Choose, This Day, Whom You Will Serve

As much as I try to shield myself from all the mess from news and media outlets, I have found it simply impossible so long as I am a part of social media of any type.

At one point, I was so disgusted that I deleted several of my accounts, only to find that I missed the good stuff as much as I hated the bad. Social media is a great way to keep in touch with distant family and friends, especially since I am somewhat hearing impaired and can’t use the phone as much as I used to.

So I came back, trying to make a concerted effort not to subscribe to anything that broadcast all of that stuff. But still, it can find its way back on my screen, even by those who are actually meaning well.

You might be wondering what I’m talking about. Well, let me give you a few examples of the stuff I have seen recently that simply turns my stomach…

Most recently, it was the young boy who was kidnapped and tortured by, I believe, four young people who not only put it on Facebook live, but were content to shout racial slurs and other demeaning things. It comes in as a second rate factor TO ME that race was apparently an issue for this group. I have never been one to see color, only another human that Jesus died for, same as the rest of us.

The young boy who was kidnapped was white, and the attackers were black, yet this particular incident has yet to be construed as a “hate crime”. I’m sure if the tables were turned, it would CERTAINLY be a hate crime, as shouting “F*** black people” is generally frowned upon by this society.

Was it considered a “payback” for something? Even if that is an excuse, it’s a very poor one in my opinion, as I highly doubt this boy did anything to deserve the caliber of treatment he received. No human should be put through that kind of treatment, at all, period, regardless of color or anything else. It is a downright shame that we have this level of human capability at all.

We are suppose to love one another! What happened to that? As far gone as the rest of the Christian ideology that seems to escape people these days, apparently. We have traded humanity for something else, and I’m not even sure that I want to be able to figure it out.

Another story that made social media news, though not nearly to the caliber of the other incident, is the fact that in France, all children with Down Syndrome have been banned from smiling and from appearing on public television. Now, I may have the story slightly off, as I’ve heard that they were banned from smiling anywhere in public, and then I’ve heard that it was only banned on television.

Either way, how have we reached a place where it is humanly acceptable to ban another human being from smiling?! Their reasoning? That it would make those who had aborted disabled “fetuses” feel bad, as if to say that if the child had been allowed to be born, it would have actually been human after all, with the ability to feel and function and – God forbid – even SMILE!

It absolutely hurts my heart to even talk about it, but I’m appalled at the fact that it hasn’t been already. At least, not that has come in front of my own eyes. Lord knows the media wouldn’t report on the stupidity and complete lack of any kind of values at all that it takes to put these situations into actual being.

Another little known story is the fact that it has been found that the flu vaccine can cause those who have received donor organs to reject the donor organ. I guess it’s common knowledge that for either donor or recipient, both have to be up to date on all vaccinations before the transplant can be done. However, even though there are scientific studies backing the danger of vaccines in such situations, they still demand the vaccines, nonetheless.

Does that make any sense to you? Ah, well, that IS an age-old debate, though, isn’t it? I digress from going any further with that.

So anyway, that’s my little piece for today. My prayer closet seems to stay busy these days, not only for myself and my family and friends, but for all those who are being harmed, degraded and murdered daily in the name of not casting offense.

I wonder what would happen if we turned the tables? What if, instead of passing around stories of injustice, sadness and despair, we passed around stories of good news, even the good news of the Gospel? What if we made a real effort to not put a stumbling block in anyone’s way, but rather chose to pay it forward with everything we do on social media?

Wouldn’t it do your heart good to see more of that?

Don’t get me wrong, I know that injustices will still go on. As long as there is breath on this earth, there will be evil people, doing evil things, even the Bible tells us that. But do we have to give these stories wings? I don’t. I won’t. I refuse to be a part of that system of thinking. It isn’t as if anything is going to change because it gets shared on social media. If nothing else, the election should have taught us that much!

Instead, I will go on sharing what I share and attempting to be kind to everyone that it is in my power to be kind to. Maybe at least one person will smile or know that they are loved and valued because of something I’ve said. That’s my prayer anyway.

Matthew 5:46

For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

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Feeling Blue Is No Sin

This is one of those things I can’t simply pass up without sharing… do enjoy 🙂

Forcing Religion on Your Children

This message needs to go out far and wide…

A Homeschool Mom

“Are you faced with the accusation that you ‘force your religion on your children’? The first thing to do is ask the critic to clearly explain what he means by ‘forcing or imposing a belief or religion’ on others…”
~Frank Grau

The assertion of forcing religion on our children is continually brought to our attention. We are often accused of pushing our beliefs and ‘brainwashing’ them with our faith. Today, the Lord put upon my heart the need to share this thoughtful article my husband wrote several years ago addressing just this issue:

Forcing Religion on Your Children

As you prepare to wade into the coming learning year, may his words offer comfort and encouragement. May the Lord show us what He wants of our learning year, our families, and our parenting. And, may we be faithful to follow His call. No matter the opposition.

“Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even…

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AD NOTICE: PLEASE READ!!

I have known since starting a WordPress blog that there would be ads here, since I’m not yet a paid member. But up until today, I was unaware what types of ads that they placed.

So let me just say this: I DO NOT ENDORSE ANY POLITICAL CANDIDATE. Furthermore, I cannot say that I can, do or would endorse ANY AD you may see on this site. I do not put ads on here myself, it is at the sole discretion of WordPress, as I am not yet a paying member.

Hopefully after the first of 2017, I will be making some major changes to my blog here and I won’t have to worry about that. When that happens, I will send out a notice at that time. So until then, if you see an ad on my blog, All Out War, please do not consider it an endorsement of any kind from me.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

Hidden Dreams – Reblogged

Asking all my blogging friends to check out this blog… 

Are your dreams fresh and vivid in your mind? Can you tell your best friend the details and plans of the purpose or dream that has been captive inside you? Or are your dreams as faded as your paren…

Source: Hidden Dreams

5 tips to get sharp photos with extremely shallow depth of field –

Found this while searching for some photography tips on achieving a beautiful, shallow depth of field. It’s a great article, so if this is your thing, I definitely suggest giving it a read.

Now, I’m gonna go try it 🙂

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Source: 5 tips to get sharp photos with extremely shallow depth of field –

‘Tis The Season…Fighting Springtime Allergies!

Ah… spring has finally sprung!  We’ve awaited its arrival with great anticipation these past few frigid months.  When the snow was falling, all we could think about was warmer weather.  But with warmer weather, comes everything that’s involved with it – good AND bad!

The bonfires are popping up, friends get together a little more often, fishing gear is brought out and picnics and cookouts are planned.  On the other hand, the trees are gaining their foliage, grass needs cutting and all kinds of allergens lurk at our doors. I’m sure most people are already well aware of this.  I know I have been, with my itchy, watery eyes and sneezing has almost become a competition at our house.

One thing I’ve always been known for by my friends and family is coming up with home remedies for just about everything. From researching things that would help my son when he was first diagnosed with autism, to the common cold, I’ve been asked time and again for my recipes, so I thought I would include a few here.  Hopefully they will be of help to someone, or maybe even a few people.

For A Cough

First and foremost, my most requested recipe is one I learned from a youtuber to whom I am subscribed, Herb Mentor.  You can see that video for Garlic Ginger Cough Syrup here.  It’s what started it all for me!

The recipe is quite simple… 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup honey, 5-6 cloves of garlic (either minced very fine or put through a garlic sieve), 1 teaspoon of grated ginger (use the root, it’s better than the powder in this recipe), and a dash of cayenne powder.  Mix it all together and store it in the fridge in a tightly covered container.  It should last a few months, but can be used right away.

As they will tell you in the video, if you want you can strain out the ginger and garlic pieces, but let it steep in the liquid for at least 24 hours, so that all the medicinal properties will be present in the syrup.  Both the honey and the garlic have strong antibacterial properties and can help soothe a sore throat, and also helps with bronchitis.  It does wonders to get rid of those deep coughs that just don’t seem to go away.

Eye Allergies

Another one of my “go-to” remedies is for itchy, burning, watery eyes, and I’ve even seen this help with the pink eye.  Simply take a chamomile tea bag, moisten it and wash your eyes with it.  The relief is felt almost immediately!

Chest and Sinus Congestion

Chamomile tea bags also come in handy for this next remedy that I use quite often.  My children even ask for it specifically when they’re terribly congested, especially in the sinuses.  This works for loosening and getting rid of nasal and head congestion.

Get out your chamomile tea bags – about 5 of them is what I use – and put them in a medium size pot and start them on a heavy boil.  Once the water has come to a rolling boil, remove the pot from the stove and set it on a counter or the table.

Lean your head over the pot and cover your head and the pot with a large bath towel.  At first, it may be so hot and steamy that you have to leave a bit of an opening for some of the steam to be released, but as soon as you’re able, seal it off so that all that steam stays under that towel with you.  Just breath in deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Within about 10 minutes, you should feel the congestion starting to loosen and will be able to blow your nose and be rid of a good lot of it.  Sometimes, if I’m incredibly congested, I will first have a bowl of soup or something I can sprinkle well with cayenne powder, as this is a great stimulant and starts breaking the stuff up even before you start the steam treatment.  If I’m not mistaken, I remember hearing that cayenne powder fights and kills 41 types of bacteria that can cause congestion!

I am also a huge fan of herbal teas, but sometimes I don’t have all the fancy herbs that some recipes call for.  When I’m starting to feel a cold coming on, or if allergies have me sneezing and coughing, I turn to what I usually have on hand…ginger, garlic, honey, cayenne and turmeric.

You can mix some or all of these, steep them in a cup for about 10-15 minutes, and it’s amazing how much better you’ll feel.  And as far as turmeric goes, I am NEVER without it in my cupboard!  It’s medicinal properties are incredibly powerful and yet probably the least known.  In India, I’ve heard, it is used much the way we have always used antibiotic ointment.  On scratches, abrasions, cuts and so forth.

These are my go-to recipes, and I hope that should you find yourself in the position to need them, that you will try them.  However, as with any kind of home remedy advice, do talk to your doctor first.  Some herbs can interfere with medication you may be on, so do be safe!

Life Truly Is “The Art of War”

I titled my blog “All Out War!” because when I started it, I felt as if I’d come off the battlefield, plain and simple.  Of course, it’s easy to feel that way about our own lives, our own battles, our own skirmishes, but isn’t every life composed of the same kinds of battles?  We think we’re the only ones going through a particular thing, and at times feel so lonely that the only solution seems to be to wave that white flag, or even worse sometimes, crawl under a rock or into a deep, dark, abysmal hole and just never come out again.

But when WE are the ones going through it, it truly does feel as if we’re all alone…

I have had my battles, that’s for sure, and could probably write a book about each and every one.  I’ve had battles with my parents when I was young (and thought they were “so unfair”), battles with friends and co-workers, I’ve battled drugs and alcohol, I’ve battled depression and the spirit of suicide, and the list could go on and on and on.  In each and every situation, one fact holds true… were it not for God, I would never have made it.  He has been my ever present help in times of trouble, even when I was emotionally kicking and screaming like a two year old in my mind.  He’s never left me, and I’ve always found His Word to be true, down to the very last tidbit.  I’ve fallen away from Him, I’ve attempted to find solutions to life’s problems – however unsuccessfully – on my own, and I’ve sworn that He had left me to sink in the mire of my own stupid choices more than once.  But we often think we have things figured out, and these assumptions, like so many others we make over the course of a lifetime, simply were not true!  And I’m so glad.

More than once, I have realized that Proverbs 14:12 is true… “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (KJV).  It doesn’t mean that if you take the way that seems right, you will die physically;  it’s talking about a spiritual death, the one – in my humble opinion – that leads straight to a path of depression, anxiety, all sorts of mental ailments that make you doubt your self-worth and reasons for being and so much more.  There’s so much that we simply don’t need to bear, but that we shoulder up willingly, more often than not, unknowingly, when the One who is able to lift the burden is just waiting for us to give it to Him and move on.

I’m thankful that He has been there for me and lifted me out of many a self-made pit.  I’m thankful that He is a giver of second chances.  And I will do all that I can to please Him and tell what He has done for me.

Who Am I?

I was born the fourth of five children, in the spring, in a place I would not know as “home” for some years to come.  I learned the “old ways” at a very young age and seemed – even to myself – to be much older than my years, no matter what my age.  I grew up free, for those first several years in the mountains, and then later, after moving from there, I understood all to well how the mountains call out to their own, and how hard it can be when you can’t answer.

That childhood yielded SO much, and there is so much to tell!  But I digress for now.  I will add those stories, one at a time, and perhaps someone can relate, or understand to some degree.  I look forward to blogging and finding out just who I am…