The Secret That Changed Everything For Me

"For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. "   --- 1 Corinthians 14:33, Isaiah 48:17

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Disclaimer: as always, you're free to live as you see best.  ツ

So last year a well-known evangelist took a survey as to whether he should continue writing at his blog. As I knew would happen, he received a thousand replies. Most folks said, 

"Yes! Continue writing." 

Yet others said, "End it." 

And "Maybe temporarily close it? Return to it later?" 

Also, "Write in it fewer times each week."

Or,"Get someone to help you."

And, "Do what you believe is best."

Good gracious!

Me? I rolled my eyes, then clicked to a new blog while thinking, "Sheesh! Why didn't he just ask God? God gives only one answer, the personalized, right one, not a bunch of confusion-causing ones."

Perhaps you've noticed I (generally) don't ask my readers what I should do with my life. 

I mean, hey. Of course I love all 120+ of you, but I prefer simplicity over hundreds of varying answers. 

The Holy Spirit, my oh my, is Mr. Simplicity. What matters most is that I listen to Him. 

Oh, He may lead me to a book. A vlogger. A movie, teacher, song, memory, map, website or friend. But never all in one tiny time period, never each with contradicting advice. No, that would whisk me away to figuring things out. To confusion. 

The Holy Spirit never leads me there. If I'm confused, it's certainly not His fault(!)

Why mention this? Because with our huge upcoming move, simplicity will remain vital. How easy, how average/typical to make one's head spin (and achy) during a life change!

Instead, Tom and I will calmly, daily, ask God for wisdom. For His personalized answers and where to find any information we need.

Basically, we live our everyday life this way so why wander from that?

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."   --- Jeremiah 29:13

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

― Confucius

“Like all magnificent things, it's very simple.”
― Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting

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Now, here was an uplifting, fun movie:  Savannah Sunrise. Tom and I enjoyed it much. No cautions even worth mentioning on this one.  ツ

Another movie? A Father's Legacy. Now, it took me 15 minutes to decide whether to continue, but I'm grateful I did. Christian themes, but there is violence and a small smattering of language.

Why share movie recommendations? Because too many Christians online quip, "They don't make good movies anymore!" Basically, that's a lie (sorry, but it is), so I'm out to spread truth, instead.

                          "My sheep hear my voice."   ---John 10:27

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Moving To Florida? What?!

“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.” ― Julian of Norwich

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This morning my hand reached to pull the curtain open at our picture window, but paused mid-air. "No. Not yet," I sighed. "My eyes can't bear to view that treacherous, white, freezer world." 

So I plopped back down on the red couch and watched, instead, a sunny summer afternoon on Route 66 via Youtube.

(If you don't like what's outside your window, find another window, I say.)

Folks, Tom and I are moving to Florida. Next year. After Tom retires. No, really! Our winter grace is seeping away and God's giving us new dreams, warmer ones.

Forty-four icy, perilous, snowy winters together and we've had enough. Paid our dues, done our time. Well, we've got 1 1/2 winters left so Honey, already I'm praying Grace will keep me non-complainy and sweet till we drive down Florida way in 2023.

Now, for my worry-leaning readers, yes, we know Florida has hurricanes. So we're thinking north Florida. Far from the ocean, not near the Gulf. Inland. Not all that far from the center of Georgia's dotted line. 

But you know what worries me more than hurricanes? Ol' Tom and Debra ignoring godly conviction.  Remaining here bored, chicken, after God stated, "Go." And letting fear lead rather than an adventurous spirit.

We loved our tiny California mountain town.

Nevada was quite the adventure.

New York has remained downright enchanted for nearly 30 years.

But always there's come a day to leave. Seasons change, bodies age, so a time arrives to travel to that exact spot where God will pull over, pick you up, then whisk you away home. On just the right day.

And it's in that direction we're headed.

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”   John 8:12  (There comes a time to ask ourselves, "Are verses like these a part of my daily life or just words written upon wispy Bible pages?".)

There is a divine joy in obedience.

And from someone in her 60's: Do all that you can while you still can.

(And yes, Naomi is planning to move when we do, perhaps sooner, most likely to Florida, but if not, then a bit more north where she lived for a couple years earlier. 

Stay tuned. We're only in the earliest of planning stages right now and certainly do not have all the answers.)  シ

Another big reason for moving to Florida? The freedom there and a governor who sounds like a kindred spirit every time we hear him speak.

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Last night Tom and I watched the sweetest movie: Once I Was a Beehive. We both enjoyed it much. (No, really.)  ツ

We also, last month, rewatched the film, Wonder. We'd forgotten how special it was.

And Coda was great (via a free subscription to Apple Plus), but the first 15 minutes were a bit dicey with occasional crude language. After that, well, let's just say we pretty much cried sentimental tears through the entire last half. 

And just to leave you with a smile--

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Snowed In, But Still Traveling

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."   ---James 1:17

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After midnight on Sunday, two feet of snow fluttered down upon us. Enter a travel ban, no mail delivery on Monday and not until 2 days later did a real snowplow rumble past.

But you know? When I wasn't at our windows watching drivers spin their tires and (frustratingly) grabbing snow shovels from their backseats, I was reading stories of people who left homes and began adventures. 

Also, I ventured outdoors via Youtube videos-- to deserts, Route 66, the Lincoln Highway. I even time-traveled to the 1800's(!)

How grateful I feel for all God's gifts, ones He places inside folks, not to hoard, but rather (for example) to freely fling to the 'stuck ones' like us who are winter-housebound. God's kindness blows me away.

Let's all share ourselves today. 

Personally? Encouraging folks is my favorite activity/calling. "What else, what better thing is there for me to do?" I ask myself.

What else, indeed? 

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."   --- Luke 6:38

Feeling free or stuck; it's our choice.

A grateful heart will help us through almost everything.

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Here you go: some pleasant places I traveled this week--

Videos:

Through My Lens (the ones where he traveled Route 66, Highway 50 and to Yosemite for the Fire Fall with his dad are my favorites)

100 Years On The Lincoln Highway

The Daily Woo

The Secret Life of the Cruise

Cash Jordan

Life In The 1800's

Books:

Harriet Beamer Takes The Bus

Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise   (you can read it here)

Chewing The Cudd  (can be read here)

The Grass Is Always Greener Over The Septic Tank (you can read it here)

Be of good cheer? Really? Even in 2022? Most certainly YES!!

Oh! And have you found your Valentines to send this year?

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

A Drop-Out Remembers

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."   ---Jeremiah 29:13

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You recall ol' Debra is a college drop-out, right? And she didn't even realize that till age 52 or so, probably because that 1 college year was, well, awful. She keeps it private, tucked within a dusty drawer inside her head.

Oh, don't worry or imagine you're missing best-selling memoir-type happenings. You're certainly not. The temporariness helped ("this too shall pass") and mostly I recall that time as 'My Year With Jesus and Books'. 

But okay, for inquiring minds: 1 reason for that label was gossip. Man, doors would barely shut before whispering girls began snarky comments regarding the departed. 

Gossip turns my stomach queasy and made the campus, for me, an uncomfortable place.

Well, except for inside chapel during Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Life felt normal there in those theater seats with lights switched low while guest speakers taught.

Something wild? I still recall my first 1977 college chapel service. The youngish teacher, at the end, spoke words very similar to these:

You can give your whole heart to the world and yes, you'll have some fun. For awhile. But try keeping just a piece of your heart for Jesus and you'll be miserable. He created us for an adventurous life, one only possible after we've handed Him our entire self.

I (gratefully) returned home that next June, met Tom then lived happily ever. Most words from my sole college year slid into oblivion, but not those from that chapel morning. 

The best and truest words can still haunt us even over decades and always, (I remind myself) direction-switching words are worth 'the price of admission,' even the sad-year-at-college kind.

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He answered, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”   --- Luke 10:27

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble...  --- Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 21:23

Is gossip even a big deal? Please check out these verses and decide for yourself, ok?

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So I bought one book (finally) with that Kindle gift card: Never Sit If You Can Dance: Lessons From My Mother. 

Upon this journey I again recalled my favorite books are from (or describe) 1880 to 1980, books which will teach (and remind me of) Life-improving ideas, books which I'll read again. And again.

Oh! And you remember that Youtube has some audible books, right?

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Ever wanted to visit Nevada? This fun, quirky lady will show you all around that state and also, the border towns shared with California. For old time's sake (30 years ago we lived there) I enjoyed my tour with her yesterday.

And as I shared at Facebook:  ツ

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Lies or Truth? Which Rings Clearest?

"Blessed be the God's voice; for it is true, and falsehoods have to cease before it!"   --- Thomas Carlyle

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What's been on my mind lately? This--

We can do whatever God says--or else He wouldn't ask.

Yet what if we no longer hear Him speak? If we're more likely to follow fear rather than God?

Perhaps we've allowed satan's lies to become louder within our heads. Lies like these:

"You can't do this. You're not able."

"Your best friends will unfriend you."

"You've made too many mistakes. You're unqualified."

"There's no need to listen to that teacher."

"Emotionally you can't handle that."

"God won't protect you."

"Stay angry. This time it's ok."

"Everyone will laugh. They'll walk. Gossip."

"You don't need to read that blog post/book."

"You can't change anything."

"You're not gonna survive this."

The troubling part: simultaneously Jesus is saying, "You can do all things through Me because I'm strengthening you."  (Philippians 4:13). Lies can be loud, though! Even gagging the truth. 

Oh, that we'd silence lies with Jesus' name. His truth. And our obedience.

Maybe you noticed that 2020 and 2021 were years of massive, weighty lies and deep deception.

Deception:  the act of causing someone to accept as true what is false or invalid: the fact or condition of being deceived.

Satan's lies or God's voice? Which are we obeying?

In 2022 may we cling to truth, not lies. To what God says about us in His written word. To the Holy Spirit's spoken words to our hearts.

And may we remember this: perhaps nothing swings open the Deception Door wider than fear. So fight it, consistently, with a weapon like this--

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."   --- 2 Timothy 1:7

It's time.

These days? Those standing strongest against evil need incredible wisdom and the ability to hear clearly from God. Both will help us from making mistakes, creating chinks in our armor, which Satan can then come along and exploit in dangerous ways.

"When you're deceived you don't know you're deceived."  ---copied.

 "When satan lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."   ---John 8:44

And as I shared at Facebook:

I read something this morning from a Christian who wrote the total opposite of this verse, below. NEVER let anybody (or any 'covid year') rip away your hope, ok? Never!

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Wow. I so appreciate those of you who gave me your book recommendations for my Kindle gift card! Truly, your snatching time from your day meant much to me.

And since I believe in sharing all things pleasant, here are the books you listed for me:

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Ladybug Farm books

Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series

Silence of the North

Mother Carey's Chickens

Winter Solstice

This Beautiful Truth

The Hiding Place

Dear And Glorious Physician

The Nightingale

Karen Kingsbury's books

Sapiens

The Dawn of Everything

Four Winds

Ken Follett's historical novels

Same Kind of Different As Me

Something fun? Open Library has many of these, so hey, I can read them for free.  ツ

And something wild? Just yesterday I realized I'm in the mood to read non-fiction books, memoirs, etc. so what did I spy this morning, but Kate Howe's latest Youtube book video:  Favorite Non-Fiction of 2021.

Don't you love it when that happens? At least half of Kate's recommendations intrigued me. Wow.

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Satan wants to destroy us from the inside, out. So he lies. And lies. And lies.

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Have a Book To Recommend? (And Other Stuff.)

"Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom."   --- Daniel 6:3

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Mostly just some fun today, ok?

For Christmas Tom gave me a Kindle gift card and gracious! I'm making myself a tad deranged about which books to buy.

So hey. Could you help me choose something? How about if you recommend one or two books which you found (at any time in your life)--

Beautiful. 

Memorable. 

Rereadable.

A book you wanted never to end.

Books which can be found on Kindle, of course, given I have that gift card and all.   ツ

You can leave your recommendations here in my comment box or at Facebook or in an email to GladOne4@protonmail.com, all places where I'll anxiously be waiting!

Thank-you in advance. Much.

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Oh, and my phrase for 2022? "Return to excellence."

Yes folks, ol' Debra wandered a bit from the Excellence Trail in 2021. Got a tad sloppy, lazy and too, sat down upon a few laurels and called it good.

She too often pictured her 60+ years self this way and made excuses for laziness negligence--

Tsk, tsk Debra. What were you thinking?  ツ

So God busted her. And rightly so.

What do I believe excellence looks like? I wrote about it here. That is, after some controversy following this post here.

So go there, to that first place (or both if you wish), to see just where I'll be returning in 2022.

Excellence. It's also a vital place of safety for Today's freedom fighters, but hey. That's a whole other post.

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Speaking of books, a long list of recommended ones from the book, Book Girl, can be found here.

And for those who love snow (personally, I'm not a huge fan, heh), you may enjoy this video showing a portion of the latest snowfall in Tennessee(!)

Oh, and I found this oddly interesting, watched nearly every minute(!)-- I Bought An Abandoned Victorian Mansion, 1-Year Update.

Don't forget your book recommendations for me, ok?

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** 

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

The New Year And What I'm Thinking

"Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy. .. Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need."   --- Proverbs 31:9, Proverbs 21:13

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A new year! Are you excited about this one? I am. 

Oh what we'll see, I muse; things we've never before witnessed. In fact, lately this verse swirls around my mind:

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”   ---Luke 10:23, 24

Yep, probably many warrior-in-spirit Christians died wishing they'd been born a bit later so they, too, could fight these modern battles. Though yes, I'm sure their bravery left ripples of strength via their later generations-- and from Heaven, they know this.

What a privilege to be alive these later days in Time! To not just watch these battles between good and evil, but to do our specific parts:

To stand.

To warn.

To fight.

To pray.

To encourage.

To spread hope.

To teach.

To love.

To give.

To speak out.

To grow stronger.

Not much scares me these days, well, except for Hider Christians. You know, those who don't fight battles or pray or even care about the world's oppressed folks being crushed-into-submission in the streets. I've talked with Hiders and am afraid for all who fulfill this scripture:

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..."   --- Matthew 24:12

Well anyway, Tom and I ended our 2021 perfectly : we watched the final episodes of Grimm. (We viewed the series via Prime.)

Wow oh wow.

Now, this show isn't for everyone, but Honey? It certainly was for me. In each episode the main characters battled against evil using their own specific gifts. 

Every gift mattered! If those folks with tiny-appearing gifts hadn't used them, battles (and lives) would've been lost every week.

All giftings were vital.

And what I loved? Each of Grimm's characters knew and accepted their purpose. Who they were--and were not.  They relied upon their calling/purpose and courageously fought evil with all their heart. Not allowing fears to keep them from scary battles they, instead, burst past them---and grew stronger in the doing. 

They did not just sit at home on their couch because they didn't feel like fighting, nor did they simply wait for the bad stuff to go away.

And in 2022, may all these courageous things be said of each of us.

"Fight the good fight of faith."  ---1 Timothy 6:12

The Grimm battles/fights? So easy to picture them, instead, as battles in the spirit realm, ones we all fight sometimes.

Oh, and if Grimm doesn't seem like 'your cup of tea' to help you stand strong these days, I hope you'll keep searching until you find everything which does.

Release the negative memories of 2021 (or 2020). Keep any lessons learned, but let go of all the woulda coulda shoulda's and all the sadness. Move ahead in an undiluted strength of joy. Move ahead boldly in Today.

A phrase I believe we'll use often in 2022?

"Wow! I never saw that happen before."

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For those who enjoy the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, you may like this Youtube Video from History Hunters.

"So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”   --- Deuteronomy 31:6

Do whatever it takes to love people more, not less. "...Faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love."

Wishing each of my readers the best new year, ever! (Oh, and remember my 'be slow to speak'  phrase for 2021?  In my next post I'll share the phrase God gave me for 2022.)

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15