Ramblings

Life, family, business

Tag Archives: thoughts


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Dogs and God, and Us

I share my home with three dogs, two cats, a conure parrot, and of course, my dear husband.  The dogs are so much fun, and can be a challenge as well.

Kelly is an 11 year old Setter that we brought home almost two years ago when her owner was in a terrible car accident and would be in the hospital for half a year.  Bo is our purebred yellow lab puppy, almost 7 months old, that we purchased, because we were denied adopting since Kelly was never spayed.  And Jersey is a 6 month old puppy we got about 3 weeks ago, from a friend who couldn’t keep her, and she is the new kid on the block.  All three are house dogs, although Kelly lived outdoors for the 9 years before she came home with us.

There is always plenty of food for our dogs.  No one ever goes hungry. We monitor them as they eat to make sure that they each get their own food.  One day I noticed Jersey was hesitant to come to her food bowl.  I moved it to the other side of the room, and she proceeded to eat.  Kelly gave her a growl and started toward her.  Jersey ran to the living room.  I told Kelly, “No.  Its Jersey’s food.  You are not allowed to take away what you didn’t give.”  I brought Kelly back to her dish, and coaxed Jersey back to hers.  I stood by Jersey while she ate, and for the next few days to make sure this didn’t happen again. (I always talk to my pets as though they are humans who understand everything I say.)

But as I stood by Jersey, I thought about what I said.  You are not allowed to take away what you didn’t give.”  For some reason, it really struck me.  I thought about humanity, and how so many people are trying to do this all the time.

Why are people trying to take away things from others that they did not give them?  If I look at the teachings of the Bible, I see that oppression is a recurring theme in the things that God tells us NOT to do.

God tells us over and over again that oppression is wrong.

Psalm 9:9   “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”

Proverbs 14:31  “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.”

Zechariah 7:10  “Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

Jeremiah 5:25-29  “ Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.  They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,  and they do not defend the rights of the needy.  ‘Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord, ‘and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?’”

Whoa!  That last one!  It makes me think of religion and politics, and how these evil men, these wicked souls, have turned so many away from the words of Jesus.  How many so called Christians do you know who have been lured into this deceit?  By reading the red letters in the Bible; you know, the words of Jesus; we can see that much of American “Christianity” is not Christian at all.  It is no longer following the words of Jesus.  This American Christianity does not follow Jesus at all.  Instead, it operates on fear.  It’s trying to make us afraid.  It wants you be afraid of anyone who is not like you.  It wants you to be afraid that someone is going to steal your money and your privilege, and all the other treasures you have hoarded here on earth.

But God tells us to not fear over 80 times in the Bible.  Fear is the tool of evil.  If your religion is all about fear, then it is not following God.  If your church tells you to fear everything, then it does not preach the words of God.  Inciting fear in God’s people is how many so called religious leaders try to control and exploit their followers.  By doing this, they have become rich.  Look around! How many mega-million preachers are there?  Everyone of them should be ashamed.

But they are not allowed to take away what they didn’t give.  When God gives us rules and guidelines, who are these people to try to convince us that they know better than God?  They try to take away our faith, our hope, and our promise from God that He will take care of us, that He will prosper us and give us hope, and a future.  He also has a stern warning for those people in Matthew 25:41-46:  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,  I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’  Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’  Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

So, who are you going to fear?  Man?  Our rich politicians who are following their own made-up religion centered around money?  Or God?  You see, God made you.  God is one who gave you everything.  And He who gives, can also take away.  For naked you came from your mother’s womb, and naked you shall return.  The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.

 

Thank you to Bible Gateway for the Bible verses I cut and pasted, all in ESV.

 


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Goals for 2017

What are goals?  What’s the difference between a goal and a resolution?

A goal is something you’re working toward, something you want.  But a resolution can be any kind of change you plan on implementing in your life.  I’m going to be honest here and tell you that I’m not very good at resolutions.  I did make one last year, and I think I did pretty well.  My resolution was to stop procrastinating my book work, and have it caught up all the time.  I slipped a bit at the end of the year, but for the most part, I feel I did well.  I have made it a habit to get it done, and that makes all the difference.  Changing your habits is how you change your life.

But this year, I felt I needed goals.  I want something to work towards, something to give me the motivation to work hard, to be all I can be.  I sat with my journal, and really couldn’t come up with much.  In fact, it made me more frustrated the longer I pondered.  Here’s what I ended up writing:

What are goals anyway?  Is it just a wishlist of things to get done? A master plan for life? What if I don’t know what my goals are yet? What if I enjoy living life by the seat of my pants?

I don’t know what this life will bring-what this year will bring. How do I set goals in a place with no certainty? How does one set goals in a game with no rules?

If my goals are simply the ways I hope to change myself for the better, then aren’t they actually aspirations?

Can I choose the goal of having such a great life that I don’t need any goals? Can I trust the God of the Universe enough to stay motivated without having any said goals other than to just be myself?

I think that’s my true goal, to just be myself.  No more worrying about the opinions of other people, because truly, they don’t matter.  No more worrying about if what I said was taken the wrong way, or not understood correctly.  No more worrying about hurting other people’s feelings, especially when they aren’t worried about hurting mine.  Perhaps worrying is the thing I need to get rid of.  All right, so I’ll be my true self, and stop worrying.  There.  Its set.  Happy 2017!


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Unsolicited Advice and Political Lies

Its one of the most annoying things in the world to me: unsolicited advice.  But its more than that really, its when people try to tell me what I should do.

What I should think.

What I should believe.

Why would anyone think they have a better strategy than me for living my own life?

Why would anyone think that the way I’m living my life could be improved if only I did what they said?

Or thought the way they think?

Or believe what they believe?

I think that each of us has a burning in our heart, put there by God, to do what is right for ourselves.  I think that there is no other person who can possibly know everything in my heart, who can be a better “me” than I am right now.

Don’t get me wrong, I do ask for advice sometimes, and if I ask, then do please try to help me.  But if I don’t ask, then why on earth would someone decide to just interrupt?  Why would someone try to impose their thoughts and beliefs on my purpose?

I think that humans have a huge ego problem, where we think we know better than others.  We think we’re the smart one.  We think we’re the one with the answers.  I feel that way sometimes too.  But unless someone asks for my advice, or opinion, I try to keep it to myself.  I don’t expect someone to give up their religion because I don’t agree with what they believe, but on that same note, don’t think you can change what I believe.

I don’t expect someone to change their opinions or political beliefs because I don’t agree with them, but don’t have your telemarketers call my house five times a day telling me how I should vote.  I have stopped answering my phone when an unrecognized number calls,  do you think they get the hint?

I believe that each of us needs to make up our own mind, and decide what to believe on our own.  I don’t trust any of the commercials on television anymore, especially the political ones. I need to read about the candidates, and the measures, and decide for myself how I will vote.  So stop calling me.  Stop leaving fliers in my door.  Stop trying to manipulate me into siding with you, because more than likely, I’ll do the opposite of what you keep harassing me to do.  I don’t want your politics, I don’t want your religion, and I don’t want your manipulation.  I just want to live my own life, doing what I believe is right, the way I believe it should be done.  I have my own politics, my own religion, and my own mind full of my own opinions and my own beliefs.  If I ever decide to change them, it will be because of my own reasons, and not because some telemarketer with a terrible accent told to me to vote yes or no.  And seriously, how did you get my cell phone number?


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I am wonder-ful

Samsung 003

Have you ever wondered? Wondered about wondering?

I wonder about all sorts of things, and I love the fact that I can look up ANYTHING on the internet and learn about it.  Yes, I know, one has to be careful about making sure the website is reputable, and that it’s accurate, but there’s so much to be learned.

I fully believe that you don’t get old until you stop learning.

Your mind is a powerful thing!  It’s amazing how one’s brain has unlimited potential, as long as you believe it does.  You see, Henry Ford was correct when he said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t–you’re right.”

If you believe you can’t do something, then you can’t.  If you believe you’re too uneducated, too fat, too skinny, too old, too far gone, too addicted, too smart, or too poor, then you are.  You’ll never get be able to do that thing you want to do.

But if you believe you can, if you believe you are good enough, you can do anything.  The mind is so powerful, people have healed themselves of cancer, and an array of other medical and emotional problems. (Just Google it, you’ll see what I mean.)

What are you telling yourself?  What is it that you believe to be true about yourself?  The things that other people believe don’t matter, you are who you believe you are.  Listen to the words you tell yourself everyday.  Do you fill your brain with words of positivity? Or of negativity? What’s going on inside your brain while you’re busy doing other stuff?  Do you say bad things to yourself?  Do you tell yourself that you’re stupid? Or that you’ll never get it? Or that you’re just too old to learn all this new technology?

Or do you say things like, “Good job! I knew I could do it!”. Or something like, “It’s OK, you made a mistake, but now we know and won’t do it again.” (Sometimes forgiving ourselves is harder than forgiving others.) But  you need to listen and take note of the words you tell yourself every day.

Your words are powerful, and what you say does make an impact on what you believe, and ultimately, what you do with your life.  Tell yourself good things, you deserve it.