Wicked

It’s a few days after Thanksgiving and my thoughts have dramatically turned towards the Christmas season. The center of the season is remembrance of the little child born that day in Bethlehem and the soul-saving significance of the event. That alone brings cause to celebrate. I think of holiday music. Advent brings Handel’s “Messiah,” Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite,” and all the yearly Christmas Carols that are yet to be played on my radio. Thanksgiving and all vestiges of the fall season quickly deconstructed and in its place a nativity scene and shades of gold and green have emerged. My Christmas tree is up and this weekend after church I will be at a local greenhouse making evergreen arrangements to decorate my house. The smell is always amazing!

Several waxed amaryllis’s bulbs have been patiently waiting for their moment to make the scene. My menu for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve is official and my shopping list about to go on the refrigerator door. I am trying to remove some fat from the menu this year due to my recent gall bladder flare-up. What can I subsititute for pâté de campagne or Bûche de Noël? Or, perhaps I will make them and only have a small portion.There will definitely be healthy choices on the menu at Chez Christian Housewife’s House this year. 

The one thing I am not thinking of integrating into my Christmas experience is the movie Wicked. It saddens me to think that the movie has been the top entry at the box-office since its’ debut. What does it say about our society that a movie such as Wicked would be released to the market just before one of the world’s biggest religious celebrations? Furthermore, what does it mean that so many people are flocking to see it?

Wicked and Christmas had a connection from the beginning of time. Those coming out in droves and “innocently” taking in some “light entertainment” would do well to examine the connection. In Revelation 12 verses 1-5 says:

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 

And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

As a Christian Housewife desperately seeking to hold onto my teenage daughter I made the wrong decision to take her on her birthday to see the Broadway Show Wicked. Although my daughter was attending Bible study and at a point where she was considering seeking baptism I chose to appease her growing worldly curiosity by taking her to that show. There were repercussions because what we take into our eyes and ears, gets into our hearts.

Why is it that the most wicked things presented to us have the best musical scores? When Wicked first hit the Broadway stage it was taunted as a virtuoso musical experience. Not many singers could hit the kind of notes required to play the part of the Wicked Witch of the West in this musical. Sort of reminds me of the stories about the devil being a fantastic violinist!

However, these worldly experiences seduce us all and leave us a little less on the righteous path. Maybe I am like those characters who think they can have a violin competition with the devil and think they can win. In the meantime, the price of loss is one’s soul, that is not worth a gamble.Truth be told,  I can not play that well either.

The story of Wicked is a prequel to the “Wizard of Oz” which is part of a book series written by Frank Baum and made into a movie in the 1940’s. The direction that our world is going is obvious if only we take some time for a deeper look. Everything that was once bad is being called good. Our language reflects that, our television and movies reflect it too. Whereas the past showed many a happy ending now, the ending is usually depressing, and lacking in positive values. The villain is often what the story is about and the good guys motives are questioned or else he is presented as bumbling and inept. This is straight out of the Bible and it’s not right. Isaiah 5:20- Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Wow, this pretty much sums up every tv show that I sampled on Netflix this week. I either shut it off in 5 minutes or I see the direction that the show is heading and won’t tune in for the second episode. Sad isn’t it? I have learned and I have grown. The things of God are beautiful, the things of this world lead us on a dark path. It is always a choice. 

Thessalonians 2:8- and then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

WW III

I see the truth in prophecy as we hear rumors of a possible WW III. Is this all we have learned after thousands of years of civilization? You bet it is, and the Bible said that would be the case. The Bible clearly states that only God can end the ceaseless cycles of war that have ravaged and destroyed our world.

 (And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more- Isaiah 2:4.)

Human beings are a mess. It’s called sin. (For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God- Romans 3:23). I would like to merely blame the Putin’s or the Sinwar’s of this world but, each one of us picks our leaders. Even if we don’t pick them and a dictatorship happens then we must fight to form a better government.

Collectively nations are made up of individuals who create, grow or acquiesce to evil and only God will finally stop the madness. Sorry to disappoint some of my readers who may still hold out hope for a United Nations solution, a Nobel Prize winning peace agreement or some highly advanced Aliens swooping down with their interstellar wisdom. 

Amid a gall stone issue and the accompanying recovery, I had time to watch the story unfolding between Russia and the Western World. I was incredulous. What? Russia is thinking nukes, are you kidding me? Wow, they start a war, rape, pillage, and try to recreate the old empire and then they threaten Europe with tactical nukes? WW III?

The question is will the Russian people go along with this escalating madness? I met Vlad on an airplane flight. He traveled the world doing Russian business. His second home is in Norway. I know if it was up to him he would not push the button on that bomb. After all, he crafted the perfect escape plan for himself and his family if something should go wrong in Russia. No, Vlad is not for this, nor the cessation of business that has ensued since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Will Russians think twice about bombing Western Europe when it has always been a haven for Russians who were forced to leave their homeland? Many of them have relatives living in England and France, will they push that button?

Will the Russian leadership go along with the launch knowing that things might escalate quickly and lead us all to a “mutually assured destruction?” Lowering the threshold for when Russia could launch nukes was a bad chess move. Either that or it was a bluff. Would Russia really go that far or, is it just a tactic to get the West to back off their defense of Ukraine?

In the haze of illness I am imaging Putin dressed up as Tsar Ivan the Terrible. A word about Ivan the Terrible’s moniker. In Russian, the descriptive word used is “Grozny.” This would probably translate into “Awesome” or “Fearful” but, I think the word “Terrible” really gets to the truth. I mean if I wanted to just post about the first Tsar of Russia’s terrible acts, there would be enough information to start a new blog. I could analyze the history of the first Tsar of Russia and deconstruct his terrible acts. Yes, I imagined Putin with a long beard and wearing clothing more appropriate to the time of his predecessor.  I believe Putin is symbolically recreating everything Tsar Ivan did. Everything old is new again, Russian-style.

Putin is clearly using the old Russian playbook. Ivan killed his enemies in horrendous ways just as Vladimir Putin does. Watch the tea you drink or don’t stand near a balcony if Putin even thinks you might have betrayed him. You can be arrested or shot unceremoniously for speaking against him if you’re a journalist. Ivan topped that when he had an Orthodox priest sewn into a bear costume and had the dogs hunt him down to kill him. Gruesome.

Also, in the cinema of gall bladder delusions I saw Putin as a modern day Ivan the Terrible at the 1570 massacre of Novgorod. If you remember your history, Ivan was consumed with paranoia, and looted, pillaged and slaughtered thousands of his own people. Novgorod ceased being an important city after that. Any of this sound familiar? Putin has claimed an historical unity with Ukraine. Is this how you would treat Novgorod then…oh excuse me I mean Ukraine. In addition, just like Ivan, Vladimir has mixed in an unhealthy dose of paranoid delusions about everyone being against him during this whole war with Ukraine. 

Today, I thought I would be able to go back to my normal routine however, my lack of calories in recovery has put me back in my chair a little while longer.  So, I have time to learn the latest on the ongoing WW III rumors. I learned that now Putin is threatening a U.S. airbase in Poland because we helped the Polish protect against the historical recurring threat of the Russian bear. They want no more of it and want to be able to deflect incoming missiles like the Israelis do. Can you blame them? After all, if history in the time of Ivan has anything to tell us today, Russia was at war with Poland then.

Matthew 24:6- “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye not be troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” The first part of this Bible verse advises us to trust in God and not to worry. However, the last part of the verse tells us that the end is not near so to me that means we have to be prepared to deal with the issues that are currently unfolding on the world stage. 

Hence we hear of Europeans preparing their citizens for what Russia is threatening to do. The Nordic countries are advising their citizens to stockpile food, medicine and water. There is a guide to coping with a nuclear strike. German is enacting “Operationsplan Deutschland” which among other things has Germany acting as a staging ground for NATO.

Do I think WW III is about to happen? I would guess that the Western ground troops would outnumber the Russians. However, the Russians just signed an agreement with North Korea which would among other things send North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops. (Note: this seems like a devilish deal). Those new soldiers are probably the main reason that the Polish sought greater defense capabilities.

The United States nuclear arsenal is comparable to the Russian arsenal. Our weapons are newer hence, in better shape than many of theirs are. The use of tactical nuclear weapons seems insane if you think of the environmental damage not to mention the possibility of escalation occurring. The environmentalists are worried about climate change well this is something they should think about and it is a lot more realistic. 

Putting everything together leads to a greater probability that the Russians are just threatening us to see if we will back off. The Russians have a lot to lose if they were to follow through, and the top echelon of leaders knows that. Is this BRICS thing going to work for Russia in this situation? Not yet it’s not. China, North Korea? With friends like that who needs enemies. BRICS and North Korea will use the Russians for all they can. 

Russia should consider  better relations with the West. 

The Answer is…

The question in my last blog post was, Trump or Harris? The American people have answered. They have overwhelming chose Donald Trump to be the 47th President of the United States. There was a red wave that came to U.S. shores on November 5th. The red wave brought a Republican majority to the House of Representatives and changes to the states. The politicians who fully and unapologetically supported Donald Trump won their elections. The democrats got firmly trounced in the battle to run the United States of America.

What happened? People came out in record numbers to vote knowing that the U.S.A. had been derailed by the progressive Marxist wing of the Democratic Party. The voters’ message to the Democratic Party was that they do not agree with the economic and political decisions that they have been making in our name.

The American people called the politicians and they wanted their power back.  “That government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish”- Abraham Lincoln. They wanted to stop the crime and they voted against it eg. (CA Proposition 36). The ballots citizens cast were a repudiation of transgender men in girls bathrooms and hormone treatments for youngsters. It was a statement for upholding parental rights. People voted against the anti-Israel protests and crimes against the Jewish people. The vote showed people support the State of Israel and not the state sponsor of terror, Iran. 43% of New York Jews voted for Donald Trump, a huge change in that voting demographic.

The democrats have been tone deaf and haven’t heard the message that the American people have been screaming for a very long time and so, they got voted out. Messages sent to the politicians: we want energy independence, safe and secure borders. We have a constitutional right to bare arms. 

We are sick of being depicted as dummies and being told what to do. Guess what? We can decide for ourselves and anyway, you work for us. There were recalls of elected officials even in liberal Oakland California where crime is out of control. Bad politicians, be gone. We are sick of you and your DEI and woke agenda. 

Very importantly, Christians came out in record numbers to vote in support of their religious freedoms. Pastors preached more about the importance of being involved in the broader community based on biblical truths. Hearts are being changed as Christians and Jews understand how their rights have been put on the line.

Congratulations to Donald Trump on his landslide victory. Thank you for fighting the corruption in politics. Thank you for standing up to the bullets meant to stop democracy, it encourage us the American people to stand up for what is right too. 

Trump or Harris?

Trump or Harris ? What’s a Christian Housewife to do on November 5th? What are the choices? This race has turned out like I knew it would, an epic battle between the forces of good and evil. This U.S. Presidential election cycle makes the whole Star Wars movie series look like a minor skirmish. Propaganda, lies, half-truths, character assaults, not to mention assassination attempts, three injured men and a tragic death occurring at one of the political events. De-monetization and weaponization of governmental agencies against political enemies.The stakes couldn’t be higher. I pray continually about it. The United States of America is perilously close to a complete loss of freedom. 

Freedom, what a perfectly marvelous word. FREEDOM. The slow loss of constitutional rights has begun in the United States and this election could put the final nail in the coffin of our rights. Whose fault is that? The American people’s fault, that is who. Thomas Jefferson is attributed with the quote that “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Our nation once heeded that advice and because of guarding our precious freedoms we prospered. When I speak of prosperity, it is in the broader context of the term. The spiritual prosperity is first and foremost the blessing of freedom. Then, all the other things associated with that term. 

When we have freedom to practice our Christian faith, the wisdom of that faith takes root in our lives, our children’s lives and has effects in the community. That wisdom leads to safety in our streets, and better economic practices.. It leads to healthier marriages and very importantly it leads us to the form of government that the founding fathers in the United States established. For this last reason alone, Christian churches will always be targeted when dictatorship begins to take root.

The freedom of speech, the right to bare arms, and the freedom to practice our religion have all been part of the battleground issues being fought over in the United States of America. The right to privacy is completely gone as a result of the computer age intrusion on such things. Every dictatorship must have a good system in place to steal an election. Check. All of these things put together brings us to a place where it is possible for the government to control more and more of our lives.  The sad thing is that people have just let their freedoms slip from their grasp, like sand disappears between your fingers. They did not know what they held in their hands and how to hold on to it successfully. Sometimes, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. 

As a Christian, I saw my rights slowly deteriorate in Westchester County New York over the years. I saw free speech only free if you agreed with the Democratic Party Platform. I saw free speech in the schools slowly die in my lifetime. I saw elected officials in my home state of New York tell Christians to leave the state. I saw people labeled as Nazis in small Westchester town hall meetings long before the main stream media accused Donald Trump of being one. 

Yes, I saw the weapons of the left sharpened to a point and the practice knives thrown in small settings before the weapons were honed for much bigger fights. The course of history across the globe tells many such stories. It is the same old story in any country that has sunk into tyrannical rule. The story always proceeds just as described. Next, traditional statues are torn down, street and city names are changed, history books re-written, and the takeover of parental rights by the state. All those things have happened here in the United States. Next, dictatorship.

Benjamin Franklin was asked in 1787 upon exiting the Constitutional Convention of 1787 what form of government the delegates had created: his reply “ Well, Doctor, what have we got-a Republic if you can keep it.” I pray that through God’s mercy that we might have a fair and accurate election. My endorsement and the the candidate I will choose is Donald Trump. He is the only choice that will be able to help us keep this Republic alive. God bless you all.