Calendar

[CatieladyB]

Those Who Sleep Must Awake

Those who sleep must awake
For the time comes
Yes, quickly the moment
The silence will break
Those who sleep must awake

Those who sleep must awake
For close the arrival
Near His appearance
His dear bride to take
Those who sleep must awake

Those who sleep must awake
For behold the Judge
At the door standeth
Christian heart reverently quake
Those who sleep must awake

Those who sleep must awake
For accounts must be given
Doth thou pursue righteousness?
All ungodliness forsake?
Those who sleep must awake

Those who sleep must awake
For soon His glorious face
Will marvelously make clear His worth
Oh, for His name's sake
Those who sleep must awake

By Scott Dunkerton

[CatieladyB]

When the World Lets You Down (Losing Heart)

Life is relatively unpredictable; we can plan our lives to the last detail, and it rarely works out to our expectations. There are things in life that turn out to be just another let down. A couple of things recently gave me the feeling of being let down by people I had trusted and that bummed me out!

The first was when I bought the new album by a favorite group, Collective Soul, without really checking it out first. I think I might have heard one song off the album and without thinking went and bought it. I already own nine of their albums and was eagerly looking forward to enjoying this one too. In the past there had never been any reason for me to be concerned with any music from this group, occasionally there were some iffy words used in the lyrics, but nothing out and out foul.

On several of their albums it seemed as though they alluded to a belief in God, which made sense because the lead singer Ed Roland and his brother Dean the rhythm guitarist, were the sons of a preacher. Ed seemed very close to and proud of his father, when his father passed away he wrote a song on the album "Collective Soul" which came out in 2009, with the title "Hymn for My Father" in which it sounded as though Ed wanted to follow his father's example by leading a godly life. They had made their entrance into the mainstream music scene back in '95 with the release of the song "Shine", it's still considered their biggest hit and it's all about Heaven shinning a light on man, showing him how to live! There are some other songs with a hint of spiritually in them like "Never Here Alone", but mostly positive thoughts and lyrics to that effect. Songs all about love, romance and life in general were the substance of their albums for the most part and the sound of the music always intrigued me.

So imagine my shock when listening to the newest album "See What You Started by Continuing" when I got to about the seventh track and there it was something I never expected, the "s" word! It was just there once, but once was enough to bum me out! The title of the song is "Life" and it's kind of ironic that I should consider it a downer! I just think artists should be more creative in their music and not be carbon copies of all the others! Most of the time artists add explicit words thinking it will help sell the music instead of letting the music sell itself. I think it takes far more talent to avoid those words and still convey the same feeling or thought. Luckily with today's technology I was able to make myself a copy minus the offending song which will replace the original!

Another let down occurs when you find out that people are not who they portrayed themselves to be, this is a little harder to get past! Again this brings me back to my obsession with music, early on when I discovered "Christian" music there were some favorite groups I enjoyed listening to, Everyday Sunday was one of them. I own four of their albums and although not overtly Christian in their themes, they were played on Christian music stations, so I figured they were.

Well, I had a real shock when the lead singer Trey Pearson decided to come out and announce to the world that he has given in to his lust for men! Talk about explosion! The people you put your trust in have a tendency to let you down most of the time! Now even the "Christians" are turning to homosexuality, giving their lives over to the Devil instead of Christ!   

It's very sad because you can't be a Christian and a homosexual at the same time. The whole idea of being Christian is to follow and emulate Christ, by leaving the sins of your old life behind and changing, becoming a new creation, so you can't stay in the sin of homosexuality without at least becoming celibate. In John 8:1-11, we are told that as Jesus was teaching in front of the temple one day, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery and put her in front of the crowd. They asked if according to the Law of Moses she should be stoned to death. Jesus kind of ignores them at first, but they press him for an answer so he tells them "he who has never sinned cast the first stone". When the accusers heard this they slipped away one by one, starting with the oldest and soon Jesus was left alone with the woman. Then He says to the woman "where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?" "No Lord" she said, and then Jesus said "neither do I, go and sin no more!"

Jesus didn't say "ok, go back to your sinful life!" He told her to go and not to continue in the sin of adultery! So it's the same for us, we can't follow Christ without giving up our sins. So poor Trey has been tricked by the Devil into thinking he can hold onto his desire for other men and still call himself a Christian! You can't sincerely and truly follow Christ if you can't give up your sins and idols!

We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Along with Ephesians 5:3-7 where it says "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them."

I interpret these passages to mean that if one is sexually immoral (a homosexual) we should not consider them as Christian and therefore separate ourselves from them. This could also be referred to as being a hypocrite, which is what Jesus often called the religious leaders and the Pharisees who expected the people to follow the laws of Moses, but they themselves did not. The difference would be if a homosexual person were to leave that sin behind and want to become a Christian, then that would be possible, because it's all about changing from the old life to a new one in Christ!

So since Trey has renounced being a Christian in favor of being a homosexual, I can no longer listen to his music with Everyday Sunday, it troubles me to hear those lyrics coming from him knowing where his life is heading! I have to wonder if it was all a lie from the start, if he had just been hiding his true nature all those years! It's not quite the same as with Collective Soul, I can listen to their other music, just not that one song, I'm just sad that they both gave in to the demands of the world!

All though we suffer so many let downs in life, there is one being who can be trusted without fear to never let you down and He is our Creator, God!  As He tells us in Isaiah 46:4 "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." And again in Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So take heart, God has given us his son Jesus Christ who will never deceive or leave you and will love you forever!

[CatieladyB]

"Time Of The Season" or "Rhyme or Reason"


"Time Of The Season" or "Rhyme or Reason" - I read a post on Facebook the other day by Rod Argent of the Zombies in which he says "I love the re-working of "Time Of The Season" into "Rhyme or Reason" on Eminem's new album." He goes on to detail his reasons, almost sounding proud that Eminem chose the song instead of coming off mad or upset about the obvious rip off and ends on this note "It has become a TOTALLY different work of art, rather than being a limp cover."

I have to hand it to Rod for taking a sticky situation and looking at the bright side! Being an avid follower of music for over 50 years, it intrigues me sometimes when I hear new covers of the music I grew up listening to. But I must confess I have never been a fan of the practice of "ripping" or "sampling" other people's music into your own which has become quite common over the years. Although I am very familiar with Eminem, he went off my radar years ago and will most likely remain so, but I have to commend Rod for being so wonderfully gracious and kind! I guess he felt similarly when Kiss covered Argent's "God Gave Rock & Roll to You" and had such a huge success with it! Rod Argent you are a true GENTLEMAN!

[CatieladyB]

I AM

I was regretting the past
and fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
"My name is I AM"
He paused.
I waited. He continued,
"When you live in the past
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WAS.
When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WILL BE.
When you live in this moment
it is not hard. I am here,
My name is I AM."

by Helen Mallicoat

[CatieladyB]

                          As a Baby, Jesus Came

                           As a baby, Jesus came
                            From His home above
                     He left His throne, and who He was
                          To teach us how to love.

                           As a baby, Jesus came
                         Wrapped in swaddling cloth;
                        Willingly He took on humanity,
                         Though He was one with God.
                                               
                           As a baby, Jesus came
                           To one day grow to be
                       The savior of the human race,
                        For people like you and me.

                           As a baby, Jesus came
                           As God's eternal light
                      That will never be extinguished,
                        But forever shine out bright.

                           As a baby, Jesus came
                         The hope of eternal life,
                        Reconciling us back to God,
                       Giving meaning to our strife.

                           As a man, Jesus died,
                       His blood poured out for all,
                         Cleaning and forgiving us,
                           For this was His call.
                                   
                       Through it all we can live on
                        With Jesus Christ our Lord
                    Who was a baby that first Christmas
                     To give us all an amazing reward.


                             (Author unknown)

[CatieladyB]

Kindness Returned for Kindness


How often does this happen, someone returns kindness for an act of kindness? It's not something that happens very often, people might thank you and go on their merry way thinking to themselves how kind you were, but to repay that act with another act is very rare indeed!

I went to the grocery store and did some quick shopping, all the while with a million things on my mind. Finished and went to the checkout counter piling what I thought was all the stuff in my cart on to it. Got rung up, packed up, paid up and went out to my car putting all my bags in the trunk. Then as I looked down at the shopping cart while I pushed it back to where the carts are kept, I noticed I had forgotten to pay for something, nothing very valuable, just a pack of pocket combs I'd picked up for my husband.

First thought is it's only a little over a dollar, so I should just keep it, but that didn't sit very well, so I decided that since I had to use the ladies room anyway, I'd just go back in and pay for it. So that's what I did.

So I'm standing in the self checkout line waiting my turn because only two out of four were open, the other two were being worked on. I noticed a young woman come up next to me pushing a stroller with a cute little baby in it, she's only got a couple of things in her hands, so I let her go ahead of me. She rings up her stuff, bags and pays for it and as she's leaving says to me "oh you can keep the change". I reply that she might need it for the baby, but she just says "keep it" as she walks away! It's only 51 cents, so I thank her and use it to pay for my combs.

As I left the store I was amazed at the way things went, I showed her a small act of kindness and she returned it with another act of kindness! It's not as hard as we think to show the world a little of God's love!

[CatieladyB]

Tragedy In Life

One of the most tragic things I have ever heard of happened back in May of 2008. The teenage son of the Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman was returning home when he struck and killed one of his younger adopted sisters with the vehicle he was driving as she ran to greet him. His parents, older brother and two other adopted sisters were all close by and were left in shocked horror as this sad story unfolded. How and why? They were a tight knit family with a strong faith in God, why would God choose to take away one of their beloved daughters in this manner? Especially one who expressed a strong desire to know God?

The Lord's ways are not our ways; we do not see the total picture of life, only God can! But we do see the impact God has on our lives and the lives of others and we trust that what he does is for our good, no matter how devastating it seems at the time! Our suffering actually brings us closer to God as we depend on Him for comfort and help getting through life's trials!

The Chapman family must have felt a lot like Job from the Old Testament, who lost everything, his wealth, his family, and even his health, but never gave up his faith in God. Neither he nor Ezekiel who lost his wife, cursed God or felt any hate towards Him, their attitude was one of understanding "that to have God was to have everything"! Steven and his family did not blame their son, but just as Job did, they embraced their sorrow and held on even tighter to God and each other! In time they were able to share their loss and grief with the world and in doing so, offered help and comfort to others feeling the pain of loss. They are now confident that their little princess is with Jesus in Heaven just as she wanted to be!

As a memorial to their precious child, they all got tattoos! The lesson here is one of trusting the Lord in all our circumstances, whether good or bad and being able to show more compassion and mercy toward others by doing so. Steven wrote the song "Cinderella" which was dedicated to her memory; we all have our ways of dealing with loss and sorrow. Over the years since this tragic loss, the Lord has blessed and strengthened Steven Curtis Chapman and his family! His story is truly an amazing one of faith, hope and love!

[CatieladyB]

Jehovah's Witnesses & God's Kingdom

I was going through the canvas bag that I keep my bible in for Lady's Bible study, which I attend every Thursday morning from the beginning of fall and all the way through the beginning of summer. I was doing kind of a fall cleaning when I came across two publications given as handouts by local Jehovah's Witnesses. I received them in the typical door to door fashion, we have all been accustomed to lately. I usually skim through them briefly trying to figure out what it is exactly they are dishing out. I guess I had done that very thing back in 2010 when I initially received the pamphlets and then filed them away with my study bible thinking I'd bring up some of the questions I had during bible study, but don't think I ever did.

I have since taken a second look and was a little troubled by what I uncovered in these writings, one was the April 1, 2010 Watchtower which bore the title The Man Who Changed the World: His Message and You and the other the October 2010 Awake, with its title Whom Can You Trust?  Every time I had taken the opportunity to discuss my misgivings with the door-to-door Jehovah's Witness, I was surprised to learn how versed they are at quoting the bible, but not very good at explaining how they fit in with their theology or even what that theology was! Whenever I questioned them about whom or what Jesus was and how he fit into the picture of this utopian world they were painting, they became a little agitated and basically ended the conversation.

I had a very limited experience with Jehovah's Witnesses growing up, I knew a guy who was in my friend's band back in the '70s, the bass player, who started dating a girl who claimed to be a Jehovah's Witness and she seemed nice enough. She never seemed to preach about her beliefs. They later married and had a child, then just seemed to disappear, that was my only real dealing with members of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

After rereading the two pamphlets, a couple of things stuck out in my mind: number one is that they present God as real and trustworthy, along with how important it is to present yourself as trustworthy in the world and number two; they talk a lot about the Kingdom of God and the teachings of Christ. The things that trouble me the most are those two facts, if God is a real person as they are depicting Him, with human attributes such as: God has a personal name, Jehovah, God is unique, Jehovah hates bad behavior, Jehovah is a loving God and you too can be God's friend. Then I don't understand why they go into such detail about the teachings of Christ and the coming of God's Kingdom while presenting Jesus as nothing more than a teacher or profit, instead of God incarnate, God's son and the King who will rule the Utopian Kingdom of God they are proclaiming?

If they believe that God is real and trustworthy, why don't they believe that Jesus is God's only son or God incarnate? They quote the bible right and left, but somehow they don't think it's the truth. I get the impression from these writings that Jesus is viewed as just some nice guy who taught the world about the coming of God's Kingdom and then died and nothing more. If they believe that God is trustworthy and real, why don't they believe it when God himself says from heaven "this is my Son, in whom I am well pleased", that Jesus' death was the ultimate sacrifice and He has returned alive to His Father in Heaven where He now sits at His Father, Jehovah's right hand? Why aren't they proclaiming his victory and that he is coming back ALIVE to rule God's Kingdom on earth, as it says in the bible?

This is the part I don't understand, how can they paint this beautiful picture of a utopian world, with animals and man all living in harmony, if the Messiah isn't around to help it along? Actually I spoke to a Jehovah's Witness woman who came to my door a while ago, who acknowledged that Jesus was in fact God's son and the King who would rule God's new Kingdom on earth, but thinking back on it now I realize she never said she believed Jesus was actually God in the flesh or that the Bible was the" inspired word of God" as Christians believe.

I've read several more copies of their hand outs and I find it very disturbing that they emphasize Christ death more than His resurrection, even going so far as to have an annual event every year called "The Memorial of Christ's Death". As an explanation for this event they quote Luke 22:19 "Do this in remembrance of me" but not the rest of the complete reference in Luke 22:19 & 20 "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." I don't read anywhere in the Bible that this was to be a once a year commemoration of His death only. They stress that one should believe in Christ's work on the cross as the end of death, but don't spend much time on the fact that it's only the beginning of life through Christ. Christ clearly says in John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Then what about the Holy Ghost? I get this feeling they don't believe in the Trinity either.They talk about Jehovah, but what about "the Father, Son and Holy Ghost"? First God the Father creates the World and everything in it and then when His most prized creation, man, rebels, He sends His son to reconcile them through His earthly life and death on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice. Christ does not end on the cross, He returned to Heaven as King to sit at the right hand of His Father, Jehovah, where He began, but He leaves the Holy Ghost or Spirit embedded in the hearts of believers to help guide them.

Jesus is the one who intercedes for us with Jehovah God, not Mary his mother, as some religions believe, not a Pope, but Christ, so how can they leave Him as dead? How can you claim to follow God and totally disregard His Son! I just can't fathom it! Even if you acknowledge Him as God's son, but not as God incarnate, you have missed the whole point of His death on the cross, the sacrifice, grace, mercy and forgiveness given on your behalf!

[CatieladyB]

Bad Christian & Believing Lies

I've been hearing the term "Bad Christian" being thrown around a lot lately. There is even a website with a blog and podcast that is run by members of the band Emery, in which Toby Morrell and Matt Carter discuss the idea of being a "bad Christian". The thought of being a bad Christian doesn't sound right to most people but the truth is we are all "bad" according to God.  Romans 3:22-24 says "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

When I was young my mother brought us to Church every Sunday, but she never really explained why or ever talked about what we learned in Sunday school, so I never really understood why Jesus had to die or even what his death meant. I grew up and drifted away from Church and started making some very bad decisions as a teen. I became involved in what I'll call the "4 no no's", smoking cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and sex, as a result, I got myself in some very "bad" situations, I was pregnant at the age of 19 and again at 20 ( you would have thought I'd learned my lesson the first time, but I obviously didn't) and had two abortions. I had them not because I didn't want children, but because I was scared and believed a lie.

There are a lot of lies out there in the world and if we are not careful, we can easily fall prey to them. Now one of the lies I believed at that time was that life did not start at conception, but that up until a certain point in the pregnancy it was just a bunch of cells and not much more. So to shield myself and others, I believed this lie and went ahead with the abortions. It wasn't until long after them that I discovered this lie. I actually saw fetuses that were as young as 3 to 4 weeks, which is the recommend time frame for the procedure and they looked like little humans with all their body parts formed! So that's when I decided I wasn't going to let it happen again, so I took precautions.

Much later when I was almost 29, I had met my future husband and we were talking marriage, I got this brilliant idea, that maybe I should take out my IUD, the precaution I was using at that time, so my body would be ready to have children when we got married. Another bad decision, I got pregnant again, but this time I was planning to get married, so we would just have to speed it up a little! Well, God had other plans and I had a miscarriage before we were even married! After I was married I had another miscarriage before I finally had my first child and again in between my second and third, I went on to have two other children, plus I raised one of my nieces who came to live with me just before she turned two.

After I had had my first two, a girl and a boy, I had this sense or feeling that I needed to return to the Church. I had continued to go to my mother's church once in awhile, on special holidays, like Christmas and Easter. Through my sister-in-law, who was a Christian, I found a church near my home, which I still attend. At first I wasn't sure I'd like it there, I picked it because I knew two people who went there so I wouldn't feel so out of place and also because it had a nursery for my son and a pre-school Sunday school class for my daughter.

I had been raised a Protestant in my early years and then as a Methodist from about 4th grade on, until I finished high school. I had even tried teaching Sunday school at one point in my early adulthood. That's a really scary thought, how can someone who doesn't really know the Lord teach kids about him! I had 3rd and 4th graders, I tried to follow the lessen books and I thought things went well until I realized one Sunday that a girl in my class was a bully and her mother was worse! I finally gave up teaching Sunday school and soon after stopped going to church, except on special occasions, like Christmas and Easter. I was so put off by this woman's behavior that I didn't want any part of religion!

After living this dreadful life in the past, I had settled down, married and started a family, I felt myself being drawn to the Church again, but this time it was a church that used the Bible as its main foundation. The more I went, the more I learned about God and Jesus; I also realized I was a sinner like everyone else! That was something I had never considered, I just figured if I followed the rules for the most part I was ok. You know, just go by the 10 Commandments, even if it was rather loosely to say the least.

But I have now realized it was God's plan for me to go through these lessons in life to bring me to Him. I think you have to learn to see yourself in the same way God sees you, that we are not perfect beings, but sinners in need of His help. This is the reason Christ came to earth, to take the "bad" in people and make it "good" like Him, that's where the word Christian comes from. So yes Christians start out as "bad", but they have learned to let Christ teach them how to be "good" Christians! I believe God wanted to show me, how He grieved when I aborted my two babies, by letting me feel how it felt by the loss of my three pregnancies to miscarriages. God is a just and loving God, merciful and forgiving, but He lets us go through trials and tribulations in life in order to draw us closer to Him! We need to start believing more in His truth and less in the lies of this world!

[CatieladyB]

Unnecessary Torture

Lately I've been exposed to some things that have felt eerily like methods of medieval torture from the past.  I recently had some X-ray's taken during which I had to lay on my back upon an incredibly hard table for what seemed like hours, it felt more like a torture rack.  I had my teeth scaled which took hours and felt like torture, then most recently I had a tooth pulled, which took way too long to be released from my gum!

Way back in the dark ages, when you had to sit in a waiting room somewhere, like a doctor's office, you would sit around reading a magazine and listening to some piped in music, mostly instrumentals. As the times progressed, they started using radio stations that played what was called "Soft Rock" and lately I've gone to a doctor who actually plays his own collection of CDs and I had the pleasure of listening to some Pat Benatar there once.

But there is a frightening new phenomenon being used in most waiting rooms now a days, it's called a flat screen TV!  The frightening thing about this TV phenomenon is the programs that are put on for people to watch as we count the minutes until our appointment. Talk shows are about the worst thing to be stuck in a waiting with, they can be very offensive, next would be the classic daily soap opera which has taken a turn for the worst with the addition of more explicit scenes and language, perhaps the least offensive would be the game shows or maybe a nature or travel show.  The Judge or doctor shows are interesting sometimes, but usually just boring.

So what do they put on, but those torrid talk shows, like The View or a soap opera, like The Days of Our Lives, it can make you cringe! It's bad enough if everyone in the waiting room is an adult, but what about when there are young children present?  It doesn't seem to matter to the doctors who's in the waiting room, I almost believe that it's a pass time for the employees, when there is a lull in patients.

I was at a dermatologist with my teenage niece once and there were two young boys who came in with their mother just after we sat down. They were probably both under the age of ten or 11 and at first they were content to play with their electronic toys, but soon they were wandering around the room taking in the TV and began watching what was on. There just happened to be a talk show playing with some actress talking about all the drugs and sex she'd been involved in.  Not exactly something I wanted to hear, but what about these young boys?  Their mother was engrossed in the show herself, when at last she realized maybe it wasn't the best for her children (or she just got bored) she finally asked if the channel could be changed, although the next show wasn't much better.

Some places have their own little channel which features info related to their practice, boring but at least practical and not offensive. How do you pick a channel that will be appropriate for everyone?  My personal ideal pick would be music videos, but then again there are some inappropriate videos out there.  I'd prefer videos by Christian artists, but that might upset other people. I don't think I could stand watching Country music either! Such a dilemma, maybe we should just go back to listening to music and reading!

I usually bring something to do when I have to sit and wait, a book to read or a word search puzzle to work on, but sometimes you can't concentrate with some of the junk they show.  I also bring along my iPod, so I can at least listen to my music, but with headphones in, you can't always hear when they call your name.  I've actually almost missed my appointment trying to drown out the TV by turning the volume on my iPod too loud!  I guess there is just no happy medium when it comes to unnecessary torture!

[CatieladyB]

More unnecessary torture!

Back in August of 2009 my son, who works at a liquor store/bar surprised me with tickets to see one of my favorite groups live! One of the delivery drivers was handing out free tickets to see Collective Soul at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville New Jersey as a promotion. So not wanting to waste such an awesome free gift, I immediately made plans with my daughter who had just turned 21 the year before.

So we drive down the night of the concert and after paying $6 to park (nothing is ever really free!), getting in past security with camera intact, we found a spot right in front of the sound board and settled in for the evening. The Starland Ballroom was about the size of a large bowling alley and was converted into a Night Club type venue with a stage set up against one wall and an open floor in front surrounded by at least two or three bar areas and tables. It could easily accommodate well over 300 to 400 people without overcrowding and by the end of the night there was a descent size crowd.

I had never been there before and had no idea what to expect, but there we were right in front of the sound booth. There were two groups scheduled to go on before Collective Soul, so the first one up was a group called Safety Suit and what a shock! The group itself wasn't all that bad, what I could hear of it, the sound was AWEFUL! There were stacks of speakers on each side of the stage and the volume was up so high you could feel the vibrations pelting your body which was very uncomfortable, not to mention there was so much distortion you could barely make out the music or understand a word that was being sung!

I'm not the most experienced person when it comes to working a sound board, but I think I could have done better! I used to hang with a bunch of people who always formed bands that played gigs out at bars and such; I did some recording for them so I know a tad about sound! I was shocked at how horrible the sound was in a well known venue like this! I have been to outdoor festivals that have had better sound, I went to see Rush at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey and had lawn seats up on a hill and the sound was amazing!

By the time Blackstone Cherry, the next band came on someone had the foresight to turn it down a bit and they weren't quite so bad! So by the time Collective Soul reached the stage, someone with some knowledge had stepped in and the sound was bearable! Ed Roland, his brother Dean and the rest of the guys tore the place apart! They were AWESOME playing all their hits and almost all the songs off the new album! Ed even did an impression of his dad, who was a preacher, during one song, so I ventured up close to the stage to get a better view of Ed and BAM, I'm blown away! I mean literally being blown away! The AC must have been set on 60 degrees and the ceiling fans on hurricane velocity, it was like being in a wind tunnel! Ok, I understand it was the middle of August and there was a heat wave going on outside, temps in the 90s and humid, but this was a bit extreme! I ended up cowering back by the sound booth until the end!

I'm not really such a wimp, I'm the kind who turns the volume up really loud when nobody is around, but I enjoy having pristine sound, so clear I can hear every note and every lyric! I also enjoy seeing groups play in small venues where one can get up close and personal, I've seen other groups in the past with no problem, so I was a bit bummed by the lack of knowledge or maybe they just don't care about acoustics anymore and volume is all they know!  So although I loved being able to finally see in person one of my all time favorite groups, I left there feeling more like I had been trapped in a torture chamber, than a concert!

[CatieladyB]

Are We on the Road to Ruin?

On July 4, 2022, we celebrated Independence Day marking our 243rd year of freedom, a day set aside to remind us of our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and the birth of a new nation, the United States of America, one nation under God. As we proudly proclaim "God Bless America", our history and current events tell a much different story. Our founding forefathers and the authors of the Declaration of Independence had envisioned a nation with God as its sovereign ruler. When we remember and reflect on the significance of the declaration, let us not forget the sovereignty of God in the affairs of human history.

Our early government put its faith and trust in God; it's written in our national anthems and on our money, why then is it not written in our hearts and minds? It would seem that we are turning our backs to God more and more often, trying to distance ourselves from Him. If we take a stroll back through history in the Bible, we find that every time the nation of Israel or God's chosen people, took their eyes off Him, they fell to ruin. They spent much of their time in captivity and under serious oppression.  Time after time, God would set his people up in the best lands, with the best provisions, the land of milk and honey; then again in time they would fall into evil practices and be on the road to ruin. Only when they were captives and under oppression, would they return to God in their agony and loss to be once again restored. Is it so different for us as a nation today? If we continue in our cultural demise will it not lead to the demise of our nation as well? Will God turn his back on us too?

In a quick look at the Bible, some things seem to pop out, that give us some fair warning as to what we are up against. In Deuteronomy 28:1-2, Moses says "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God." He then goes on to list all the wonderful blessing God has in store for his people, but then in verses 13 &14, he gives this warning to the people, "The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them." At this point Moses goes on to tell them all the dreadful things that will happen to them if they choose to ignore God, but the scariest part comes in verse 49, where he states "The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young." (Which sounds just a bit like 9/11?) And eerily later on in verses 62 & 63, "You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God.  Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you."

The nation of Israel (the Jews) has never gotten to where God wants them to be, over and over He tried to retrieve them from their evil ways, even going so far as to send them a savior, Jesus Christ, whom they reject even to this day. So God opened the option to the rest of us, the Gentiles and by His grace we are saved. In Numbers 14:42-43 there is this warning "Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you." In view of all this, how can we live in such ignorance as to think that this will not happen to our nation as well?

So when we celebrate the 4th of July let us remember those who fought and gave their lives, along with those still fighting and dying for our continued freedom, by returning to faith in the God of our founding fathers under whom we became a Nation and pray that God will have mercy and save us from ourselves!

[CatieladyB]

Our God is not a god of Hate!

"Freedom of speech can be ugly. Minnesotans saw that firsthand in February 2006, when Andrew Kemple was laid to rest in Anoka after he was killed in Irag. "Parishioners" from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka picketed the funeral, saying homosexuality is a sin that God punishes by killing Americans, especially American soldiers. Rev. Fred Phelps contends when a soldier is killed, it's God's retaliation for America's views on homosexuality."


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I came across this article online, which was the continuation of an earlier article about an incident which took place back in 2006. The new article was about the lawsuit filed by the soldier's father in response to the harassment of the family at his son's funeral and how Fox News' Bill O'Reilly had sided with the family in their suit against the protesters by paying some of the court costs for the soldier's family. The original article told about how parishioners from the Westboro Baptist Church had picketed the funeral carrying signs saying things like "Thank God for 9/11", "God Hates the USA" and "God Hates Fags". After reading this article, I couldn't help but wonder what god they were referring to? Not the God of the bible, not the Creator of the Universe, not the Great I Am, not the Alpha and Omega, not Our God and certainly not the Father of Christ! Because God, the Father in Heaven, is a loving God and does not hate his creations, even though they are wicked and vile enough to picket a grieving family as they lay their son to rest! Apparently the view held by this church's pastor is that the death of American soldiers is a form of God's punishment for the views held by some Americans. But not all of us Americans believe that homosexual behavior is acceptable, so why would he want to punish the rest of us?

Yes, according to the Old Testament in the Bible, God does consider homosexuality a sin, but it's not the only one. God considers many things to be sinful, such as prostitution, pornography, adultery, stealing, murder, etc., is the sin of homosexuality any greater than, say, the sin of prostitution? How do they know it's this sin and not some other? If what they say is true, why wouldn't God hate prostitutes just as much as "gays"? In Romans 3:22-24 it tells us "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." So, since we are all sinners, why would God just kill a few G.I.s here and there, instead of taking out whole towns, states or even countries, because the USA is not the only nation that practices homosexuality?

In the book of Genesis from the Old Testament, God destroyed the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin was so great (one of their worst sins was that of homosexuality!). God is wholly and righteous therefore He hates all sin, but not those who sin. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9 If God were a god of retaliation, we would have become extinct long ago! He wiped out mankind once before with a great flood, couldn't He do it again?

Our God is the god of love, second chances, forgiveness and abundant mercy, not hate! This passage comes to mind, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." Psalm 103:8 and because of His great love for us, he has promised never to flood the earth again. The bible tells us "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17 "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10 and lastly "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 In these verses, the whole reason God sent Jesus, His son, into the world, was that he should be the final sacrifice and His blood would cover all the sins for all the people of the world.

I believe that the Rev. Fred Phelps at the Westboro Baptist Church missed an important memo from God the Father, the one delivered by His Son, Jesus, with the following message "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31 Instead of opening their hearts in love and compassion, being a light to the fallen world, they have chosen to close their minds and repay evil with evil, this is not the way of our generous, forgiving and loving God! It's things like this, that add to the bad rap Christians are given. How do we get off on these tangents and miss the mark so drastically? Jesus' original message was really quite simple, first love God, then love others as yourself and that he was sent to teach us how. On that note, I don't think I'll be attending this church anytime soon; if they have not learned to love their neighbors, what can they offer the lost, weary and broken hearted?

[CatieladyB]

Another Portrait of a Loving God

Previously I mentioned an article that I read online concerning Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas and their "hate group" tactics. As it turns out Westboro has no affiliations with any Baptist denomination and is under the direction of a man named Fred Phelps. This group's behavior seems almost like a cult and this might account for their "God is anti" propaganda. It sounds as though Phelps has put himself in the place of God and has taught his followers his views which are not biblical. It's just heart breaking to see those people being beguiled into thinking his words and teachings could come from a loving Holy God!

All through the bible there are many examples of the loving nature of our God, a God of grace and forgiveness, a patient God willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. He is a God who does not want any of His creations to parish, but gives them many chances to return to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says this of God "the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Since God is also Our Father in Heaven, like any good and loving parent, He has to discipline His children when they need it, for every action there is a consequence!

Here are a couple of well known examples of God's love and grace toward his creations; we read that in Genesis 18:20-33, God had sent two angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin was so wicked and vile; homosexuality was one of their most wide spread sins. When God told Abraham of His plan to do this, Abraham begins the bargaining by asking this question "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?" God assures him that He will not destroy it if fifty righteous people can be found. Slowly God begins to come down in His figures, dropping it down to forty five, then forty, to thirty, twenty, and finally to only ten. Finally He tells Abraham that if only ten righteous people could be found He would spare them all!

Sadly when the two angels reach Sodom where Abraham's nephew, Lot and his family are living, things get really out of hand! Lot invites the visitors to come stay the night with him and during the night all the men of Sodom, young and old, come pounding on Lot's door demanding to have sex with his visitors. The angels put a hold on everything by blinding the men and the next day Lot, his wife, and two daughters high tail it out of Sodom! The angels give them one last word of advice, "don't turn back and look!", but Lot's wife couldn't resist the temptation and ends up as a pillar of salt! So in the end Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because God is a Holy God and must discipline His creations!

Let's move on to another well known example of a loving God. There was this fellow by the name of Jonah who was asked by God to deliver a simple message to the wicked people of Nineveh "straighten up or face destruction" and Jonah wanted no part of it so he ran from God! He jumped a ship and sailed to Tarshish, but God caused the sea to rage and the sailors on the ship blamed Jonah for their trouble and threw him overboard. Next thing Jonah knows he's in the belly of a whale and after three days the fish spits him up on the shores of Nineveh! Now the reason Jonah wanted no part of it was because he knows that God is just too kind and if he takes the message to the nasty old Ninevites, God just may spare them and he didn't want that!

So God tells Jonah a second time to deliver the message that He will destroy Nineveh in forty days, this time Jonah gives in and reluctantly goes and preaches to them. Then to Jonah's horror, the king and everyone else, including the animals, puts on sackcloth, gives up their evil ways and prays, so God does not destroy them (this time!) so Jonah goes off in a huff and pouts saying to God "O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil."

These are just a couple of examples of how God is a loving, merciful and forgiving God, the Bible is full of them. They can be summed up by these verses in Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." along with John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Later Paul writes this to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:9&10 "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him."

So in the end, if we truly seek God, we will find Him and when we find Him we will know for ourselves a loving, merciful and forgiving God!

[CatieladyB]

Ever feel violated?

Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt violated? Maybe you've had something taken or stolen from you, had someone break into your car or home? At first you have those feelings of horror, desperation, fear, anxiety and then anger! How could this happen to you?

I got my first car in 1972 when I was 20 and had a full time job. I was still living at home and my parents helped me buy a brand new VW Super Beetle! I'd had it for about a year or so, when one day I was visiting a guy I was dating at the time at work. He worked at an electronic store that sold all kinds of stereo equipment and records. I was planning on buying a record (those were the days when vinyl was all there was!) and had taken my money inside with me thinking I'd be right back out.

While I was inside going through the record section, there were these two guys wandering around the store, all of a sudden the alarm went off and the guys ran out of the store. My friend noticed that someone had tried to remove a stereo unit from the shelf which had set the alarm off and we figured it was the two that had just taken off, we didn't think much about it until another guy that worked there came in and told me he thought someone had broken into my car trying to steal my stereo! So we all ran out to discover that the back side window on my car was smashed and the purse I had so foolishly left on the floor behind the driver's seat was gone!

First the feeling of fear swept over me and then just plain anger! Anger at myself for being so dumb and then toward those who had done this evil deed to me! I was very lucky; there was nothing of any value in the purse since I had the money with me, I didn't have a check book or even any credit cards at that time. The only thing was a gas credit card in my dad's name. I found the purse on the side of the road when I left the store and a few days later someone found my wallet with my driver's license. My dad cancelled the card and we eventually got it back in the mail.

Flash forward to a few years ago and my oldest daughter is living in Brooklyn, New York. We had let her use one of our cars to travel back and forth from the city to our home. We got a call one day from her all in a panic, wanting to know the license plate number and all. She had parked it somewhere near her apartment and it was gone!

It was an old '93 Mazda with some dents, not in really good shape, who would want to steal it? First thing that pops in your head is that some teenagers have stolen it to take it for a joy ride and it was probably in a heap some place! Or maybe it was used in a robbery of some kind! All these things run rampant through your brain!

So after about a week or so of freaking out, she finds out that it was towed away! She starts to feel the sting of violation, now the fear turns to anger, not only did they have the nerve to take it, but now she has to pay the towing costs along with the parking ticket to get it back! Now she really feels violated! It's as though it's being held for ransom!

She's left mentally kicking herself in the butt for being so foolish! But she has just learned a valuable life lesson; some mistakes will cost you not only grief and aggravation, but some money too!