But she’s my little girl. I’m an adult now, but she still lives with me. Inside me. She is a force to be reckoned with. She’s like a Helen Keller. Crazy with fears, no self-worth, and stress. And, because of all she went through, she is dazed and confused by life. She’s been de-footed.

So I’m working with her. Me and God are working with her. Helping her, to get back on her feet again. It’s been a long hard journey, but it’s been worth it. Every stitch of it has been worth it. She’s worth it.

* * *

These are the things Jesus said regarding how God sees children and heaven.

“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3

“Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 19:14 // Mark 10:14 // Luke 18:16

“Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among you, this is the one who is great.”
Mark 9:37 // Luke 9:48

 ”Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Mark 10:15 // Luke 18:17

* * *

I can’t say that I truly understand what Jesus said about children, but I take Him at His word. I know that in ancient days, children were looked on as being lower than the animals. My little girl understands this. She was treated as lower than the family dog. The dog was treated better.

Where am I going with all this? I’m not sure myself. I’m just doing the best I can to calm her a little bit – and to listen to her. She has a lot to talk about.

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough what was given to me about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

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Pride:         Excessive belief in one’s own abilities.

Envy:          A desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation.

Gluttony:     A desire to consume more than that which one requires.

Lust:           An inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

Anger:        The spurning of love and opting for fury.

Greed:        The desire for material gain, ignoring the spiritual.

Sloth:          The avoidance of physical or spiritual work. [depression]

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Pride… Anger…Envy… Gluttony… Lust…Greed… Sloth.

What exactly are all these sins about anyway?

Many people, Christians especially, point to them and sneer;  

“They’re just, plain, bad character habits to have.”

I don’t dispute this reasoning. I don’t think they’re very good habits to have either. But as usual, and as many of you know already, I think of things a little bit differently than most people [even Christians] do. And I think of all these sins differently than most people I know, do. Even though the Bible put them in ‘stand-alone’ categories, I just can’t seem to think of them that way.

Why is Fear, Guilt, or Shame, not incorporated into ‘Seven-Deadly-Sins’ categories themselves? I don’t know. I don’t get this. The whole thing seems suspicious. All these sins look like defense-mechanisms to me.

Here’s what I see.

Think about this for a second or two. Aren’t all these sins acting as sort of defense-mechanism for Fear? Now there are legitimate things to be afraid of; grizzly bears for instance. But I’m not talking about that kind of fear. I’m talking about disconnected Fear. Fear that doesn’t seem to have any legitimate right to be there. But it does have a legitimate  right to be there. As I see it, this type of Fear is a defense-mechanism itself. It is driven by the  REAL feeling. One that I think drives all these Deadleys…  Shame.

Here’s how I see it.

Disconnected Fear:  “I’m eligible to have bad things happen to me.”

But why would you feel that way?

Guilt:  “I did something bad so I’m eligible to have bad things happen to me.”

This may, or may not, be true. But if you did a bad thing, why did you do it?

Shame:  “I am just a bad seed, and bad things happen to bad seeds. So I have to protect myself from the bad things that will happen.”

Thinking that bad things will happen to you, can make a person very afraid. The fear is unconscionable. So you  try to divorce yourself from it.  The result?…  One or more of the Seven-Deadly Sins.

Then…  might this be what the Bible is trying to say about these outcropping sins?

“Feel your real feelings. Don’t resort to these defense-mechanisms
which will show themselves as any of one of these sins.”

I am in the process of practicing this on myself. When I find myself in Pride [or any of the other sins on the list], I’m asking myself…

“What are you really feeling? Are you feeling bad about yourself?”

When I do this, I feel a grain of Truth ring inside me. Something inside begins to resonate, and I know I’ve hit a very deep place. I go to that resonating spot and find… a child… a small child there. She’s been treated badly and feels very bad about herself because of this. She says to me…

“They treat me this way because I am a bad child.”

I go to her; comfort her; hold her; and tell her that she is very much loved and valued, both by me and by her Father in Heaven. That she is a wonderful child.  This seems to calm her [me] down, and the Deadly-Sin I’m in the middle of practicing, suddenly – evaporates.

I don’t know what else to call it.

It’s like magical!!

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough what was given to me about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

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Reblogged from View From the Midwest:

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Oh well. I guess this is selfish and self-centered. But these are my real, ugly, dirty, human feelings. And they are not pretty. Me and my husband, Jerry. are missing him already.

We just found out that our dear, beloved, assistant pastor at our church – was fired. And we can do nothing about it. Nothing. Not one damned thing. Our church has all the power. We have none.

Assistant pastor was the leader of our Sunday Bible Class which we have been religiously attending for the past year. He was counseling my husband for the last several months and, for the first time in Jerry’s life, this husband of mine as been coming out of his shell. He was just beginning to get near other church people without being frightened out of his skin. Now our pastor is gone. They fired him, and I don’t know why. It almost feels like a ‘dad’ died.

When my real dad died, I felt almost nothing. He was never there for me anyway. All he was, was pain.

I’m feeling powerless today. Very, very depressed. It’s so difficult to feel powerless. It’s an awful, awful feeling. I live a pretty good life and have gotten soft. I’m not used to feeling this way.

Now is the time when I MUST work my spiritual program. But it’s so, hard, hard to do. This feeling of being so powerless; it’s a drowning feeling. This is why I’m writing this post today. I’m drowning in my feelings of depression and worry. I will miss him soooo much! He is being replaced by an elder whom I don’t like already. I’m hoping we might be able to see our pastor outside of church, but that’s still up in the air. I e-mailed him to try to make some contact, but so far we haven’t heard a thing. I’m sure they are in shock over it. I am pacing the time when we will hear from him again.

I’m powerless over the whole thing. Thoroughly helpless. Such a horrible feeling.

I don’t know where I’m going with this post; just getting all my feelings out and down on paper. To try to get rid of them I guess. I don’t know. Now is the time I need Jesus. I need to focus on Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit. Because God is always going to be there. He will never change. He will never go away. God, who is the maker of everything in heaven and on earth, will never be fired.

Does this post sound selfish? Maybe it does. Does this post sound self-centered? It might. I do feel deeply for the pain my pastor’s most likely feeling. I ache for him. I ache for the whole damned business. Maybe he’s feelings helpless and powerless too. I don’t know because I haven’t heard from him yet. I hope he will write to us soon.

I’m crying right now as I read this.

*  *  *  *  *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I wasn’t an atheist; I believed in a god, but my god wasn’t a judgmental god like I believed the Christian God to be. I cannot blame my negative attitude towards Christianity on my parent’s because they were two of the most non-judgmental people I knew. Nor could I blame my cynicism on the church I grew up in because I rarely went to church as a teenager (when I formed these opinions) and, when I did go, I didn’t really listen to the sermon. I was probably drawing pictures on the church bulletin or daydreaming, which is what teenagers did to “tune-out” before cell phones came along.

The truth is that I had formed a belief about an impersonal non-judgmental “anything goes” god because that was the type of god that suited the lifestyle I was living.

My Former god

BUT, at the age of 21, while staying in a hotel for a week, I did the unthinkable – for the first time in my life, I actually read the Bible!

One night, while searching in vain for something to watch on TV, I noticed a Gideon Bible on the dresser next to the TV. I don’t remember what motivated me to turn the TV off and pick up the Bible; maybe I was looking for more reasons to ridicule Christianity, but I hope it wasn’t something that shallow.

I began reading the Gospel of Matthew and quickly discovered that the Jesus of the Bible was nothing like the pious preacher-man that I had created in my confused mind. The Biblical Jesus seemed to hate religion more than I did. And, unlike me, He actually knew why He hated religion and could coherently articulate His disgust of all things religious.
He told the religious leaders that they were, “hypocrites,” “blind guides,” “fools;” He said that they were, “unmerciful,” “unjust,” “faithless,” “self-indulgent” and “self-righteous.”

I was cheering him on like a 12 year old boy cheering for his favorite superhero as he’s beating-up the bad guys. Then, it suddenly occurred to me – I was one of those bad guys! In my anti-religious zeal, I had become everything that Jesus accused the religious people of being; everything I claimed to despise – I was literally my own worst enemy!

Jesus defined religion as any worldview that “…replaces God’s commands (His word) with their own man-made teachings.” (Matt 15:9 NLT) His overall message was that religion doesn’t draw people closer to God, as it claims to do; it misrepresents who God is and therefore leads people away from God. Because it masquerades as hope (for this life and eternal life), religion is the ultimate tool of deception. Something the Apostle Paul later warned new Christians about;

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete…” (Colossians 2:8-10 NASB)

I did not commit to follow Jesus (“God’s commandments”) that day; I was (and still am) stubborn so it took me a few years of “research” (living for myself) before choosing to live according to God’s ways. But, I did steal the Gideon Bible and continued to read it over those 2 years (don’t judge me; I made a donation to Gideon’s a few years later when I got a conscience).

Over the next two years of searching for truth, I read my hot Gideon Bible and other books on faith and religion, but never stepped foot in any church. I was more skeptical of so-called “organized religion” than I was before reading the Bible.

Then I met a man at work that, with his thick black beard and gentle demeanor, looked and acted like I pictured Jesus or one of the Apostles looking and acting like. He was a quiet man in his early thirty’s and he knew the Bible better than anyone I’d ever met. And, like the Jesus, he associated with “sinners” and even the worst of them liked and respected him.

I began asking him questions about religion and the Bible and he gave me answers that helped to clear up my spiritual confusion. I also asked him what kind of church he attended and he answered me without elaborating. I was surprised that he didn’t try to convince me that his denomination had the correct doctrine and all others were mistaken. His reluctance to build-up his denomination and tear-down others caused me to think that maybe his particular denomination was the “right one.”

The following Sunday morning, I got out the Yellow Pages (for younger readers, that’s a giant phone book) and found the closest church of his denomination. I was reluctant to go in when I drove up and discovered it was just a small storefront church in a strip mall full of boutique shops and restaurants. After sitting in my car for several minutes, I finally decided to venture in.

As it turned out, I was early and the whole congregation (about 15 people) were having a Bible study. I thought about making a run for it, but a man quickly shook my hand and began introducing me to people.

It was a very casual atmosphere; a small group of “normal looking” people sitting with their chairs in a circle drinking coffee and eating donuts discussing the Bible. They asked me to get a cup of coffee and a donut and join them. I reluctantly agreed and nervously poured a cup of coffee and sat down.

Back then I had a difficult time forming a sentence that didn’t include at least one or two cuss words; not that I ever tried to form such a sentence, but I thought cussing might be inappropriate in Sunday school so I was trying really hard to be on my best behavior. I was doing great until I spilled my coffee all over the new carpet. The cuss words spilled out of my mouth quicker than the coffee had spilled out of my Styrofoam cup. I won’t repeat what I said, but sometimes people say SOB instead of saying the actual words like I did that day – not quietly either!

If those people had judged or lectured me about the evils of cursing that day, it would have confirmed my preconceived notions about church people being harsh and judgmental. But they didn’t do any of that; to my surprise, most of them laughed, but not at my spilling coffee or my cussing; I think they were laughing at the shocked “I’m going to hell” look on my face.

The few minutes that followed erased years of negative beliefs about Christians being self-righteous and judgmental. Several people jumped up and got paper towels and cleaned up my mess. The man that introduced me to everyone poured me another cup of coffee. And the Pastor’s wife assured me that it was okay, others have spilled before etc (I wanted to ask her if they cussed too, but I didn’t).

I don’t remember what the Pastor spoke about that Sunday morning 29 years ago, but at the end of the service he asked if anyone would like to come forward and pray with Him and commit to follow Jesus. I looked around at the 15 or so people in the room to see if anyone was going to take him up on his offer, but found that most of them were looking at me. I finally figured it out and accepted his offer.

Today that once-tiny storefront church is a thriving congregation, but I never went back. Not because I was embarrassed about spilling my coffee and cussing in Sunday school, but I began helping a friend run his restaurant on the weekends so for the next several months I didn’t go to church anywhere. But, the commitment I made that day wasn’t just the emotion of the moment; it was real and permanent. I bought a new Bible and began reading it daily, just like I do today. I promised myself that I would believe the Bible over any church’s doctrine that contradicted it. I made this vow to myself because even then I understood that this was the dividing line between genuine Christianity – hope – and hopeless religion!

Have you noticed how the experience of salvation differs more each day from one Christian to another? While some affirm to have been saved through certain experiences, there are others who claim to have been saved in a completely different way.  If the Word of God is one, and has not changed in content and message, why is it that people read the Gospel and see different paths to salvation in it, when Jesus clearly taught that there is only ONE WAY? If instead of the Bible we had a map, with specific locations and one destination (spiritual salvation) we might think it would be easier, right?

I firmly believe that the Bible IS a map that delineates for us certain “places”, certain stages of our heart, mind, and will; one leading to the next in succession. At the end of these “marked spots” or stages we will arrive safely at our destination: the salvation of our souls with free access to the heavenly places. Yet, some of us think that it is possible to be saved through a different route.  We take the route that better suits our ideas and preconceptions or stay in the spot we like best and make it our “eternal home”.

Nevertheless there is danger in this. What if the route we took was not correct? What if the place we chose looks much like the destination on the map, but is not? Should we stay there because we feel comfortable? Should we stay there because we’ve told everyone we have arrived? What are we supposed to do?

The problem with spiritual matters is that they require an honesty of heart that we are far from possessing. We are so used to being right, that we hate being wrong. It requires a huge deal of courage and humility to look at ourselves through God’s eyes and analyze our reflection!

“Not every ‘Christian’ goes to heaven” is such a truthful phrase. Not all of us will get there. The cause for this is that in our desperate need to escape our reality, once we find comfort in some spots of the map, we don’t care to keep walking towards our destination anymore. Like the man who is not willing to ask for directions, we prefer to drive in endless circles, instead of asking those who have traveled the route before.

I was one of those people. I drove in circles, surrounding Christianity, staying in some comfortable spots here and there, lost in the middle of the road, wondering if I was already there or if I should keep walking. Yet my pride was so immense that the Lord had to come and rescue me from my endless wandering. (My dad had  questioned my experience of salvation a couple of times, but I got very offended, instead of thinking about it seriously). One morning, as I was reading the Bible, the Lord finally dealt with my heart. I was reading this part of Scripture:

“Lord, why can’t I follow you now? said Peter. “I would lay down my life for you!”  “Would you lay down your life for me?” replied Jesus. “Believe me, you will disown me three times before the cock crows!”

I pondered Peter’s words, “I would lay down my life for you!” I had loved the Lord for so long; I had done everything in my power to draw closer to Him every day. I had raised my children with the Scriptures. I had swam against the current my entire life because I so wanted to honor God. I prayed to God, “Lord I love you so much. I would lay down my life for you too”.

Then I continued reading and what I found shocked me. Jesus asked Peter, “Would you lay down your life for me? “Believe me, you will disown me three times before the cock crows!”

I imagined Jesus looking into my eyes, asking me this very question in disbelief, as if He could see something in me that I couldn’t. After a few seconds of searching my heart I answered honestly, “No Lord, I wouldn’t die for you. I don’t love you that much, I am sorry.”

A deeper understanding of what was in my heart suddenly grew in me. I was not the person I imagined I was.  I had not been honest about my relationship and my love for God.  What I found out about myself was ugly; I knelt down before the Lord.  He showed me a picture of myself that I had refused to look at for so many years. For the very first time in my life I felt very ashamed of myself. I finally knew what repentance meant.  I finally could see myself the way the Lord sees me, and recognize that I am not good. I am a sinner.

In tears, I said to Him, “I don’t want to be a bad person, I want to be good. I don’t want you to see me as I am; to look at me and think that I am this bad person, I want to deserve your love, but I don’t’ deserve it. Please Lord, forgive me, I know now why Jesus had to die for me. I cannot save myself. Please, save me Lord.”

How could I have lived as a “believer” for so many years, without ever having repented? I don’t know, but in the past, every time doubts about my salvation assaulted me, I found comfort in the fact that I had lived for God. “I must be a Christian, because I love God, and care about His will. He won’t let me go to hell, I have lived for Him”. Do you see what was wrong? I was trusting in what I could do, not in what He had already done on the cross for me. I was NOT saved!

This was the first time I repented with real conviction. I asked the Lord to put in me His Holy Spirit and He did. In the past I was afraid to give my testimony to others. I could write or talk with Christians about salvation, but sharing the Gospel with the unsaved was almost impossible. It never felt “normal” to me. Since that very morning, talking to unbelievers about Christ is not a foreign thing anymore. It just feels right.  I still get nervous, since I am not a people person, but now I know that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior for eternity. I have arrived there. I am a citizen of heaven.

Even though the circumstances in which we are saved may differ, the core of salvation never changes in content: true repentance, the knowledge of our sinfulness and our transgression of God’s law, understanding Jesus’ work of redemption, the impossibility that we could save ourselves, a decision to trust in Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, and asking God to save us are absolutely essential for anyone to be saved in the way the Bible teaches. Some of this understanding about Christ or ourselves might come in different order, yet every person who has been truly saved has passed through these stages taught by Jesus Christ. He preached repentance (Mark 1: 15)  the reality of our sin (John 3: 18-20) salvation through His sacrifice (John 3: 15) the necessity of our faith (John 3: 36) the reality of heaven and hell (John 3: 15, Luke 16: 19-31) and that he was sent by God (John 3: 16). According to Christ and the general context of the Bible, there is absolutely no other way to salvation, and the evidence of a real conversion is a life that glorifies God and seeks His will. Becoming a Christian is a commitment to live under Jesus authority, (with God’s help) for the rest of our lives.

Paul the Apostle advises us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the truth, and make sure that we have arrived at our destination. There is no shame in doing it. Don’t get mad at someone because he or she tells you the truth of the Bible. It won’t do you any good to think you are saved, if you were not saved the way God requires it! Don’t get angry because someone dares to question your spiritual experience. Give thanks to the Lord that He loves you enough to put people in your way to help you get there, and to help you make sure. Give thanks to the Lord that someone has the courage to swim against the current of political correctness and indifference to rescue you. You eternal salvation is not a futile thing, it is the most important decision you’ll ever make and much is at stake if you have taken a wrong turn on your route to heaven.

We must analyze our lives in light of the Scriptures and make sure that our experience of salvation agrees with Christ’s teaching. We want to make sure that the kind of life we live and the kind of fruits we bear when no one is looking, correspond to a follower of Jesus. It is a matter of life or death. Please, put away everything else and make sure you are on your way to heaven.

I invite you to listen to Charo’s testimony (Paul Washer’s wife). Her testimony was instrumental for me in understanding that something was not right with my experience of salvation, since her story shared many similarities with mine.

God bless you.

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http://headhearthand.org/blog/2012/12/05/paul-washer-interview/#comment-22781

Here is a sermon preached by him. It is not that long, but very, very, very intense! Just a warning.

http://onetruthonegod.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/all-men-are-born-evil-paul-washer/

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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First of all I have to say that I’m tired today. I was tired yesterday too and I feel like giving up the fight.

The thing is that I have a lot on my plate to deal with. Not that you don’t also have a lot on your plate too. Certainly I know I’m not the only one with problems. In fact, this is a call to all of you to write to me and tell me why you’re tired too and maybe what you’ve done to get out of your rut. I want to feel like I’m not alone. That there is a solution to all this. So I’m asking for any and all input about the problems you also deal with that make you tired; that make you just want to give up. Did you do anything special to make things better?

Here is what I have to deal with on a daily basis.

As an alcoholic, being sober from alcohol… year after year…  after year.

[Even though medication works somewhat], being Bipolar with all it’s emotional ups and downs.

Having to deal with PTSD-stress from some severe childhood abuse.

Having a generally melancholy personality.

Feeling pretty alone in an only fairly tolerable marriage.

Struggling with sleep. Waking up 3 and 4 times a night.

Having food and weight issues and fighting my natural bent toward couch-potato-ness.

Hating to clean and do chores that never seem to end.

Feeling like I’ve never done anything worthwhile with the life God has given me. At almost 60 years of age I can’t see that I’ve made anything of my life other than to stay sober and not kill myself.

Feeling like, no matter what I do, I never feel good enough to be accepted by others of my kind.

During the course of staying sober, I became a Christian. I have a very Loving God in my life who helps me get along even with all the problems. My God has done a great deal to help me up to this point and I keep some optimism that life will not always feel this way to me. I have a written Gratitude List with 245 things on it.

But when push comes to shove, I’m pretty tired of it all. Is this all there is to life?

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* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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.

First of all I have to say that I’m tired today. I was tired yesterday too and I feel like giving up the fight.

The thing is that I have a lot on my plate to deal with. Not that you don’t also have a lot on your plate too. Certainly I know I’m not the only one with problems. In fact, this is a call to all of you to write to me and tell me why you’re tired too and maybe what you’ve done to get out of your rut. I want to feel like I’m not alone. That there is a solution to all this. So I’m asking for any and all input about the problems you also deal with that make you tired; that make you just want to give up. Did you do anything special to make things better?

Here is what I have to deal with on a daily basis.

As an alcoholic, being sober from alcohol… year after year…  after year.

[Even though medication works somewhat], being Bipolar with all it’s emotional ups and downs.

Having to deal with PTSD-stress from some severe childhood abuse.

Having a generally melancholy personality.

Feeling pretty alone in an only fairly tolerable marriage.

Struggling with sleep. Waking up 3 and 4 times a night.

Having food and weight issues and fighting my natural bent toward couch-potato-ness.

Hating to clean and do chores that never seem to end.

Feeling like I’ve never done anything worthwhile with the life God has given me. At almost 60 years of age I can’t see that I’ve made anything of my life other than to stay sober and not kill myself.

Feeling like, no matter what I do, I’m never good enough to be accepted by others of my kind.

During the course of staying sober, I became a Christian. I have a very Loving God in my life who helps me get along even with all the problems. My God has done a great deal to help me up to this point and I keep some optimism that life will not always feel this way to me. I have a written Gratitude List with 245 things on it.

But when push comes to shove, I’m pretty tired of it all. Is this all there is to life?

* * *

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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Jesus said in Matthew 5:28 …

“But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

This is only my take on what sin might be. What do you think? What is your take on where sin begins, and how do your views fit in with Matthew 5:28?

* * *

If adultery is a sin, and one can commit this sin by just a thought, then how far back must we go to get to the bottom of where sin actually begins? Where does sin actually begin? In our DNA? I believe this is the case.

But how did I get from ‘a thought’ to ‘DNA’?

If one can commit sin by only a thought, then what’s going on here exactly?

Again. You may think I’m totally bonkers about this, but here are my thoughts on where all this sin actually begins.

A lustful thought is imperfect. If even am imperfect thought is sin, then is sin about being imperfect? When Adam and Eve lived in the garden without sin, they were going to live forever. But when they ate the fruit, evil entered into them and they became ‘sinful’. This ‘sin’ was actually – imperfection. Now, death would be able to overtake them. What is death? Death happens because of  the slow disintegration of imperfect DNA.

I believe that when Adam and Eve ate the apple, they were exposed to evil and this evil corrupted their DNA to make it imperfect, and so – disintegratable. I believe that we creatures on this planet are inherently sinful because of being in an imperfect state; that this state is what they called ‘sin’ back then; and that this sin resides at the core of our beings. And, if this is true, then it naturally follows that we can not remove ourselves from it in any way.

Follow this logic further… deeper…

Can you see it yet? If we are this thoroughly corrupted to our very core, then it follows logically that we must be: Absolutely — Totally –  Completely — and Utterly — incapable of rescuing ourselves.   So deep, so elemental is this sin, that it resides in us to the very core of our being. We are utterly riddled with it. And, having this amount of sin-nature so thoroughly entwined within us at the deepest level of our makeup, makes us void of any ability to rescue ourselves by our own defective self-power.

Do you see it yet?

If all that I’ve said, it true, because of the corrupted [sinned] DNA within us, this is how much we actually need a Savior to rescue us! We need Him, oh so desperately! Without Jesus, our Savior, we are Absolutely — Totally  –  Completely — and Utterly — doomed in this sin! Being riddled with sin at this deep a level, you can see… we truly are doomed. There is no way to rescue our most miserable selves, using our own most miserable selves.

Romans 7:24

The act of death and resurrection by Christ appears to be the only way we can be saved from our own inevitable deaths because of sin. True. Our bodies will die from this sin, but His is the only power which is super-naturally powerful enough, to preserve our spirits.

I know this is pretty much of a ‘downer’ post. But I had to write it as it was pressed so hard on my heart.

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I feel like this post is very messy, but I’ve done the best I can with it. The ideas are difficult for me to communicate. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Reblogged from Insight-Seeing From Within:

I have a heck of a BIG problem that I’d really like any of you, my Christian blogging buddies, to help me with if you could.

I haven’t talked about this before, but now I have a Christian friend who also has this very same problem. I hurt for her, and I realize that I hurt for myself as well because of this problem.

The problem?  I just can’t, can’t, can’t, trust Jesus.

“What!!?? That’s a terrible thing to say if you’re a Christian! You can’t trust Christ!? What kind of a statement is that for a Christian to say!?”

Well, here’s the thing… The night I became a Christian, I was in very, very bad shape emotionally. I was an atheist at the time, but being atheist, and having an atheistic view of life, was not helping my emotional state. Not at all. It was purely an accident that I became a Christian. That night it was a choice, try it the ‘Bible Way’ or the way of alcohol [very bad choice for me, as an alcoholic]. I fell to my knees and begged Jesus to be my friend.

He came in immediately. He gave me the Holy Spirit [palpably] to be my friend always and forever. I have not been the same since, nor have I had a drink of alcohol since that time. That was 31 years ago.

But….

I’m not in such dire circumstances now, as I was that night. And slowly… surely… [though I walk minute by minute with this Holy Spirit and with God] I started to revert to an old way of thinking.

I have had many, many BAD experiences with men.

I wish Jesus had been put on this planet as a woman. I trust women, I love women. I’m not at all gay, but I love women, and I trust them wholeheartedly.

But it’s a whole nother story with men.

Jesus was God – BUT – He was God, in ‘man’ form. I just can’t seem to get past the fact that part of Jesus was – a man.

Men have hurt me. Hurt me terribly. And it wasn’t just about my earthly father, who hurt me terribly, either. It was many, many other men I’ve come in contact with since then. They hurt me in my neighborhood; laughed at me; jeered at me; abandoned me; told me to go away; conned me into having sex with them, then left me in the dirt; hurt me both emotionally and physically. They hurt me at school; on dates; at work; and in my two marriages; in the medical community. I experienced rape in an encounter with a man. Men can be just horrible creatures! This has been my experience with men.

Please don’t tell me that Jesus was really God. I know He was really God, but down here, He still wore ‘man’ clothes, and I, nor my friend, can’t seem to get past that.

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough about the quandary I’m in. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps. I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you by God.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

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Give a listen  – if you have 6 minutes. I think it’s worth taking the time for this wrenching song about the earth.

*  *  *

Jesus said in Matthew 5:28 …

“But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

This is only my take on what sin might be. What do you think? What is your take on where sin begins, and how do your views fit in with Matthew 5:28?

* * *

If adultery is a sin, and one can commit this sin by just a thought, then how far back must we go to get to the bottom of where sin actually begins? Where does sin actually begin? In our DNA? I believe this is the case.

But how did I get from ‘a thought’ to ‘DNA’?

If one can commit sin by only a thought, then what’s going on here exactly?

Again. You may think I’m totally bonkers about this, but here are my thoughts on where all this sin actually begins.

A lustful thought is imperfect. If even am imperfect thought is sin, then is sin about being imperfect? When Adam and Eve lived in the garden without sin, they were going to live forever. But when they ate the fruit, evil entered into them and so made them imperfect. Now, death would be able to overtake them. What is death? Death happens because of  the slow disintegration of the imperfect DNA structures; because, after the fall, our DNA became corrupted so that it was no longer perfect.

I believe that when Adam and Eve ate the apple, they were exposed to evil and this evil corrupted their DNA to make it less-than-perfect, and so, disintegratable. I believe that we creatures on this planet are inherently sinful in our imperfect states; that this state is what was called ‘sin’; and that this sin resides at the core of our beings. So with this view, it naturally follows that we can not remove ourselves from it in any way.

Follow this logic further… deeper…

Can you see it yet? If we are this thoroughly corrupted to our very core, then it follows logically that we must be: Absolutely — Totally –  Completely — and Utterly — incapable of rescuing ourselves.   So deep, so elemental is this sin, that it resides in us to our very core. We are utterly riddled with it. This sin-nature is so thoroughly entwined within us at the deepest level of our makeup that we have become void of any ability to rescue ourselves by our own defective self-power.

Do you see it yet?

Because of the corrupted [sinned] DNA within us, this is how much we actually need a Savior to rescue us! Without Jesus, our Savior, we are Absolutely — Totally  –  Completely — and Utterly — doomed in this sin! Being riddled with sin at this deep a level, you can see… we truly are doomed. There is no way to rescue our defective selves, using our own defective selves.

The act of death and resurrection by Christ appears to be the only way we can be saved from our own inevitable deaths because of sin. True. Our bodies will die from this sin, but His is the only power which is super-naturally powerful enough, to preserve our spirits.

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I feel like this post is very messy, but I’ve done the best I can with it. The ideas are difficult for me to communicate. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Reblogged from Transforming Grace:

Just listen…

The song: 10,000 miles – Mary Chapin Carpenter

[these are edits from the movie]

This is a Re-Blog from:  “The Seeker”. You can find their blog  HERE.

* * *

The university professor challenged his students with this question.  “Did God create everything that exists?”

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety‑nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” -Luke 15:4-6

I once was lost but now am found.  I’m a sinner saved by the undeserved, amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I first accepted Christ when I was about 13. It was a Greg Laurie Monday night at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, CA. I honestly do not remember much that pastor Greg said that night but I do remember the feeling I had when he gave the invitation to accept Christ. Up until that point I never thought or considered myself lost in life. I was not looking for a savior. I was just being a kid and growing up. I was much more worried about girls and skateboarding than the meaning of life, but for some reason when he gave the invitation to accept Christ it made sense to me. It felt right. So I got up, walked down to the front and sincerely said the prayer confessing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Many things have happened in my life since that day but I can tell you one thing: I was never the same again.

I got involved with a church, met some Christian friends and for a couple of years was living what you would consider a productive and successful teenage Christian life. These couple of years gave me what I now consider my perspective of “childlike faith.” My faith was strong! I saw God in everything and talked to Him and included Him in everything. I had many strong spiritual experiences and had many prayers answered almost instantly sometimes. It was a very happy time in my life that I’ll never forget.

So what happens next in the story? A prodigal leaves home. I met a girl and a very special girl! I fell in love with her and I’m still very much in love with her. She is my wife. We met when we were 15 and have been together ever since. I know the cliché high school sweetheart story. I’m walking proof that it does still happen. I thanked God for this girl—and I still do—but something happened; as my relationship with her grew stronger my relationship with God became less important and eventually I didn’t even care to go to church or read my Bible anymore. In the process of growing up and becoming an adult I fell away from the faith as you could say.

I went to college, got married, chased some dreams, I had some successes and some failures—the typical American life—but an emptiness always remained in me. An emptiness that you could say was more of a longing. I often tried to burry this longing and ignore it. I tried self-medicating with alcohol. I tried to satisfy the longing by chasing dreams but nothing worked. It was still there. What made it worse is that I realized I did not have this longing during my teenage, short lived Christian experience. I say that it made it worse because I was so far from Christianity at this point that I had rejected it. The world had consumed me. The “un-answered questions” and the world’s secular view had devoured my childlike faith, filled me with doubt and tossed me out into a huge pain ridden world.

Through the years—though I had my doubts about God—I still kept an open mind to the spirit world. I was never an atheist but more of an open agnostic. I did not reject the idea of God, or the spirit realm, I just more ignored it saying “I don’t know.” I would go to church sometimes when invited and it would just irritate me more than anything because of how happy everyone there seemed.

Flash forward ten years and I’m at an old Inn vacationing. This Inn is known to be haunted. In the middle of the night I was woken up by a noise. It was not something I could identify. It was a sort of clicking or cranking noise. As I glance around the room I realize its coming from behind the bed. I then realize I cannot move. I am paralyzed and lie awake unable to speak. I then sense an incredibly evil and dark presence in the room and I have the feeling it has come for me. My thoughts are “Oh my God, is this really happening?” Suddenly out of nowhere I can move. I jump out of bed hyperventilating, wake up my wife and rush out of the room. What exactly happened that night I cannot tell you for sure. I don’t know exactly what that was in the room but from the evil presence I sensed I would say it was something demonic. From researching the experience is what is scientifically known as sleep paralysis. This is something that is documented to have been happening to people for a long time. Some explain it as demons visiting you in your sleep and others have tried to scientifically explain it off as nothing supernatural and all made up in your mind. I think those that say it is made up in your mind have not experienced it for themselves.

The reason I have told you all this is because this experience scared me right back to church. In my mind I reasoned if there is a spirit world, then there is an afterlife and if there is an afterlife, then the God of my teenage Christian years must be real. Back to church I went and I started praying to God to take me back. I pushed my doubts aside and recommitted my life to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. A couple weeks after finding a new church to attend the pastor taught on the story in Mark 9 of the demon possessed boy and his father.

The father said to Jesus: “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

From this message the Holy Spirit convicted me and made me realize that I was a lot like that father. I believed but I still had a lot of unbelief and doubts to tackle. They played a worship song at the end of the service and I felt the Spirit of God rain down on me. He let me know that I was His and He had never left me. I was home! I was filled with the Spirit and burst into tears.  Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  This is what happened to me that day. Thank you Lord for never leaving me and never giving up on me!

Sir James Jeans

Made important contributions to the dynamical theory of gasses; the mathematical theory of electromagnetism; the evolution of gaseous stars; the nature of the nebulae; and more. Said this:

[quote]

“Today there is a wide measure of agreement which, on the physical side of science approaches almost to unanimity, that the stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality. The universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears as an accidental intruder into the realm of matter. We are beginning to suspect that we ought rather to nail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter – not, of course, our individual minds, but the mind in which the atoms, out of which our individual minds have grown, exist as thoughts.”

* * *

Erwin Schrodinger

Nobel Prize winner. His work became the heart of modern quantum mechanics, Said this:

[quote]

“The overall number of minds is just one. I venture to call it indestructible since it has a peculiar timetable, namely mind is always now. We do not belong to this material world that science constructs for us. We are not in it; we are outside. We are only spectators. The reason why we believe that we are in it, that we belong to the picture, is that our bodies are in the picture.”

 * * *

Sir Arthur Eddington

Made important contributions to the theoretical physics of stellar systems and was a leading exponent of relativity. Said this:

[quote]

“The idea of a universal Mind [sic] or Logos [sic] would be, I think, a fairly plausible inference from the present state of scientific theory. I assert that the nature of all reality is spiritual, not material nor a dualism of matter and spirit. The hypothesis that its nature can be, to any degree, material does not enter into my reckoning, because as we now understand matter, the putting together of the adjective ‘material’ and the noun ‘nature’ does not make sense. If those who hold that there must be a physical basis for everything, hold that these mystical views are nonsense, we may ask: ‘What, then, is the physical basis of nonsense?’ ”

* * *

Albert Einstein

[quote]

“The human mind is not capable of grasping the universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child know that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books. A mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects.”

“The most important function of science is to awaken the cosmic religious feeling and keep it alive. It is very difficult to explain this feeling to anyone who is entirely without it. The individual feels the nothingness of human desires and aims, and the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves both in nature and in the world of thought. He looks upon individual existence as a sort of prison and wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole.”

“I maintain that the cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research. A contemporary has said, not unjustly, that in this materialistic age of ours the serious scientific workers are the only profoundly religious people.”

* * *

Robin Claire

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I’m reading a book called “The Case For Faith” by Lee Strobel. He was an Atheist who, after a careful and thorough study of Christianity, became a Christian himself. I think that all Atheists should think about picking up this book before declaring that there is no Creator. If you are a staunch Atheist, then you could very well be able to remain in your faith even after you have been exposed to this book.

In it the author talks about how Atheists view the existence of a Creator and he brings up a very important point which I would like to reiterate here.

Aren’t you, who are Atheist, being arrogant?

You, who are a firm believer that there is no Creator, are arrogant to believe this way since you, in fact, are playing god yourself in saying, with insistence, that you know how our universe is held together.

For those who are not as arrogant as this, there is a part of you that [albeit, very slimly] believes there is a chance that there might be a Creator running our world. If that is true, then this might be worthy of a little bit more exploration.

So – if you will – read this book.

You are sure to say that we Christians are ‘arrogant’ too, by holding onto our belief that there absolutely is a Being who is running it all. Here is what I say to this: I didn’t used to believe in a Creator, but since I allowed this Creator to take over the driver’s seat, my life has turned from shit – to soaring. And there are many people who have lived around me – many eyewitnesses who have  know me in my ‘before and after’ periods – who can testify to this fact. Are there any of you, who are Atheist, who have ‘before and after’ periods with others who can testify to your changes?

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough what was given to me about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Jesus didn’t allow any of his other disciples to touch Him after He was resurrected.

Only Thomas.

Why?!!

Generally I don’t ask the dreaded =Why= question, of God. Most of you know by now, that I never pose this question to God. But I got an answer to a =Why= question I did not ask.

Anyway…

Of all Jesus’ disciples, Thomas had the least amount of faith. And what did Jesus do about that? He let Thomas have the experience of Him. Jesus did not simply leave Thomas to deal with his inability to believe. Jesus brought Thomas physically to enough belief so that Thomas could  truthfully  [in ‘truth’] say; “My Lord and my God!”

*  *  *  *

John 20:24-29

²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I can not believe.”

²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

*  *  *  *

Well, some of us are just simply – not that blessed.

In fact, as I look around my Christian community, I see many, many Christians who are not that blessed…… including – me.

I was a “Thomas”. Like Thomas, I just could not believe. Jesus knew this. Yet, what did He do to respond to my Thomas-ness? What was His response to my inability to believe? He showed  Himself to me. This is in my Testimony [part 5]. I was given the experience of Christ. I couldn’t hang onto a nebulous faith I didn’t have. So Jesus gave me a real experience. And afterwards, I knew He was reallyo, trulyo – for reals.

I have to say this….

It’s OK.

It’s not your fault that you’re not so blessed.

There’s nothing wrong with you.

I was one of these. But I didn’t know any better, I didn’t know I was supposed to be closed-mouthed about it. I was open about it… I admitted it…I was not ashamed of it… I was just being, honestly, myself.

And Jesus did something about it.

And I believe that this can happen for anyone; not just for little me. It’s for anyone who can’t muster up enough faith required to have a truthfully honest relationship with Jesus, He will go the extra distance to get you there. He wants you with Him. He wants you to be as close to Him as you can get. He wants to heal you, and give you the faith you need.

So how did I get this experience?

It was an accident.

I fell into it by accident.

I asked for it. Like the father who cried out to Jesus; “I so very much want to believe. Help me with my inability to believe enough to get healing for my son!” I admitted to Him that I didn’t have faith. I admitted it to every Christian brother and sister I talked to. It was a confession. This was my part in the equation. To be open about it. To be as open about it as I could be. Like Thomas did. He wasn’t ashamed. He just plain, out-and-out, told them. He practically shouted it from the house-tops. But God loved His Thomas anyway, even though he didn’t have the faith like the others had. So God, his Father,  did something about it. He came right up to him, and showed Thomas – Himself.

So shout out to God. Shout to others;

“I am not that blessed!”

“I am a Thomas.”

“I just can’t believe yet.”

“Help me brothers and sisters.”

“Help me God.”

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough what was given to me about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

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For any of you who have not read their blog, I just want to say that I love Dust and Kings. His/her posts go deep yet can be understood even by regular old people like me. This particular post moved me again, and made me want to write this.

*  *  *  *

Jesus showed Himself to many of his believers [and even to some non-believers I think] after He was resurrected. Consider this for a minute. I will say it again… Jesus showed Himself to many people after He came back from the dead.

So why would He not show himself to us today? Why not?

Jesus showed Himself to me at my conversion, and this is what transformed me from Atheist to Christian. That was a very big leap wouldn’t you say? Being transformed from a pure-blooded Atheist to a truly re-born Christian?

And how did this happen? Although I just stumbled into Him by accident, I can look back at the experience from today and see how this occurred.

It was through faith that I stumbled into Him. That’s all it was – faith. Extreme stress and pain convinced me to let go of all my preconceived ideas about Jesus – being stupid – or unreal. At that time I had no where else to turn to get relief.

Faith in what though? Faith that Jesus is as alive to us today as He was after His resurrection when He showed Himself to all those people. From what I saw, He was separated by only the slightest different dimension. Only a hair’s breath away from us. He is as alive today as He ever was before.

If you can really get this idea into your heart, so that you can believe it to the marrow of your bones; I know He will come to you and show Himself to you. He will come out from where He lives now, and show Himself. You will be able to see Him; talk to Him; sup with Him, and He with you. He said so Himself in  Revelation 3:20    “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

And you don’t have to have this amount of faith for all eternity, on your own, but just for the few seconds it takes for someone to come into your house. For just as long as it takes to say; “Come in.” After that, faith in His being real will be transformed into the experience of His being real. You will know it because He will be there – right there in front of you!

This can happen. I’m nobody special. I just stumbled into Him through stumbling into having faith in His being real. If this can happen to me, it can happen to you too.

Why not?

What’s so different about today than 2000 years ago? It’s only a bunch of coming and going days.

Read Part 5 of my testimony. What I wrote in it is the full-bore, honest truth.

* * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough what I understand about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

A warning. This is very base. It was difficult to write; difficult to expose. But I felt led to write it and publish it because I think it’s necessary for others to understand how deeply our Father-God loves us. His love for us goes deeper than we could ever, ever comprehend.

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While I was getting drunk at 4 years old. Emptying all the
wine glasses at the Christmas table…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was discovering masturbation and becoming
a masturbation addict…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was scouring the neighborhood for other kids
to play “Doctor” with…..

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was in school, and being told I had ‘coodies’ and ‘rabies’,
and not liked by anyone, and couldn’t make a single friend….

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was doing hand-to-hand combat with my sister
in the hallway between our two rooms….

  My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was getting drunk at 14, and staying drunk
for three days, pooping in my pants…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was getting super drunk all the time, and sleeping with every Tom,
Dick, and Harry; sleeping with anyone who wanted to sleep with me….

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was getting drunk and sleeping with that old man
who took me home from the work Christmas party…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was being told I was nothing but a no-good, common slut…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was trying to take my married “boyfriend” away from his
three little kids, begrudging every penny he gave to them…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was at college spending every day drunk and high on pot….

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was doing horrible work at my job because I was drunk all the time….

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was spending every night drunk out of my gourd; sitting in my
green wooden rocking chair, crying drunken tears  in the dark, alone….

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was screaming, and screaming, at my loving and wonderful husband…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was having my first of many manic episodes and being
involuntarily committed to mental hospitals…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was taking a bottle of pills, trying to kill myself….

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was trying to take my life on two other occasions….

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was being diagnosed as Manic Depressive…

  My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I was taking my first dizzying steps sober, at 25….

 My Father was watching – and wept for joy.
*

While I was 27 years old, and finally coming home to Him…

 My Father was watching – and wept for joy.
*

While I was screaming in my car at Him with all
I was worth because I was in so much pain sober…

 My Father was watching – and wept for me.
*

While I’m still doing things wrong…  still messing up…

My Father is watching – and weeps for me, still.
*

While I’m watching for Him and doing His will.

My Father is watching – and jumps and laughs,
because He knows I’m going down the path that leads to joy.
*

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 My Father went through all of my ups and downs with me.

He was, and will always be, standing close beside me.

My father

 – God –

Loves me.

Through all of the good and bad of my life…

He will always be there for me. And He will always love me.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   *

Peace, and all Feloreaw – to our father God,

robin claire

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Then a man got on the train. A man with his three little kids.

Soon it became apparent that his children were not very well behaved. They ran all over the train car, poking at the riders’ newspapers; stepping on peoples’ toes; screaming and yelling, and chasing each other all around the passenger car. To put it mildly, they were being very disruptive to all the other passengers.

The children’s father wasn’t paying any attention to his children, nor did he try to stop them from their trouble-making antics. In fact, the father was doing nothing but looking out his window – oblivious to all that was going on.

All the riders in the  railway car were becoming more and more annoyed and irritated because of this fathers’ unruly children and because of the father’s unwillingness to even make an attempt to calm them down.

Finally, someone got up the nerve to speak to the father.

“Sir, you must know that your children are greatly bothering all the other passengers here. Aren’t you going to even try to settle them down?!”

The father replied;

“I’m so sorry. But I just lost my wife to cancer today, and  my children are trying to deal with the idea that they no longer have a mother.”

*  *  *  *  *

You have just experienced a ‘Paradigm Shift’.

*  *  *  *  *

Here is also a very good example of a paradigm shift.

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

I hope I have communicated well enough what I understand about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

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As many of you already know, I was witness to the death of my 82-year-old mom [in-law] in the beginning of February this year when we did hospice in our home for her. So, since that happened this thing’s been rolling around in my brain that I hadn’t gotten a conscious grasp on until now. The thing is this…

Time is marching on.

My mom [in-law] was my age when Jerry and I got married in 1988. Then I turned around and I’m doing hospice care for her at the age of 82. That was 25 years ago. So, I asked myself; “Self? Where did that huge chunk of  time go?” I turned around and now we’ve been married 25 years. Again, I asked myself; “Where did all that time go?!”

I don’t know!

It just went. It disappeared into a mist when I wasn’t looking. Now I am looking at my future. My mom [in-law] was my age, and that was only a hop and a skip ago.

Before I know it – I’m going to be her age!  The age of 82! And it will be my turn to be hospiced.

It’s this concept of ‘time’ that’s been rolling around in my sub-conscious. It’s flying right past me, and I’m not even looking. I guess I’ve been busy doing something somewhere else. I haven’t been present. I haven’t been – here.

‘Time is holy’, and it’s slipping away from me like loose change from a holy pocket.

Time is marching on… and I’m not paying it any mind. It’s a non-inflationary entity and, no matter how much more of it I want, I will only be getting a certain amount. There won’t be any more. It’s non-inflationary.

So lately, the last few days or so, the sentence; “Time is marching on.” has been at the forefront of my mind. “What the heck have I been doing?! I have to pay attention! Time is marching on, and it’s going to march right past me!”

I walked from the doctor’s office; to the bank; to Burger King; to the library; and back to the doctor’s office. I paid attention to ‘being there’ the whole time. Because ‘time is holy’. Time is so, so, so precious. I need to ‘be here’ and be present for it. Because, before I know it, I will be 82, and…

it will all be gone.

 * * *

**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough what I understand about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

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I hope this doesn’t sound too high-handed. This is only what I believe. And I believe it enough to live my life with this ultimate view in mind.

Before I go further I need to say that, without a spiritual connection, all this – is meaningless.

* * *

We are spirit beings having a human experience. Before our ‘visit’ here as temporarily sheathed earthen beings, we were made entirely of spirit-energy which lives on eternally. However, as these eternal spirit-beings, we are missing some essential knowledge and understanding about many aspects of the universe that our Father knows is necessary for His eternal children’s growth. He knows that, only through the experience of living a temporary earthen life, can this knowledge and understanding be instilled in us deeply enough to bring change in our spirit-natures.

I believe that we are here to learn some extremely valuable lessons that we could never learn in any other way.

As spirit-beings, we do not experience the altered state called ‘pain’. This altered state is necessary to drive knowledge and understanding deeply into the psyche of our spirit-selves. It serves to open cracks in ourselves so that the light of knowledge and understanding can more deeply penetrate.

I also have come to an understanding that pain does not necessarily mean discomfort. The ‘pain’ does not bring the discomfort, but the stress of fighting against it is where the actual discomfort lies. I have experienced great, great ‘pain’ in my life and, through being in this altered state, it is my belief that many understandings have been instilled deep into my beingness.

I try my utmost not to fight [stress over] pain, but look for the lesson inside it, instead. I believe that the stress comes from fighting what is happening to me or around me. If I can not change it, I do my utmost to accept it – exactly the way it is. I do this by breathing, and reaching out to Father God for wisdom, instead of tensing up inside.

I believe that some of our earthen beings live very short lives and then ‘die’ back to eternity. I believe that, either they had only a small amount of understanding to be learned while going through this journey, or that they allow themselves to play roles in fellow spirit-beings learnings. These more advanced beings are willing to expend themselves in the course of helping their fellow beings growth process.

Bottom line? We come here with surface knowledge, but leave here with understanding – to the core.

Among many other posts I’ve written regarding lessons I’ve stumbled across, I have written a post called: “Opposites” that I feel basically covers a few of these lessons.

I do not know any of this to be a fact. This is only what I believe.

* * *

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**Peace & All Feloreaw  to our Great & Mighty God**

Robin Claire

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I hope I have communicated well enough what I understand about this. If there are parts missing, or parts that don’t make sense, please ask Him about this. I know He will fill in any gaps in understanding – in mine or in yours. What do you think?  I’m open to any input about what has been revealed to you in this

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QUOTE:

 “Prayer will make a man cease from sin,

or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.”

~John Bunyan~