In God We Trust America?

Good thing we trust in God but we sure can’t trust our government officials.

Okay, this is not the post you may expect from me, but I sit here in my home on a cast off computer given to me by a friend.  I am job hunting as I have for way too many months (years) to count.  I am a born-again Christian.  I am saved and loved and God has a plan for my life.

That being said, I listened to the news over lunch.  I have looked at the papers.  I have done networking.  Much of what I read comes back to this.  There many people like me out there.  We are smart.  We are educated.  We have a lot to offer.  We are jobless and without healthcare.  We are also judged, assumed lazy, and scorned.  God will provide, but that doesn’t let the government off the hook.  It’s time they listened and acted.  Oh, but they are acting.  The names are many but the game is constantly the same.  What I’d like to know is:

Does anyone smell a rat?

Overpaid and ineffective politicians, often known sex abusers,  whether we want to call it that or not, still have paid government jobs and great benefits, while millions of Americans, like me, have no income nor benefits. Again, I ask you, does anyone else smell a rat?

Easily Shaken?

These are tough times.  I can’t think of a soul in my life who doesn’t feel “it” and know what I mean.  While perhaps there are always “big” issues to be dealt with, these times seem to provide MANY and all at once.  Coping, maintaining a positive attitude, knowing what to do, knowing where to turn . . . is not always simple.  What’s the answer?  For me, it’s to try to stay in step with the Lord.  He is with me in the present.  If I turn  back, I am likely to stumble, and racing ahead isn’t any better, really.  Rushing through things is seldom the most effective approach and often results in a failed effort followed by a “do-over.”  There is an answer though:

“I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8 NIV

The Betweens – A Tanka Poem

Oh, Monday, you come

though faced with mixed emotions

for I still recall

different times . . . a different life

and wonder what will be next?

 

But the sun still shines

even on a rainy day

and so I hold on

Tightly gripping faith and trust

knowing what’s beyond the clouds.

 

by Martha L Shaw – Copyright 8-19-2012

 

 

Recession’s Impact On Child Abuse

A recent study has shown that we have more to be concerned with in this time of economic chaos than many of us were aware of. Dr Rachel Berger of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg, the lead author of a study on the economy and its potential relationship to child abuse has confirmed a connection between the two. Dr Berger, hearing reports of increasing cases of shaken baby syndrome and other brain-injury forms of child abuse during our extended time of a nation in economic crisis, decided to give this a closer look.

This study consisted of 422 cases of abused children. It was found that most were from low income households. It is important to note that 4 states – Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, and Washington – were involved in this study which included a total of 74 counties within those states. Some study details:

• Children in the study were under the age of 5
• Children in the study were mostly infants
• Most of these children had suffered brain damage
• A total of 69 of these children died
• The death rate actually did not rise during the recession
• Study confirmed increase in shaken-baby syndrome

Dr Berger decided to focus on this particular type of injury due to increases in cases during the period of 2007 through 2009. In the counties used for this study there was an increase of 65 percent in abusive head trauma when comparing recession case numbers against pre-recession cases. In response to this and weighing in the many burdens on families during this recession, according to Mark Rank, a social welfare professor at Washington University at St Louis, this can create “a sort of toxic brew in terms of thinking about possible physical violence.”

Read more: http://technorati.com/women/article/recessions-impact-on-child-abuse/#ixzz1aym9DbjE

Can the US Survive Without Compromise?

75 percent of Californians believe the US is on the wrong track.  They also support our President.  The two major political party voters do NOT appear to support compromise to turn things around.  Can we as a nation survive?  What will bring this mess to an end?  How much longer can the recession go on?  Read all about this in my Technorati article:

http://technorati.com/politics/article/3-out-of-4-californians-believe/

 

Important Prayer Request

God has a unique purpose in the lives of each one of us and while we may not always understand His call or His timing, we must walk in faith knowing He will enable us.  I say this because a few years back He placed it on my heart to make a drastic life change and this has been gradually taking place ever since.  In following His new call in my life, and not entirely unlike Abraham,  I left my old life and all that was familiar, my lifelong friends, and my old career, and moved 900 miles to a new life.  He is now calling me to a new career in writing and speaking in order that I may share His word and His love with others.  I am walking in faith even though I do not yet completely understand His plan for provision and am trying to prevent fear from distracting me from being obedient to Him.  Here is where my life and Abraham’s differ as he had wealth and I do not.  The resources I had set aside for this life change are nearly gone. 

We have been told in the Bible over and over again that we are one body in Christ and that when we join together in prayer, He is with us.  Many of you have shared with me that the words He has given me to write have blessed you and it blesses me more than you know to be used by Him in this way and encourages me to remain faithful.  It is for this reason that I am looking to you, my precious readers, for your prayer support as I am facing a critical point in my life financially.  I do realize that the economy has in part impacted my challenge in finding a job, but as I am following a call the Lord has placed on my heart to this entirely new life, I don’t believe the roadblock is entirely based on our national economic crisis.  We all know that the evil one becomes more active as we seek to follow Christ. 

I am in need of solving my financial crisis and soon.  In addition to my lack of income, another factor has impacted my financial challenge.  I have also been dealing with a health problem that has resulted in multiple surgeries to save my eye sight and without employment and insurance, that has added to the financial strain.  I have heard the Lord whisper to me that He desires to bless me by the healing of my eye sight, but this has not yet fully come to pass.  I ask you to please support me in prayer both for the complete healing of my eye sight and to help me to remain faithful to my new vocation in service to the Lord.  My need for financial provision is a pressing concern not just for myself, but also because losing my home will impact my Mom who is elderly and in very poor health and lives in my home with me.   This concern distracts me from my new work for the Lord.  Please pray also for the person or persons that the Lord may be preparing to work with me in this new vocation so that they too will hear His voice.  Thank you and God bless you!

Even Nice Girls Get Pushed Too Far!

Okay, I admit it.  This bit of writing is a departure from my usual subject matter.  It contains no scriptural quotes and it DOES contain a lot of attitude and a dose of sarcasm.  However, I believe most of you will share my dismay over how completely irrelevant some of the “big news” the media SHOUTS at us truly is.  This post is on my other website which you can access simply by clicking here and is titled “No Flipflops in the Office.”  You’ll understand why when you see it. 

Are You Comfortable?

I was just realizing how many of my recent writings are about “love” and at first thought “I need to write about something else.”  Then I read some email and there were some from friends expressing encouragement to me.  There was one from a tired and overworked priest friend who had little time for chat due to the HUGE amount of work awaiting him . . . work.  Do you think of the word “work” when you think of a priest?  I’m laughing because when I was young I didn’t connect that.  I thought of work and doing what you love and are called to as unique concepts.  Not true.  We should love what we do.  There’s that word again.  It’s still work though.  Anyway, my priest friend took a moment from his tiring full day to drop me a quick line.  He will be working on his sermon and many other things . . . sermons – regardless of what we hear in words, the main idea is love. 

I’ve been writing notes for a group of people going to Cursillo – a retreat.  The notes are meant to be a few words of love and meant to bring them light, joy, peace . . . I found as I was writing them that I do love these people.  I’ve not met most of them.  We’re told to love our neighbor as ourselves, as Christians.  If you overthink it, that sounds hard.  I can overthink things, but I’m working on reforming, and surrendering that weakness is the plan.  So, I was thinking . . . how can we love our neighbor if we don’t truly love ourselves?  How can we love ourselves if we don’t truly grasp our Lord’s love for us?  He lives in us and thus it’s all interconnected. 

I find that when the pressures of this earthly life weigh me down, I don’t feel His love as I should, I don’t love myself as I should and I for sure don’t reflect that love to my neighbors as I should.  Lately I have realized this because there has been such an abundance of His love coming my way through quiet time with the Lord, through the encouragement of friends and acquaintances, and through virtual strangers.  I’ve been so lifted up by this.  I’ve been comforted by it.  I also looked to the Bible for words on this love . . . this comfort.

In the book of Ecclesiastes 4:1 I found these words “Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.”   Wow.  How dreadful it must be to have no comforter. 

Looking for more, I found  “O  my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.” in Jeremiah, 8:17-19.  We do have a comforter and when we seek Him, we are loved.  We are comforted.  Is the need for comfort a sign of weakness?  Is this weakness a thing to hide?  Friends, we ARE weak and He is strong.  We grow stronger IN HIM as we lay aside our own foolish ways and seek Him as our all in all.  We are only truly strong when we surrender to Him and willingly become His vessel. 

Paul writes “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort”   in 2 Corinthians 1:2-4  Then the ultimate words of love and comfort in  Thessalonians 2:12
“encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

So, as I face the window and realize I need to weather another storm, fear doesn’t hold me back.  My Comforter is  with me.  He is with you as well.  Rest in Him in all you do.  Get comfortable!

Chain Letter = TIME WASTED!

I can’t count how many times a day I hear “if only I had more time” or “oh, I wish I had time to” or “or sorry . . . not now, I’m in a rush.”  Amazingly enough, or not, most of these people constantly post messages on social networks urging us to “repost this if you . . . “  The same folks forward email which insists that if I don’t forward it within 5 minutes to everyone I know, something dreadful will happen to me but promise that if I do forward it, my wealth will increase immensely and my life will never be the same.  “Act now – right after you read this!”  Chain letters.  That’s all these empty claims and false threats and unfulfilled promises amount to.  I’m old enough to recall chain letters when they came in the mailbox and were written on paper.  Same basic theory.  They demanded that I write out lots of copies of the letter and send it to all my friends or my life and livelihood and those of my friends and family would be in danger.  Same game as ever, now via electronic media.  Some of these seek personal information, request money, etc.  Please tell me you’re not that naive?

How many times have we said or heard someone else say any of the following:

• ·        I wish I had more time with my kids
• ·        I would love just a few minutes alone with my spouse
• ·        I could really use some quiet time
• ·        I wish I had time to read a good book
• ·        TV?  I can’t even squeeze in time to watch the news!
• ·        Cook?  No time – I’ll buy takeout
• ·        Daily prayer?  I don’t have time for that! 
• ·        I didn’t have time to make the bed
• ·        I’ll buy coffee on the way to work

 The list could go on and on and many of the things on this list could easily be fit into our day if we carved out a 15 minute break to accomplish it.  Yet so often that is considered impossible.  However, how much time is spent reading those tiresome chain letters which we receive by email and through social media?  How many have you received in the last hour?  How often do you struggle to find 10 people to “forward this to” and hope you can find enough who don’t know you too well because you’re embarrassed to be doing this but can’t break the chain?  Come on, you don’t have to tell me, but admit it to yourselves, won’t you? 

 Did you know that these chain letters (by any other name) can also be illegal?  True!  In the United States gambling is not legal everywhere and some of these chain letters are considered by the government to be gambling.  Others are considered pyramid schemes, go against Post Office regulations, are considered fraud, or contain viruses which you spread to your friends’ computers when you forward them.  They also go against regulations at many offices, schools, and colleges.  As I view it, sending them gains us nothing and the potential loss is too great. 

 Some of my friends frown at me when they find out I delete these things, remove them from my “wall” on social networking sites, and rip them up when they come by the rare postal mail delivery.  I am told “oh, but they’re fun” and recently lady from my church sent a get rich quick scheme chain letter because “you never know.”  Sorry to disappoint anyone, but what I do know is that the time I could be wasting  participating in these activities is better spent hugging someone I love, saying an extra prayer, reading an extra chapter or two in my book, or brewing a pot of coffee.  Try it!  You can find the time!

My New Newsletter Has Been Published Here!

I have just created a new newsletter and added a new page to my blog for your ease in locating the current issue.  This first one is just one page in length and thus even with a slow computer you should be able to download this PDF file if you would like to read and share it.  This month, I featured one of my blog posts which has been among the most popular and also the newest.  It speaks to an economy which has many of us facing challenges which we’ve never experienced in the past.  It is a time of awakening and of change.  How ironic that we use every possible resource at our disposal  . . . all but one.  Our relationship with our risen Lord, Jesus Christ!   He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide and guard us and He waits for us to turn our troubles over to Him, and yet we focus on our own limited ability and not on His AMAZING love for us!   It’s only when all else has failed that we, so often, finally turn to Him.  I am preaching to myself here, but I know I’m not alone in this.  As humans we are weak, but He has the strength to carry us through IF we let Him!  Click on my Newsletter page and download a copy of this first issue for May if you’d like one for yourself or some0ne you love.