Long Lost Relative

A long-lost relative came to my door in Westchester County, only I was not there. I was out-of-state on my recent real estate hunt. My husband was there though and after driving home after the completion of his errands discovered Megan* and her dog Dexter* waiting on the front step. She had not called nor set up this time to visit. In fact, had Megan come just one week later, she would have found a new woke and fully liberated single woman named Jessica* looking to get pregnant and start her family in my old house. We learned all of this when she sent us a real estate love letter. Have you heard of those? They are letters sent by perspective home buyers hoping to get chummy with the seller through flattery etc, in the hopes of standing out to the seller in an intense sellers market.

The paradigm has certainly shifted when a young woman waxes poetic about the journey of becoming a new mother without the benefit of marriage or as a natural outcropping of a committed and loving relationship with a man. The buyer of my former home does not resemble previous generations of typical house buyers. 

Those couples were moving to the suburbs typically after getting married. Perhaps, they were saving money while living in a cramped apartment. They dreamt of having a quiet life in the suburbs, with a backyard for their children to play in (backyards are seldom used in Westchester today, people opt instead for expensive after school activities away from home). 

Westchester grew to represent the concept of what a suburb should be. In fact the popular 1960’s family sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke show was fictionally set in Westchester County, New York. Then, suburbs were considered a nurturing place to be and thought to be filled with many worthwhile family activities to engage in. It was a place where one got to know their neighbors and became involved in the life of that community. Suburbs grew in locations close to economic hubs making them convenient when work came to be something one did away from home. I make that distinction because there was a time when we were an agrarian society. Then people worked at home so to speak. Now, we have returned to a time where many people are remotely working out of their homes.

Both Megan and Jessica represent a new mindset. For example, Megan’s visit to Westchester County was concordant with the no-planning seat-of-the pants way that she and many in her generation now run their lives. No worries is a mantra. Planning is not necessary, because in the back of their minds they believe that the government will take care of things. What happened to this thoughtful child? Megan was so grounded in all things spiritual, and smart as a whip. The answer is she was broken of everything that was right in her life by the liberal school system, the insane entertainment industry and Generation Y’s twisted spiritual values.

This generation takes the term, generation gap, to a whole new level. They don’t operate in ways that would be meaningful to any of the previous generations. This is no mystery. Parents and churches turned their backs on the true message of the Bible and of history.  Both the vehicle that is the Bible and the history books have been hijacked. Marxists have driven the car of Judeo-Christian Western Civilization into a satanic ditch and it is damaged badly. Although, God will not be moved, our civilization can.

Parents for several generations allowed the popular culture to get into their families and to raise their children. Parents did this by serving two gods, which Jesus warned against. They went to church and sent their children to Sunday school or religious instructions. But, they mixed that message in with watching television, playing video games and doing other activities which had messages opposed to biblical truths. Next, they let these opposing ideas go unchallenged. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said, no one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 

While the verse relates to serving God and money, studying the passage closely points to putting God first in all areas of our lives. That includes understanding the balance of serving God and earning a living but it further points to putting the practice of faith first. Godly relations with family would be one of the results of putting God first.

My husband had to have a serious discussion with Megan. Megan’s approach to life is, it’s all good or don’t worry be happy. However, that approach has left her poor, clueless about the real meaning of family and a future cat lady-in-training. 🐈 🐈‍⬛ 🐈 🐱 

The way that she sees life has sent family relations into a ditch of its’ own too. In a situation like this, I am glad that my husband took the biblical approach. Realizing that she needed to have something deeper and more meaningful than anything that he could give her, he preached the message of the Bible.

My husband, has been a hesitant evangelist. His cultural and religious background have caused a certain privatization of his faith. It has been a source of contention with us over the years. Even, his adult conversion to a more personal faith in Jesus Christ has not entirely moved this shy and hesitant Moses to speak. But, something seemed to have changed when he was unexpectedly visited by our niece Megan after a long period of estrangement. 

He knew that he had tried other ways to reach her. He had done the cool Uncle thing. He had tried to be a friend, yuck. Understanding that he had failed, he turned to God to try and reach this troubled young woman. He went over her life with her and tried to dispel some of the mythology that she had made up in her mind. Megan says that she is a Christian. So my husband finally realized that he needed to try to talk to her about the Bible and godly standards. He made her an offer. He invited her to come stay with us in our new house so that we could begin to rebuild our family and help her sort out her future. 

He asked her to think about a lot of things. First and foremost she needed to think about what place that God currently has in her life. Secondly, she needed to realize that family is important. Our society is breeding a lot of discontented young people who reject family and substitute friendship in its’ place. Megan is at a turning point in her life. Will she reject God, family and tradition. Time flies and she might end up alone and depressed. Jessica can too for that matter, if she continues in her quest to have a baby without a father.  There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to destruction- Proverbs 14:12. I am praying hard for these two young women to find a path to God. I think that the book of Proverbs is a great place for the two of them to start.

* the names of the people, dog are changed for privacy.

Go with the Flo?

As far as Flo* goes. I met her at the local supermarket where she works. I don’t see this relationship working out for either of us because we are so different, or in Christian parlance, we are unequally yoked. I got on her checkout line a few times and we had some fun chats. When I got home and checked my bill, on one of those days, it seems that Flo had put her telephone number on this piece of paper with a message to call her that night. My, oh my, I wondered if I should call her? 

At the time, even though I knew this would probably be a mistake I couldn’t resist calling her since I was lonely. Loneliness as a chief motivator, is always a bad reason to do anything. I had just moved into my new home without my husband. He was busy selling our old house in Westchester County, New York. Now, I have to ask myself over and over again, “what did I get myself into?” 

Here’s the breakdown on Flo: she takes some south Asian plant called Kratom to handle pain supposedly from an accident that she had several years ago. And, she seems to be in pain all the time and not just where she supposedly sustained her injury. Does this seem like some sort of pain killer addiction and rebound effect to you? She is in the process of a lawsuit to get monetary damages from that accident. She is depending upon that money as well as Covid relief funds to financially survive. She is currently underemployed and gets fired from jobs a lot. Hmm, none of this sounds good. 

Oh, and Flo lent $150 dollars to a friend named Yvonne* who happens to also be the wife of an ex-con. This money was supposed to be used to buy concert tickets for the two of them. Flo gave Yvonne $100 for her ticket and she lent her $50 dollars towards the cost of Yvonne’s ticket since this grown woman was going to a concert she could not currently afford. Only, the woman ended up taking the money and buying two tickets for her and her recently released jailbird husband. I wonder if he is violating parole by staying out too late? Anyway, this all came up when she asked me if I knew anything about small claims court. 

I let Flo know that I had no personal experience with small claims court except for what I might have read over the years or heard from others. How can one person have so much crazy stuff going on? Oh, and did I fail to mention that her neighbors have complained about her to her landlord because she feeds feral cats and leaves food on her porch for them every night? Now, her landlord is trying to get her evicted apparently. 

By the way, according to her everything wrong in her life is someone else’s fault. Here are some of her pronouncements: her lack of a job is due to her accident. Her father is to blame for her series of dead end jobs. Men are not to be trusted, it is much better to own a cat. Her landlord and neighbors suck. Finally, no one will tell her “not to take care of suffering cats.”

In this world, God calls us to reflect his message to those around us. Most of those people are lost in a sinful and morally bankrupt life. We are to point to the Savior in that case but, we are not the savior. How good it is to know that I can not solve Flo’s problems but, that I can try to tell her about how knowing Jesus has given me direction and healing in my life.

I am the seed planter and the Lord brings those seeds to harvest. As long as I keep that straight, then I am okay. Still what is a Christian way to handle the mentally ill, the criminal or addicted individuals among us? Knowing the Lord has given me a heart for the poor and suffering but, in the past I got hurt by helping those in need. When you are dealing with the ill who are in need of the great physician then, you are going to run into some messed up things.

But, the Bible gives us practical boundaries which tell us to guard our heart and actions. It also directs us to not be unequally tied to people who are not believers. Therefore I can try to assist her with prayer, and some practical suggestions but, i can not allow myself to get caught up in her dysfunction. This is pretty hard to do unless you are a mature holy-spirit directed Christian. Following Jesus ultimately results in a soft and caring heart which is why I feel for this woman.

It is so abundantly clear to me that Flo would thrive if she had the clarity that only the Bible can bring. But, so far, she never picks up on any of the threads of discussion that I begin about Jesus. There seems to be some ways that I can bless her now. Some of those ways are materially but, they are mostly spiritually. 

She needs a lot of help as regards the practicalities of her daily life. I need to make sure that I don’t pass by an injured person on the side of the road. I need to strive to be a Good Samaritan not someone who see’s people in need and ignores them. This must be regardless of the fact that there are things that I don’t like about her (not unlike in that famous story).

The story of the Good Samaritan shows me two things very clearly. Firstly, that I am a sinner. In reading the story of the Good Samaritan, I always imagined that I would be the good guy who stops and helps a person in need, but the truth is that I am both the one who cares for those in need and the ones who ignore those in need. With God’s help I can be the one who cares. The story secondly makes it clear that we help those whom we love and repel from those we don’t love. It hurts to help those that we do not like. That point seems very poignant as I see the United States in a spiritual divorce. Every day people rage and hurt those opposed to their point of view.

The story of the Good Samaritan balanced with reflections on Jesus’ teachings shows us that it is important to help lead someone to the spiritual truth of salvation and not enable people to do evil as you help them. That will help me not to swoop in and do a lot of stuff that might make me feel like a good person but, won’t help her address the real issues of her life. This way it may be possible, with the Lord’s help, to get her life back on track. 

* the names have been changed but, if any of the folks who this is about read this, they will be mad at me.

Supply Chain Chaos

What do I think of the Supply Chain Chaos as a Christian? That is a good question that I have been asking myself since this worldwide dilemma has unfolded. Trying to discover the meaning of what is happening in our world has been something that we all began doing when the mutant virus first either escaped or was released on purpose from that infamous Wuhan Lab. 

As Christians, we look at life as more than just the here and now. We look deeper, into the spiritual issues that present themselves as life unfolds. So, for instance when we hear that the NIH, i.e. a United States of America health agency, worked to fund a project to create a superbug with the Chinese, what are we to think as a believer in God? What if we had a science degree and were working for an agency when such a Frankenstein project was proposed? 

As a Christian, this is not merely an academic question. Neither is it without moral responsibility. As I see our world descending into chaos, I see the lack of concern about these moral questions and the underlying rejection of God as the primary cause of it all. And, now, I find myself wondering if this Supply Chain Chaos is another example of a man and woman made disaster. In other words. Is this an accident or is it being done on purpose? 

Could everything changing all at once be an accident? We have what many people believe is a stolen United States election and upcoming elections look no better. We have a so-called President who refuses to answer questions. That has never happened in the history of this country. It could not have happened because there was a free press, spiritually and politically active citizens, but that is not true anymore. We now have an indoctrinated press corps. For the most part, they do not see their role as impartial. They are activists, agitators and mouthpieces for only one side. People are busy taking narcissism to all new heights. Sometimes, in those heights, there is a terrible fall while taking a selfie. 

For two years we have had all semblances of a normal life disrupted. Our civil rights have been destroyed. Privacy no longer matters. The constitution and real history are under siege too. So, this is clearly a takeover. |In the place of democracy, we now have a worldwide government forming. In place of faith and tradition, we now have radical paganism with it’s dark traditions forming. The United States was energy independent with economic success in every sector, and now we are just a shell of our former selves. 

The lockdowns have been the final push over the edge for many morally indeterminate Americans. There is a whole lot of drinking, drugging, selfish and lazy behavior going on by spiritually lost souls searching for some form of comfort amid this lunacy. Or, should I say, meta-insanity

We were on our way to paganism already of course but, the insecurities and the constant lockdowns have completed the moral decline of many. Because, without God, many are simply adrift in the chaos that has enveloped our planet. (Note: that means that is a a good time to be all in for Jesus, live your life as if to be a role-model for others and do what you can to tell others about who Jesus is and what he has done for them).

But, back to Supply Chain Chaos. The Protestant work ethic is now being replaced by the Pagan work ethic. I speak to people all the time who think it is a good idea not to work and instead get everything paid for by the government. Is this some type of return to childhood or something worse? You know the answer to that. 

Packages are sitting at the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach with no one to drive them to their destinations. Farmers are dumping their products because workers or drivers are not available to process the produce or to make the deliveries. Lazy people get as many paychecks as they can, oblivious to the economic chaos that this is causing. What seems accidental about any of this? It seems like the pieces of a puzzle coming together perfectly in a puzzle entitled: The Next Revolution. I can see the picture forming.

Some people that I know, have told me that they do not know what I am talking about. Take Randy* for example. He thinks “everything will get better, it always does.” He tells me that he “does not watch any news, or read any news that is not positive.” He lives his life in a book which he chooses, when he is not on his computer programming the code that made all of this radical mess possible.

He works for one of the most corrupt companies in the United States, BlackRock. Randy is just a cog in the wheel that is taking us all to hell in a hand basket. Nothing seems real to him and he has a way of keeping it that way too! When I bring up the G20 summit in Rome or the Glasgow Climate meeting, I can almost see him putting his fingers in his ears and humming so that he won’t hear me discuss it. Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise I guess?

Then there is Albert.* Albert is a European friend. His father was a committed Christian but, Albert is more committed to science. He is a man who believes more in science than in Jesus and, that it (science) rather than the Lord will bring salvation to the world. He has the tenets of a faith though. Complete with Ten Commandments and it doesn’t have anything to do with the Bible.

No, Albert is a thoroughly indoctrinated and a smug atheist. He believes that man rather than God will overcome. He lauds the arrival of a one-world currency, and a global governance as necessary to combat poverty, ignorance and disease. When I ask him how the European Union is doing with that universal government thing, he deflects and distracts rather than addressing the bureaucracy and corruption issues that I mentioned.

He insists that life can only go back to normal if everyone gets vaccinated and continues in their booster shots. It sounds like Albert has already taken the soma pill 💊 spoken of in the book, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. He believes that if you show proof of vaccination everywhere that you go whether it is on a plane or on in a restaurant than, magically everything can return to normal. That is religious thinking if you ask me, but it is a false religion. 

Up until the Chinese virus began circulating the globe, Albert was circulating the globe and he is anxious to get back to that lifestyle, desperate to get back to it really. Christmas in Phuket, business in Brazil and sex in Miami. He seems a man willing to do anything to get back that which he has lost, even if he has to pay for it with his soul. The Apostle Paul speaks of this mindset in the first book of Thessalonians in Chapter 5, verse 3- When they say, “Peace and Security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains come on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 

Without God and the correct moral understanding that he alone can give, we have nothing beyond our personal needs for peace and security and therefore they become paramount. That is what you have been seeing this past two years. You are seeing desperate people seeking desperate solutions and willing to overlook anything to preserve their life. People are always looking for a quick fix but now the stakes are too high to overlook the facts. 

Many voices in the compromised media services worldwide blame the current Supply Chain Chaos on that pesky virus. They sometimes blame it on the unvaccinated, however, there seems to be no truth in that. When you pay people not to work, when you force people to quite their jobs if they don’t believe in the jab, and then you fine people for not picking up their cargo, what should you expect? I, for one, would expect the prices of everything to go-up. I expect cargo and produce to rot or be damaged and most of all, I expect people to be at home drinking, and binge watching Netflix. 

When Christianity predominated in the European world, the Black Plague brought compassion to the sick and dying. Many people gave their life serving others. Christianity was pivotal in assuring an economic recovery within a few years after that terrible illness abated. Why? Because the Christian values of caring for the sick, respect for the dead, and belief in the afterlife informed their actions. We can add to that, the concept of a viable work ethic as being paramount to those wishing to live out their Christian faith.

Work had to commence because people knew back than that it was good to work and earn a living plus, no one would pay you not to work. Work was considered the right thing to do. So much for the view that people were dumb back then. They seem to be a little bit smarter than us already. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. We can again go to Thessalonians for a New Testament example of this principle. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11 says, For even when we were with you, this we commanded you: that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some among you who walk disorderly working not at all, but are busybodies. 

As I contemplate the Supply Chain Chaos, I think about how I should conduct my life. I keep thinking of Joseph who knew that the way to prepare for a drought is by storing grain (Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable-Genesis 41:49). I have stored up extra food and supplies for the winter because I believe that our economy is being brought to collapse by those hostility to God, and traditional societies. Joseph knew that a drought would come. I know that one is coming too. The prices of everything is going up. I am trying to prepare for the times ahead by storing food now. Of course I can not do that with gasoline. 

But, just like Joseph, I am ready to assist those in need and share what I already have. Eating and saying my daily grace has taken on a new and poignant importance as our world faces delayed delivery of goods and services. How I thank God for the food and for all the things that he has given. How can anyone take that for granted at this point? Let us all choose to talk about Jesus and his redemption everyday to those around us, and remember that we planting a seed for people’s salvation which God will harvest.

* the names have been changed but the story is true. 

The Mary Statue

Is it a temptation of Satan that I somehow always find myself with The Mary Statue on my property? In my effort to clear out the profusion of weeds in my backyard, I uncovered something behind all the weeds thrust right up against the fence bordering my property. This is the second time that I had to deal with the spiritual issues surrounding The Mary Statue. At times like these I think of two things: my Catholic upbringing and the biblical admonition against idols which lead me to a saving knowledge of the preeminence of Jesus for salvation.

But why does it cause me such angst now? Do I still harbor a vestige of the idol worship inculcated in me from my Catholic upbringing? The girls at my school all fought for the honor to crown The Mary Statue during catholic school events on the Marian holidays. The boys who carried the saints statues on so-called Saints Days were all envied like “homecoming kings.” 

For those of you who do not know, I was handed the Roman Catholic card as a child. My parents both came from catholic majority nations where it was part of their cultural upbringing. I say cultural and not spiritual because both my parents treated their faith as if a cultural accoutrement. They brought it out during the Easter and Christmas holiday season. It was sprinkled in with the ethnic celebrations of their people. I loved the food, the history and the fun of all these events. Being a first generation American also meant a real immersion into the stories and traditions of the countries that my parents missed so much. 

This was all fine and dandy until I was  old enough to read the Bible. My family were not bible readers. I must say that I never saw them engaged in any personal biblical studies nor even picking up the Bible as they did the other books on their bookshelves.* They had two copies of the Bible in our home from as early as I can remember, and they let me know what the Bible was and what it represented. There did seem to be a respect for its’ presence on our bookshelf, even if it lived a lonely existence.

I was a voracious reader as a child. I was already able to read and write when I began school, thanks to my mother’s understanding of phonics and the excellent way that she taught me how to read. My mother read and spoke four languages mostly self-taught. I believe it was her grasp of phonics that helped her negotiate the English language when she came to this country as a “tween.” There was no English as second language classes when she arrived on the shores of New York harbor, only the determination and grit necessary for a family to forge a path in the new land, starting with grasping the new countries’ language. 

I was proud of my families’ stories of coming to the United States and was proud of all the hard work that my family had done to make that happen. I knew that I was blessed to be the recipient of citizenship in a country that had offered safe haven to my family who endured war, violence and poverty on their journey of life. I also knew it gave my parents joy to feel that I would continue the traditions of countries that they had originated in. That was all fine and good, until I started to read the Bible on my own.

As I opened up the Bible, beginning my lifelong love of this precious gift from God, it wasn’t long before I came across concepts that lead me to question the Mariology that was taught in my Catholic school and reinforced in my families cultural traditions. It seemed to me the story of God as it unfolded in the Bible centered around the fallen nature of man, the redemptive power of God and other themes and stories that did not seem to cast Mary as the central figure that I had been lead to believe that she was. Furthermore, every time that I encountered a statue in the Bible it more likely than not had to do with some sort of ”idol worship” situation. 

There was Achan, whose story is found in Joshua 7. This story is connected to the consequences of not following God’s commands. Achan lived during the time of Joshua’s battles for the Holy Land. God had lead the Israelites to a dramatic victory in the city of Jericho against the Canaanite’s. The odds were against this small tribe of people winning a battle against the stronger tribe that they faced. However, when God is on your side, and you are following Him in obedience, the victory is assured. Aye, but there is the rub! 

The battle of Ai ensued and it was all but assumed that this would be an easy win. When this did not happen, Joshua was greatly troubled and went to God to discover the reason for this humiliation. God lead Joshua to the truth that was hidden from him, but of course, not from God. The truth was that God asked the Israelites to do something, i.e, take no trophies of the battle, and destroy everything. They may have questioned or not understood the reason for these admonitions, as we sometimes do, but if experience should have taught the Israelites and you and I anything, it is that God’s purposes and plans are always perfect. Also, when we do not obey God, there are bad consequences.

Then, there was Rachel. When Jacob and Rachel left her father’s home to go back to the Holy Land, Rachel clepped her father’s household idols. When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods.- Genesis 31:19. Did you catch that, she stole her father’s household idols. Stealing is wrong but so is idol worship, so that makes two sins as she moved out of dad’s encampment. Her dad was a wealthy man, she probably had a few choices of things to take, not to mention she could have asked him for it. 

Did she know it was wrong and therefore wish to keep her sin a secret? That is a possibility especially since her husband Jacob was a godly man and did not share her father’s penchant for the sin of idolatry. When her father noticed that they were gone, he even accused her husband of the theft. What did Rachel do when this happened? Why she let her husband be falsely accused. The whole family had their personal belongings searched because of Rachel’s sin, yet she said nothing. She must have really wanted those idols, don’t you think? She wanted them so much that when her father came to speak to her before she left she even used her menstrual period as an excuse to allow her to evade detection. And she said to her father,”Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.- Genesis 31:35.

The sin of idolatry was so great that it lead to the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people. Much is written in the Old Testament about idolatry. Suffice it to say, that I understand the lure of idolatry coming from the background that I do. But, is so clearly condemned in the Bible that it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to take some time to think over the issue. 

In general, there is a secretive element to all sin. It is no different as we contemplate the sin of idolatry. Things are hidden under the tent, such as with Achan. Rachel hides her idol. However, when sin reaches its’ zenith in any culture, the sin is no longer hidden but flaunted openly. We are seeing this in our day and age when people celebrate their own sinful and insane lifestyles. They try to force others to condone it too. When it gets to that point, God’s judgement is usually just around the corner, as it was in the time of the Babylonian captivity. 

Obedience, is also a factor. Although Achan did not commit the sin of idolatry, I learned a lot about obedience and faithfulness to God in his story. Rachel seems a little bit oppositionally defiant in her relationship to God at times. Remember, Jesus told us that we can not serve two gods. Could it be any clearer than that? 

My journey towards giving up The Mary Statue, all began with studying these stories. Frankly, I was a little dumb-founded as to why idolatry was such a bad thing. Over and over I pondered this question. It was only God’s grace and the study of the full story of the Bible that lead me to the painful answers. Painful because I too would have to give up some things in order to follow Jesus. Things that I was accustomed to just like Rebecca was. Things that my family had for generations, things that calmed me and I thought protected me. 

The sin of idolatry is great in God’s eyes. There are reasons for that. The reasons seem to point to an end-times scenario when idolatry will again become a factor. It is said that an image of the beast will be worshipped in place of God some day. Since we know the Word of God is true, isn’t that enough reason to trust in Him and get rid of our idols? Achan purposely disobeyed God’s directives. 

The Bible tells us that we are to worship the Lord, in Spirit and in Truth.  Here is the exact quote from John 4:24- God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.That leaves no place for statues. We do not need an image or statue to help us focus our attention on God. We do not need to crown any statues as if they are human kings and queens. They are not human so why are we treating them like they are by dressing them up, and carrying them in parades? 

It even seems a little like witchcraft, i.e. trying to create power in an inanimate object. As I write this blog post, I am again forced to confront my cultural and religious roots. I have to go to the Bible and make a stand about my life and practices. I must get a sledge hammer and take this statue off my property. In doing so I am refocusing my attention to the fact that Jesus is the redeemer of the world and there is no other salvation except through him. There is no mediator between me and my God. Mary was a woman who chose to obey and follow her God, not to be part of the Godhead. Reading her story shows that she worshipped God and would never put herself in the position that she now takes in my new garden. 

* the one exception to the “never pick-up rule” was when my mother would pick-up the Bible to show me the family history that was written in it.

New Beginnings

It is not easy to start all over again from scratch. Whether you just dropped your egg on the floor and need to make an omelette or you  just got egg on your face and need to rethink some things. But, being a Christian calls us to face this very type of challenge all the time. It begins when someone decides to accept the fact that they are a sinner in need of redemption and allow Jesus’ atoning redemption to touch their life. Everything changes at that point and it could entail changing jobs, friends or giving up a lifestyle that you had. A true conversion brings New Beginnings.

The Bible recounts how God called Abram to leave everything that he knew for a new beginning. Moses had to do the same. We see people such as Ruth leaving her people and attaching and committing to the vision that God had given his chosen people. What of the tax collectors and fishermen who lived one way one minute and then became believers? They gave up all that they were accustomed to in order to follow Jesus. 

I have never been good with change. Always preferring the familiar over that which is new. It is a personality trait that makes one reticent to change, even if change would be for the better. The person with this type of personality tends to struggle a bit more with the idea of change. I know that it takes me longer to adjust to changing circumstances in my life, such as moving from Westchester County, New York to my new location about 300 miles away. 

 Following Jesus has improved my ability to be more at ease with change by allowing me to see God’s purpose in it. I talk such a good talk about following Jesus but, when push came to shove in my two real estate deals I was coming apart at the seams. I realized, at a certain point in my Christian journey, that no matter how good I try to be, or how hard that I try to work, that I will never be able to do it alone, without God. 

I fail to make the mark and when I do, I am humbled. Buying and selling houses made me reach my very maximum stress levels. Being separated from my husband at first felt like team work because, I knew that he was handling details in our old home whilst I did the same in our new home. But, when the level of regulatory madness resulted in my husband and I being separated for two and a half months, I was literally getting sick over it. 

At times like this knowing that our God has conquered this crazy world makes complete sense. The promises of God were my constant companion and I thought about them day and night. Like the one about God not giving you more than you can handle or, that God would never leave us or forsake us. How about that one? Towards the end of the financial transactions and all the massive paperwork (still not done), I thought that the stress would kill me. It didn’t because I am writing this today. But, even knowing that when our battles are done in this life are done, that we will be with the Lord helped me to feel at peace more often than not. 

As my New Beginnings start to unfold, there are so many answered prayers already happening. Like for instance, having good neighbors. There happens to be self-identified Christians living to my left and to my right. I was showered with kind greetings and all manner of welcome gifts. One neighbor has a green thumb and brought me a vase of the most beautiful dahlia that I have ever seen. Another neighbor brought by some locally made vodka ice tea. It is forty proof. I have not opened that bottle yet but it is a kind gesture.

I drink moderately and never create a scenario at my home for drunkenness. So, I could probably add some more of my cold brew tea to it to create something a little less potent. A man at my church gave me a homemade cutting board. I have been using that constantly. The most touching thing was that my new church prayed every week beseeching God on my families behalf as we went through our real estate transactions. 

There are so many new things to learn, so much paperwork to do but, I see that our New Beginnings have begun. Thank you God for your many promises and thank you that yet again, I can have a New Beginning. 

Ida hits Westchester County

The storm that was a catastrophic hurricane in New Orleans has reeked havoc in Westchester County, New York. The County got between seven to ten inches of rain. The result was extensive basement flooding, road and highway flooding, along with some power outages. There will be huge financial ramifications after all the damage that was done. This amount of rain is a once in a lifetime event that many including me have never experienced before. The speed and ferocity of this storm was terrifying. My husband called me in the midst of this terrible storm. He showed me the huge storm waters going through our property and our town. To this day, I can’t get those images out of my mind.

 “I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.” - Psalm 55:8

I have not seen my husband struggling so much for a long time. It is hard for me to see him in any kind of struggle because he has always been so strong for me. He bares so much without complaint but, now with our approaching home sale and events such as Hurricane Ida heading towards our house, his patience and strength were severely taxed. There is so much going on in our world, and in our life that on any given day we are like acrobats juggling many balls in the air. I wanted to help him and with so much going on I felt my roll as my husbands “helpmate” was front and center. 

“ A refuge from the storm”- in Isaiah 25:4 ( God is described as a refuge from the storm.)

With that in mind, contemplation and discussions of our faith began with the approaching storm. My husband stayed up the entire night to ensure that our house was bolstered against the deluge of water all around. He listened to ten hours of sermons and theological discourses to keep his spiritual focus strong. If I seem strangely absent, it is because I was. Dear readers, our search for a new home has ended. We have found a new place to call home. Although, in these days of struggles and hardships, I am reminded that this earth is not my home. 

“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waters beat into the ship, so that it was now full.”- Mark 4:37

I was not physically present in New York when tropical rain storm Ida hit that vicinity. I was beginning the process of cleaning and unpacking in our new home. Meanwhile, my husband handled the details of our house sale in New York.

Looking at numerous real estate listenings clarified where we were in our lives and what we each wanted. His and her visions coalesced after much soul-searching and in the end we chose a marvelous old house in a community that reflects our faith and political points of views much more than Westchester does. The terrible Chinese virus and all it’s variants have helped many including me to realize that it is time to do all that I can to make Jesus known to all those struggling. Knowing the fragility of life as I now do has made me want to seek more comfort among others who believe as I do that Jesus is the Lord. 

“Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.”- Isaiah 29:6

In the end, we had a blessing in that the storm did not overrun our basement or damage our home in any way. It is a huge blessing because driving around our community after the storm showcased the immense damage reflected in the waterlogged rugs and furniture out on the street. Toys, and other items revealing the life and story of each home and their ruination. 

“He maketh the storm a-calm, so that the waves thereof are still.”- Psalm 107:29

Roadblocks

Even in the best of journeys there are roadblocks. Things that hinder our progress and our expectations of the journey. It happens to all of us. On your way to a wedding you get a flat tire. Your much anticipated family vacation digresses rather quickly into sickly children and motel rooms that smell like mildew. Then there is the hugest boulder always just beneath the surface, the Wuhan virus. 

Wuhan virus is the gift that keeps on mutating and giving. Just as we thought life would go back to normal if we got a vaccine, wore a mask or socially distanced we found it was not happening the way that we hoped it would. Maybe we thought that we still were free to live our life the way that we wished, including making our own medical decisions ex, deciding if we wanted to receive the covid vaccine or not. That freedom is in jeopardy. The fact is, we are in the midst of the hugest roadblock in our lives. It is a physical, emotional and spiritual roadblock, and we have to think about what it all means.

To quote Charles Dickens, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This is the famous first line of his book entitled, A Tale of Two Cities, where he delves into the time before and after the French Revolution as well as the reign of terror using the historical fiction genre. What is happening today in the world at large from New York to where ever you live is something akin to that time. There are revolutionary things happening. What power and what control do we have when the world has gone mad?

The frenzy, chaos and anarchy that ensued during the French Revolution exists worldwide. As I write this, the country of Afghanistan has fallen into a blackness that resembles my conjectures concerning what the reign of terror must have been like. As I think of the roadblocks in my life right now, and perhaps you have a few too, I can not help but think of the larger roadblocks literally on the way to the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

People are desperate to escape the advancing armies of the brutal Taliban. All week long I could not stop thinking of the images showing desperate parents so poignantly handing their babies over barbed wire fences to soldiers, or a young man, whose life was dominated by the joy of football just a short time ago and who now lies dead after he clung to a departing aircraft. Two ISIS car bombs just exploded and killed and wounded many on their way to the Kabul airport.

I try to put my life happenstances in perspective as I cope with the regulatory oppressions that have begun to invade the sale of my house. After the financial disaster of 2008, many small Westchester villages almost went bankrupt. Democratically controlled places always turn to regulations, and taxation as a means to raise money. My money is their money in Westchester County, New York. There is never a new regulation, permit or tax increase that is rejected here. Obviously, this factors into many departures from one of the most taxed counties in the United States. 

Taxation is a great way to fix all the political and budgetary mistakes that they continually and for all perpetuity make over here in Westchester County. It is a downright communist re-distribution of  the wealth of hard-working people. Westchester did a tax reassessment on homes in order to increase revenue in the county. The local officials are vampiric in their ardor to drain the resources of people like me.

The municipality insinuate themselves into property sales resulting in inspections, permits, additional time, stress, and expenses. It is my house and I resent how hard it is to sell my own property within the hot housing market of my vicinity. There is much bureaucratic business that has to be done to either buy or sell a house in New York and it comes with a very high price tag. It also slows the process down to a crawl at times.

Don’t forget that a buyer arms themselves with their own knowledge and augments that with a house inspector. This should be all that is needed to buy a house. What else would you need? Certainly not an intrusive and over-reaching village anxious to put their hands into your wallet. However, that is just what I got. 

All I want to do is to leave and make a fresh start in this Age of Wuhan Virus. I want to: stay close to Jesus and talk about him as much as possible. I am also anxious to do this as quickly as possible, while I still have the time. The hatred of anything Christian or conservative is now entrenched in the state of New York. So, one of the most important factors for me in this move is to find a place where there are other conservatives and Christians so that I will not feel so alone.

As my nation falls apart, both its domestic and international vision fails.  As disease, weather and terrible conflicts break out all over, I know it is finally time to leave the place of my birth, New York. I did not expect so many regulatory roadblocks. As I try to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus these roadblocks serve to help me understand my spiritual weaknesses. It is all very humbling!

In the midst of the joy of searching for our dream house, we experience layer upon layer of adversity, including three deaths: my sister-in-law, a former colleagues’ brother, and a dear soccer mom who lost her young son. Now, I am waking up at three in the morning in spiritual warfare. Yet, the process has begun and my living room, dining room and basement are full of boxes. But where am I going? Not sure yet and there are many roadblocks ahead. My husband and I are digging deeper into our transformative relationship with Jesus Christ and determining that we both need to embrace a  more mature Christian attitude. 

Every week I find a biblical verse or verses which focus my attention to godly thoughts and perspective on  my life and all that is happening in the world. This week, I find that inspiration in Psalm 37. Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

We are in the midst of terrible roadblocks. Does that mean that God will not prosper us? Or perhaps this may not be a time to achieve our heart’s desire? Perhaps God’s promises will be something more of a spiritual nature. I’ve begun to see how truly essential that is. 

Places

Where were we going to move to? That was a big question. After all, with family and connections in a number of places in the United States, Europe and South America, there was a number of possibilities. We began to look at these destinations and draw circles around them and explore them. It was not easy to think of moving after living my entire life in New York even if I knew that it was the right thing to do. New York is the hell that I am used to but, it’s still hell. 

We explored bible-centered churches in each area. We studied the infrastructure, political scene and crime statistics too. We honestly accessed our relationships and personality fit for each vicinity that we were considering. We had familiarity with each move destination that we were considering but, it was important to make sure that we did a deep dive into the facts. Complete honesty is something very important in the life of a believer. But, Christian or not, living the truth is one of the things that people find difficult to do. 

Don’t we find it easier to blame our grade on that bad teacher, or losing that promotion on that bad boss? Lately, I have seen just how far people will go to avoid the truth about their family life. People will go to great lengths to keep from addressing the real and painful issues of their family. They will make family members into paragons of the community when they are self-aggrandizing idiots. They will pretend there is no mental illness, estrangement, jail time and even that their relationships are all hunky-dory when they are not. As the process of searching for places to live progressed, I knew that I could not do this. 

What is wrong with me, because I don’t even want to do this? When we don’t tell the truth we can not cope with the truth, we can’t even pray and beseech God with our petitions. It is essentially thinking that it is okay to live a lie. Let’s say that I had a broken relationship with a sister and I decide to move closer to her. If I am not being honest about that, then I will not be going into that move with realistic expectations. 

If I am pretending everything is fine then I am heading for a disappointment. If I tell the truth and decide to move there anyway, than I could be praying and spiritually ready for what might lie ahead. Consider, Sydney’s* case. Sydney has accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and has been a believer for quite some time. Yet, she struggles to live the authentic or should I say mature Christian life. She has told me a number of times that she is an immature Christian. 

It was almost like she took pride in that. She was clearly where she wanted to be. She wanted to be saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ but, she was not ready to completely give up her worldly options. But, being on the fence about this had consequences in her daily life. I try to keep that in mind as I am making dramatic changes in my life. Did you notice how Joshua stopped at the dramatic moment of entering the promised land to ask everyone involved to choose whom they followed that day? 

Joshua 24:15- And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I did not understand what that was all about for a long time. I intellectually understood but, I did not personally understand the importance of the spiritual aspects of all decision-making. Now, I see an analogy between entering the promised land and moving to the next place that God has for me. 

What places do you need to go? Is it a new school, job, home or relationship? All of the choices that we make will have natural consequences associated with them. Some people think,”oh, if I don’t like it, I will move,” or, “if it doesn’t work out that is what divorce is for.” When we think like that, we are not following God. Yes, of course sometimes we choose a house and then must move etc. but, the covenant nature of God manifests itself in the believers’ approach to their life. 

People are not disposable, so we should treat dating, marriage and friendship accordingly. Even deciding to follow God will entail persecution and is not a decision to be taken lightly. I know many Christians who have decided to take that freely given gift of salvation but, are still following their other gods as well. Some of these dualities of worship are dramatically played out within peoples homes, as for example in Shannon’s* apartment.     

When you walk into her bedroom you feel there is an absolute war going on between the many crosses dramatically placed on the wall behind her bed and the healing crystals lining her dresser on the opposite side of the room. Choose today whom you shall follow Shannon and then the way will be clearer. Thinking of a verse for my moving adventure lead me to find this inspiration from the book of Deuteronomy, maybe it will inspire you too. Deuteronomy 1:31- There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. I must choose everyday who I am following and I am clinging on to my good father God!

* the name was changed but the events are real.

Process

Now that my husband and I finally agree about moving, what is the Process by which we can make this change happen? How did Abraham do it in the Bible? I made a note to reread the story of Abraham’s journey out of Ur. I have a feeling Ur was a little like Westchester County, New York. As I began to seriously contemplate moving out of a house that I had lived in a very long time there were a lot of things to do.

First and foremost, I wanted to make sure that I was going to make this move as a godly Christian woman ought to. That means that prayer was essential and sincerely seeking God’s path out of this place the goal. Honesty, patience, and other Christian virtues need to predominate my Process. 

I have seen many a sensible friend become absolutely unhinged in the process of buying or selling their home. Their emotions were up and down with every new development in their real estate process. They spent huge amounts of time angry and stressed out. Angry with their real estate agent, the prospective buyer or even about the weather. I know that the best way to avoid this is by keeping God central to the Process. Didn’t Abraham? 

But would we seriously move out of Westchester County without considering an inter-county move first? The reason that I say that is because we love our church very much. We love our Pastor, and the stalwart group of christian soldiers that make up that group of remnant believers. There are many special people there that I would pack and take along with me if I could.

So, we started to look for homes that were in close proximity to our church. Since our church is located further away from New York City than our current house, we were hoping that the house prices would reflect that. But, all the normal rules of Westchester County real estate have changed since Wuhan took Manhattan.      

Throngs of people desperate to escape the virus and its’ aftermath left the island of Manhattan and its’ neighbor Brooklyn and made a beeline straight for Westchester County and its’ environs. The market was hot, hot, hot. Prices soared amid this panic. There were a number of cases of people who bought houses sight unseen after a video tour of the house. 

Lines of socially distant people cued up for homes that were on the market. With their masks, hand-sanitizers and bank letters in hand they were ready for business. As a result, many bidding wars ensued making for insane money being spent on mere hovels on busy streets. It instantly became a sellers market and people who thought they would never unload their distressed properties suddenly found that they were in the money. Fortunes were being made for retirees who had not saved a dime and felt rewarded for this bad behavior.

I poured out my heart to God everyday in prayer as we started our relocation process. I told our Heavenly Father that I wanted the plans that he had for us. I wanted the place that He wanted for us. And, I wanted to acknowledge Him continually as we went on this journey. I was afraid of change but, I wanted to be more like Abraham. Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you- Genesis 12:1.

I remember the thoughts that I have had over the years, as I examined Abraham’s story. I wondered how someone could have the kind of faith that would allow them to leave everything that they knew and go to a destination that they did not yet know. Did I have that kind of faith? How do we make godly decisions as we look for a new home? 

We became acquainted with the various real estate portals. I would identify various properties that I liked or that I thought that my husband would like. We would then discuss the pros and cons of each property. This clarified what things we were both looking for and culminated in our property wish list.      

During this time of house hunting,, many changes were occurring in the State of New York. The talk of tax increases were constant. The philosophy behind increasing taxes in one of the most taxed counties in the United States seemed punitive. Punitive towards those who had worked hard, saved money and bought homes. It seemed hostile to those who had worked and struggled to build this county and make it thrive. 

But, the tide had turned and people in this county now endorsed this Marxist personal property downgrade. As a result, houses in my county are over-priced, with a hefty and ever-growing tax bill. That does not even include the increased regulations on every facet of owning a Westchester home that result in constant permit payments and inspections for the most ridiculous things.  

Then, there is the spiritual element. Westchester County, is now Manhattan north. The encroaching Babylon has made life very difficult for believers in this County. I have seen more and more people hostile to the things of God then ever before.This is mission territory. However, since the events of the pandemic have unfolded, a hard-heartedness seems to have overtaken the area. 

When the people of Westchester County were faced with their own mortality they became like a pack of rats. It was and still is not pretty. Our Lord taught us, that we would know people by the fruit they produced in their life. With that standard in mind, it is pretty clear that Christian values are dead here. Is that what Ur was like when Abraham left it?  I have often wondered. After leaving Ur, Abraham camped outside of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He somehow managed to escape the evil vortex that entrapped his nephew Lot and his family by keeping close to God and far away from sin. 

In the process of our life, we will often have to step out in faith. But, what is the source of our faith? Is it ourselves alone, popular opinion or is it the Lord, God Almighty? For Abraham, with all the ups and downs, twists and turns of his life, he trusted in the Lord. After he left his home in Ur, Abraham lived in a tent for the rest of his life. When we ask God to bless us in whatever process we happen to be in, we can be certain that God will be with us. We can not be certain that everything will turn out the way that we thought it would, or wished it would. If we trust in God, everything will fall into place no doubt the way it really should.

Change

Blogging about trying to live the Christian life in Westchester County, New York has been cathartic for me. Along with prayer, bible study and fellowship it has allowed me to navigate the tough road of being a Christian in this post-Christian environment. As I chronicled the behaviors and the practices of this anti-Christian bastion of New York State it helped me gain perspective on how to live the Christian life, including trying to reach the lost for Jesus.

Sometimes you have to see the alternative before you understand how good that God really is. New York is a type of Sodom and Gomorrah if not a full-blown recreation of it. Mankind from age to age continually builds and rebuilds the institutions that represent good and evil. These institutions no doubt represent the battle between God and Satan. 

I love the way all along the Bible tells you the epic story of good vs. evil and how we fit into it. God tells us the truth of this life and he shows us a way toward being saved from it. On the spiritual and non-visible level we know that God had a plan from the beginning to vanquish evil (Genesis 3:15-And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel). On the purely physical level we know from a young age that we have freedom to choose a good or a bad action. Our family, community, and nations reflect those chooses.

I know how Noah felt as he built his boat. He saw the evil increase and amid this he was trying to build a safe haven for the things of God. I also think he longed to escape from all the evil around him. There came a time when God told him that it was time to get into that boat and be saved. Noah may not have understood everything going on as he tried to follow God’s will but, as time went on, things became clear. 

It is a funny thing when you see biblical truths unfolding in your own life. I can scarcely believe how the Bible stories have been my story over and over again. Why should I be surprised? Wasn’t it King Solomon, the wise king who said that there is nothing new under the sun? We think or would like to think that our life is so unique. Yet, we live in the sea of humanity where situations continually repeat themselves. 

I find my time in Westchester County readily explainable by comparisons with the story of Lot, or the story of Noah. Because, in those stories we see believer’s lives intruded upon by the deep and scarlet stain of sin which only Jesus can clean. What was it that attracted Lot and his family to the places of Sodom and Gomorrah. His wife could not help but look back. Perhaps, even though it was full of evil goings-on it also had the best food, entertainment and amenities. 

For me, I was searching for the best school systems and quality of life for my family. I thought the best SAT scores and Ivy League admissions rates were worth my move to Westchester. Little did I see what was coming. A school system that would utterly reject as evil the Judeo-Christian ethic and instead turn its’ students into walking/talking Marxist agitators. I found myself fighting battles that were continually going against me. It was clear that people utterly rejected God and had knowingly put other things on the throne that goes to our God. 

Yes, Westchester County was a close commute to New York City making it close to work locations and cultural amenities. I thought New York was the center of the universe until I made Jesus the center of my universe. The attitude that I have ran into in Westchester County is of a people proud of rejecting the institutions and moral values of all that is holy. There is an arrogance that comes along with this attitude. “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children”-Matthew 27:25.

After a lifetime of living in New York, I have had enough. Every time that I traveled  to locations with a higher concentration of believers I would ask God if I should move to that location. I always felt that the answer was no. I fervently believed and still do that God had called me to spread the gospel on a daily basis in New York. Yet, as the events of the past year unfolded, I felt that God had finally called me out of this environment. My husband had finally seen this same vision of change and we began to think and contemplate a move. Where would it be? Also, we are not exactly the adventurous types, so stay tuned.