I find myself being more open and listening for that voice of my Father in heaven.  I believe God gives me "signs" telling me to slow down, you only live once... let me light your path!

I'll give you an example. Ever since I was a child, street lights would go black-out as I would pass under them. Does this happen to you? Is this my Creator making me notice Him... to slow down and listen... learn. If I'm in a rush to get somewhere, I would see a streetlight black-out and I would thank God because I feel that He's telling me to slow down... smell the roses in essence. I use driving as a stress reliever and sometimes I'll be in deep thought while doing so... at that moment I'll see a streetlight black-out.   Then and there I surrender to God and tell Him that I know he is in control and not to worry. Maybe it's just me being super observant. But, I choose to believe otherwise...

 I thank God for streetlights :) 

Food for thought: 1 Peter 5:7 & Psalm 119:105

My life described in two words: Organized Chaos

"So many things, yet so little time... "

This phrase becomes more prevalent the older I get. Life is SO chaotic and it SO needs to be organized! I think its about time to put my thoughts into writing again (hopefully freeing up some space in this old brain of mine before I reach OVERLOAD)!

So........I'm back!  I haven't "blogged" in ages... well 6 years (or so) to be exact!  In fact, when I "blogged," I didn't know the existence of such a thing as a "blog site."  I had compiled my thoughts and happenings on my WEB PAGE I created on Tripod.  (Anyone remember Tripod?!)  In essence, they are the same, just the terminology has changed.  So, I now have a BLOG and not a WEB PAGE!!  (hehehe)
 
Back to business... the need of a blog. I never thought NOT working would be so chaotic!  I've picked up several hobbies and have found numerous ways to spend my time.  Which, is exactly my current issue: so many things, yet so little time! It's time to organize these chaotic thoughts!! 

Topics I'm sure to eventually discuss (and probably MUCH more): Couponing, Thriftiness, Gardening, Crafting, Organization, Housework, Menu Planning, Cooking, Baking, Decorating, Budgets, Giving, Travelling, Music, Party Planning, Games, Photography, Marriage, Blessings, The Bible, My Friends, My Family & My Faith!

Enjoy this Modest Medley...


Food for thought: Lamentations 3:22-24