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. 

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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

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