Beth McDonald

Tracy Chapman's Save Us All...really good.

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:24:00 +0000

From Brother Thomas: Saints vs. Warlocks

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:39:00 +0000

This is what I've been trying to say about the New Age, Chakras, Healing Touch, etc., but Brother Thomas says it in such a cool way that I'm posting what he recently wrote on the subject of supernatural giftings: what makes it either Godly or occultic. You can read his blog at www.justthinkoutloud.com along with some other writers, thinkers, prophets and outsiders.

SAINTS VS. WARLOCKS....GET A CLUE

by Brother Thomas

December 12, 2008

The dream state has been quite . . . er, strange, epic, sometimes disturbing, visceral, and downright intense lately . . . .

My humble take on it . . . is that a lot of *things* seem to have been loosed on the astral, spiritual planes . . . . “the airs” so to speak . . . .

I have no doubt about it myself. Combined with numerous and varied assaults and interactions with diverse beings and things . . . in that state . . . are also high level spiritual contacts, probably angelic interventions, and I don’t doubt myself, also protection, guidance by Holy Spirit . . . and maybe even the Lord and God Himself . . . . . It all seems to me like quite jumble going on there, in that realm . . . and my own observation, opinion, is that there is always a lot going on “in the airs” . . even during the waking state . . . and the difference between some people and others is simply how sensitive you are to it . . . .

Occultists know there is all this activity going on . . . entities to contact, if they want . . . and so, they spend time and ritual developing skills in that area.

Saints, on the other hand, do not seek powers or contacts from that jumbled realm, but sometimes, Holy Spirit, at God’s direction, will bring them news or information or maybe even a contact, if it suits the will of the Sovereign, and so, you may see saints, prophets etc., exhibiting similar “powers” or abilities as occultists, only the purpose is completely different–the GENESIS of the power, whether derived from a selfish pursuit (as in occultists) or it is wrought because there is something an angel or God Himself wants the saint or prophet to see or do, and so, allows Sight, powers . . . miracles . . . to occur.

One who is humbly and wholly submitted to the will of God can and will do things that witches and warlocks try and sometimes do . . . but the source and purpose of the ability is entirely different. The saint or prophet or holy man or holy woman often feels burdened . . . and does not want to use such power . . . avoids it if possible . . . thrills and delights at being weak, gentle, humble, meek, nothing . . . so that the power of God can fill them up fully and so that there is nothing of fallen self there . . . . They abhor self interest, self power, self charisma, attention to ego . . . . . . but delight in doing secret good acts, denying self, dying to self . . . . being empty . . . so that Christ’s spirit, God’s spirit, Holy Spirit can fully indwell.

But sometimes, they are called to act, and to refuse would be then putting their discomfort above God’s will, and so, you get a Moses, who must do what is asked, even though it may look like divination, magic, occult . . . . . Same with all the other prophets and holy people who must do what God asks, as they are submitted to His will. Like Jesus, when they perform miracles or appear to have special abilities, they are often accused of using witchcraft . . . using the power of demons . . . and so, it is again another sacrifice for them to simply be doing what God requires at a given moment . . . . . .

Anyhow . . . . there is a raging world, astral, spiritual, beyond the immediate physical senses . . . and some people, just as they might have good physical eyes, while others have poor vision . . . or some people run fast . . . some slow . . . some can lift heavy weight . . . others are flexible . . . so too are there simply similar variations regarding different peoples’ abilities to hear and see in the finer realms. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you are an “occultist”, a “witch” etc. Though people who CAN’T are often suspicious and jealous and will immediately and ignorantly accuse sensitive people of being such.

It is really nothing more than having different perceptive abilities, just like hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing . . . .

Many people in this overly materialistic age are just too deadened to the inner life to believe or know of these other realities. And it scares them, because they are so ignorant of it. And so they knee-jerk attack those who CAN hear and see a bit into the finer airs.

The difference between a “witch” ie., and a saint with abilities . . . is the intention, the purpose related to the abilities. A saint does not seek out these things. They come. God will show them something. Is that occult? To the materialistic, unimaginative, earth bound animal mind.. yes. Everything they don’t understand is “occult” and they just run away shouting, or try to get a mob together to “hang the witch”.

But then, what do we do with the prophets who saw into the future? The foolish and jealous people called them witches, warlocks. Yet, these were God’s prophets! What do we do with the countless saints, men and women of God, wholly given to God and Holy Spirit who are able to HEAL, raise the dead, receive warnings about future events, recognize illness within bodies . . . .

Is that all occult? Then throw out your bible. The bible is full of stories of the “supernatural”, done by God’s people, at God’s behest.

The difference between the works of evil and of good, is not whether something is “supernatural” or not . . . but WHO IS THE INSPIRING FORCE, PERSONALITY. Does the impetus come from fallen self? From the demonic? From the devil? …. then such pursuits and acts are evil.

But if God brings you intuition on something . . . if He urges you to heal . . . to predict . . . to prepare (like Noah) . . . to raise the dead . . . produce manna . . . produce water from rock . . . wine from water . . . walk on water . . . . IF GOD IS BEHIND THESE ACTS AND THE SOURCE OF THEIR IMPETUS . . . . then, foolish generation . . . don’t call it occult! It is an insult to God and bordering, if not directly a blaspheming of the Holy Spirit.

The problem is, most people are so spiritually underdeveloped themselves . . . such babes . . . so ignorant of things . . . so blind . . . that they are intimidated by the very topics of this discussion, and so, like back-woods superstitionists . . . just close their eyes, run away shouting “witch”, “occult”, “warlock” . . . . looking for fellow village idiots . . . to run, hurry and kill the “offender” in a big bonfire. As often as not, or at least many times, it is a saint or a man or woman of God who is killed, martyred because of the lack of intelligence of the mob and its goonish heads.

Well, I meant to talk about my strange and pertinent dreams last night . . . One involving a giant planet swerving hugely in the sky . . . filling up the whole sky as it neared . . . . and then the jolt that followed . . . . and then something like a pole shift . . . huge tidal waves . . . and then . . . oddly . . . a shift to whole different timeline . . . . . BUT, I got sidetracked . . . . lol . . . . .

Oh, people of God . . . of the Word . . . don’t perish for lack of knowledge . . . . BE WISE . . . wise as the serpents though gentle, gentle as the lamb, as the dove, as our Lord . . . . . But stop attacking the wrong people you village idiots. Stop parading around your ignorance, claiming it is “the word”, driven by fuzzy-headed dogma, according to your OWN interpretations . . . according to your OWN limitations . . . attacking all who are different . . . just because you don’t understand some of the deeper things–haven’t caught a few of the mysteries . . . WHICH MYSTERIES AND DEEPER THINGS GOD WILL SHOW HIS OWN, WHEN HE CHOOSES . . . . . and always has.

Read your bible. It’s all in there.

have a nice day, God sustains your every breath and you owe Him everything.

brother thomas

Lead me not into temptation...

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:39:00 +0000

The Lord's Prayer:
Matthew 6: 9-13

Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.

Lead me not into temptation. What is tempting you? Since this is the first part of the sentence, temptation and evil must be related to each other. Duh! Temptation. What a word! Hookers, gambling, shiny suits and pointy toed shoes...the mean streets, dark alleys, guns and cheap booze. That's what I think of when I hear the word temptation, don't you? Depravity and debauchery. Well, why would God lead us there in the first place? Have you ever wondered why this is worded the way it is? I certainly hadn't. Well, until recently, that is.

When satan tempted Jesus it wasn't with booze or women...it was with things that would make His life easier and help bypass the pain and suffering He was feeling right then and knew he would face later. Jesus was hungry so satan tempted him by taunting him and suggesting he turn a rock into bread. Jesus hadn't eaten for 40 days out in the wilderness! I would've eaten satan himself after about 5! To yield to that temptation would have meant disobedience to God and that separates us from God (which is satan's main goal...well, 2nd main goal; to kill us is his main-est goal). Temptation is to convince us to take the easy way out of our current misery rather that stick it out and wait for God to come and get us.

In the story of the temptation of Christ, Jesus was hungry, so satan's first temptation was food. What frightens you about being in the wilderness...what are you confronted with or afraid of out there, away from all you used to be and all the stuff you used to have? What do you miss the most? What gets you so wound up or consumed with fear, that you want to just say fuck it, what's the point? and go back to your old self, your old life, your old job, your old friends. What were you like back there? Selfish? Angry? Self-pitying? The Victim? The controller? Irresponsible? Perfect?

Satan leads me into temptation by using my circumstances to try and convince me that I'm no "Daughter of the King", I'm just:

"stupid ol' Beth from Ft. Lauderdale who's mother never liked her and who never remembered her homework and I'm just a spacey irresponsible idiot who will never amount to anything so why even try?? God doesn't care about me because if He did then things would be better and I wouldn't be such a disaster and I'd have a better job and make more money and get to go on vacations and my kids won't need tons of therapy to try and recover from the horrible life I gave them. "

So...depression starts in and it's like air coming out of a balloon. What happens to me when I start to go down like that? Well, I certainly don't run for my Bible and praise cd's, I'll tell you that! I just lose all motivation to follow God, do what I'm supposed to do, call who He told me to call, pray for who he told me to pray for and maybe even watch a little tv and veg out for awhile. I deserve it! My life is HARD!!! HARDER THAN ANYONE ELSE'S BECAUSE EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE FINE AND MY LIFE SUCKS!!! To be honest with you, this cycle can last up to a week or two with me.

I get tempted to feel sorry for myself, to stop believing I matter and I was a fool for thinking I had anything to offer the world for Jesus. Time for my Walmart job!!! Sorrow and despair, that's where I used to live, who I used to be and satan would love for me to just stay there. It's a comfy, cozy place for me and I don't have to do what scares me because I'm too sad. Oh well!!! Besides, the aliens are coming soon and it's gonna be all over so who cares.

Dear God,
Lead me not into self-pity, because when I go back there, satan is waiting for me at the bus station to give me a ride home...the long way, if you know what I mean. So much time is wasted, so much of my time, my talents and gifts that You gave me for Your purposes.

Deliver me from myself, my longing for things to be easy and secure. Deliver me from thinking or believing I can still be a Christian, follow Christ into the desert and not lose any of my stuff, pride, or bullshit. Help me to be a strong woman of God and not a believer who lays down in the sand to die every time I get hungry or spend all my money on art supplies and chocolate.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

There's no easy route from here to there. There's no way to avoid the pain of letting go of your identity in the world and accepting your identity in Jesus. It's not about us anymore, it's about Him. It's not about being safe, never being hurt, or going without. That's all gone. He's it. But, He's enough. He's more than enough, He's everything.

TEMPTATION=ME DELIVERANCE=GOD

PERIOD, END OF STORY.

kiss kiss :) Beth

Deliverance Prayer: Deliver Us From Evil

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:06:00 +0000

What's Being Delivered? And Where's it Being Delivered To?
And Who is the Delivery Man??

Read this verse about being delivered from the evil one, it's just one example of how the word deliver is used throughout the Bible. Read it a few times.

Psalm 33:12-22

12 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His heritage. 13 The Lord looks from heaven, He beholds all the sons of men; 14 From His dwelling place He looks [intently] upon all the inhabitants of the earth-- 15 He Who fashions the hearts of them all, Who considers all their doings. 16 No king is saved by the great size and power of his army; a mighty man is not delivered by [his] much strength. 17 A horse is devoid of value for victory; neither does he deliver any by his great power. 18 Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, 19 To deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our inner selves wait [earnestly] for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield. 21 For in Him does our heart rejoice, because we have trusted (relied on and been confident) in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You.

Read this one too.

Psalm 59:1
DELIVER ME from my enemies, O my God; defend and protect me from those who rise up against me.

2 Cor 1:10
[For it is He] Who rescued and saved us from such a perilous death, and He will still rescue and save us; in and on Him we have set our hope (our joyful and confident expectation) that He will again deliver us [from danger and destruction and draw us to Himself],

Now here is a VERY typical prayer used by Deliverance Ministries everywhere. This was taken off a deliverance website, www.greatbiblestudy.com Read it a couple of times:

Breaking soul ties

Heavenly Father, I confess and repent of the sin of _______

____ (name the sin which caused the evil soul tie, such as adultery or fornication), and I ask that you forgive me of this sin.

[Now is a good time to destroy or get rid of any physical gifts or other objects that could hold the soul tie together, such as a gift given in an adultery, etc. Anything that could hold the bond together between you and that person.]

In the name of Jesus, and by the power of His blood, I now renounce, break and sever all unholy soul ties formed between ___________ (name the person) and myself, through the sin of ____________ (name the sin which caused the evil soul tie, such as adultery or fornication).

I now command any evil spirits which have taken advantage of this unholy soul tie to leave me now in the name of Jesus!

(Repeat this prayer if you have more then one evil soul tie to break)

Now, who is doing the delivering here? Either the person themselves or the deliverance minister. But Biblically, from Scripture, what do we know about being delivered? We know that:

God delivers us.
God delivers us FROM evil.
God delivers us TO safety.
God delivers judgment.
God delivers us FROM evil and DRAWS US TO HIMSELF.

Think about the word deliverance. A baby is delivered FROM it's mother, to the

world. A package is taken from one place and delivered to another. Now, to put ourselves in that context, you could say that we are the package -- is the location delivered from the package, or the package delivered from one location TO another?

We humans are so arrogant. How did we go from asking the Lord to deliver us from the evil one to commanding the evil one to leave us in Jesus' name? Take the bad location out of the package while the package just sits there and doesn't have to do anything! That is so human nature, isn't it? We're either the beaten down victim who keeps looking for someone to fix us or we're the victor who will now be the fixer upper. Seriously. It's like the Chakras I've been thinking about and writing about...we are so lazy that if we're sick we just want to take a pill and keep on keepin' on with our same old ways. We don't want change to hurt or cost us much energy: " just take it away from me so I can get on with things." Two days later we want to start our own ministry or go on the public speaking circuit, write a book, plant a church, and have a fund raiser.

Did God deliver Egypt from the Israelites?? Nooooo. He made them pack up all their shit and move out of that land where they were helpless, worthless and powerless slaves and head to the Promised Land where they would be helpful, worthy and powerful free people of God. How did our forefathers and foremothers deal with this? Not well. Whine, complain, bitch, moan, sin, try to hitch hike back to Cairo, built the golden calf...anything to avoid the pain of letting go of what was, which, by the way, was a horrible life. Maybe life in Egypt sucked, but it beat the hell out of walking in the desert, eating the same stuff every day, sleeping outside, and dealing with all their fears about "what if"...

True deliverance is not simply having people with southern accents, comb overs and head sets hitting us on the forehead and commanding the demon of lust to leave in Jesus' name. God never allows His children to be so passive when moving from what was to what is, from who we aren't to who we are. First of all, we have to recognize that we're not living the lives that Jesus died to give us; to be really clear about where the wounds are, where they came from and how they are keeping us in chains, preventing us from going anywhere. That in and of itself is hard work and we have to face some pretty painful truths. This is a time very few Christians want to take because it's the desert...a lot of whining, bitching, moaning, grieving, fighting, trying to hitch-hike back home, etc. Basically, it's you and God. No ministry, no speaking engagements, no church plant, no website with blinking lights or e-newsletters announcing your upcoming events. Human beings want to skip the messy stuff that lies between where we are and where we want to go; the path of least resistance is the shortest route between two points.

We want to look like this:

While we walk through this:

But this might be a little closer to what we look like after we've been doll-housed by the desert:

In our minds, we think it's just a spiritual process that won't affect our outer circumstances or that maybe we start out like the guy above, go through the desert and end up like the Egyptian stud at the top.

There is a time in a believer's life that he or she has to ask the Lord to deliver them from the grip satan has over their mind, spirit and emotions and lead them out of the enemy's territory. We have to stop thinking, talking and acting like slaves who want the world to change around us before we start believing we are victorious, that we are free. I think that where many of us have gotten stuck is right there. Our bags are packed, we have the map, the sea has parted, The Promise Land is good to go and there we sit, like bumps on a log, waiting for the good life to show up. We can't figure out what the hold up is...either we didn't do something right, or this is all complete and utter bullshit. No. We didn't forget one of the steps, we just need to take some up and out of our old home town. We gotta move, we gotta get up and start living, start hoping, start doing and being and dancing and singing. We have to stop sounding so effing pathetic and get a little chutzpuh...

The devil isn't going to be taken out of us, we are going to be taken out of his little, skinny, boney claws, set on solid ground, given our ticket outta there and a good swift kick in the butt towards home. Every step we take in the right direction is a blow to satan's evil scheme to kill us and take us out or lead us right back to where we came from. Every day. Don't rest on yesterday's obedience. Every day we are vulnerable to sitting down and giving up. Come on! Who's with me??

Read the Lord's Prayer (out loud) and Bless You.

Matthew 6:9-13 (King James Version)

9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Beth

Thank You God

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:16:00 +0000

Frontenac, Minnesota Villa Maria Retreat Center

This place is so beautiful. I went for 3 days on a silent retreat and this was taken at about 4 in the afternoon. Villa Maria has a lot of classes and retreats, but I just go to be alone and talk to God without being interrupted a million times. It was a long overdue and desperately needed break; I highly recommend getting away once in a while and "getting your poop in a group".

On the day I took these photos, the wind was blowing through the field and it was so quiet and peaceful that I couldn't help but think of this poem. Frontenac is just past Red Wing and it's in a valley, so across the field I could see a couple of little farm houses tucked away and sky forever. Some days we need to remind ourselves that the world is really a lovely place and filled to overflowing with God's abundant beauty, love, protection and provision. When you're getting all crazy and anxious, try to just be still for a moment, close your eyes and just listen.

i thank You God for this amazing
e e cummings

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

Fleet Foxes

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:58:00 +0000

I love this band!

1st Chakra and the Armor of God

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:06:00 +0000

She's baaaccckkkk! hello all! I'm like the weebles...we wobble but we don't fall down!

I toyed with the idea of not continuing to write about this notion that the chakras of our bodies line up with the armor of God. Not because I'd changed my mind about it, but thought it might be too controversial and people would get caught up in the new age-y-ness of the language rather than the brilliance of God at the center. It's my belief that the New Agers have stolen all the coolest things about our faith and removed Jesus and the Christians gave up all the mysteries of our faith and only kept Christ. Like Jesus doesn't have anything to do with our emotions or health and has been relegated to being a spiritual cop.

Everything has to do with everything. Our bodies and minds are constantly receiving messages and trying to sync itself up to truth...whatever we believe that truth to be. If you believe that the negative things you heard as a kid or say to yourself now, your mind, body and spirit will try to operate around that negativity and try to resonate with it to keep you in balance. After so many years of orbiting around these lies, the system will begin to break down. In other words, we can only live in denial for so long before something starts to show signs of dysfunction. What do we good Christians do if we have chronic back pain? We go to a chiropractor or back specialist hoping they can fix us so we can continue to live like we always have and not deal with WHY it's there. I'm not saying that going to the doctor is wrong, but I'll guarantee you that if you don't listen to what you're body is trying to tell you and deal with it, the issue will either come back or it will move to another area that will be even scarier. I mean, if I need antibiotics, I'm taking them! But I think it's necessary to figure out why I'm experiencing the pain or sickness wherever it's presenting itself.

You know, every industry in the universe is experiencing declining sales except hospitals, cancer centers, or heart and valve clinics. Every hospital around us is remodeling and I wish now I would've become a registered nurse or oncologist (...stupid math!!!) because they have guaranteed employment forever. Sickness is increasing and we are flocking to the hospitals like there's no tomorrow. Christians will put their faith, their bodies and even their minds in the hands of physicians they've never met, take all kinds of pills that do God knows what to them, but mention healing touch or your chakras and they'll go absolutely wiggy. I know many, many psychologists, and their practices are going gangbusters; Christians have no problem with psychology or psychologists (especially if they call themselves Christian Psychologists), but in actuality, very few of them understand spiritual warfare, or, I'm sorry to say, have a good grip on the psychological depth and insight of scripture. By law, psychologists are not permitted to bring up religion of any kind unless the client specifically initiates the conversation. Ask a psychologist what they think about pastoral counselors and I would bet money that you'll get some eye-rolling and mini-speech about professional credentials and the necessary level of education. Anytime I've told someone what I do (Pastoral Counseling) the very next question they ask is where I went to school. (now this is other professionals, clients don't really care) I could be a terrible therapist, but if I went to Harvard they would go "ooohhh" and want to give me their cards and invite me to their networking groups. Don't even get me started on the whole coaching thing!

The spirit is not confined to our neat compartments of what is God and what He isn't. We need to let God out of the box and get ourselves back in it, if you ask me. We like things either in the good column or the bad column and the truth is, God don't play that way. He is what He is and He invented and created EVERYTHING for His purpose and for our benefit (even his correction!). All satan can do is pervert God's beautiful truth into a twisted up and evil lie; satan lies to us about the truth and makes us question God's Word. Remember Eve?? All the New Age has accomplished is to pirate the physical and spiritual laws that govern the universe, remove the authority of God, the truth of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit and teach that WE possess the knowledge and power of God. Which, by the way, is the foundation of psychology--that WE have the answers inside us, and it's the therapist's role to help us access that truth. Essentially, we have God within us, which I suppose eliminates the need to have Him without us.

OK, Back to the Chakras:
The Root Chakra=the shoes of peace
Ephesians 6:15 And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the ^[a]firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness ^[b]produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.^(A)

FIGHT OR FLIGHT
The root chakra affects the sexual organs, legs, feet and pelvis area. It is located at the base of the spine and is the chakra where childhood experience is held. It is where we hold truth about the material world, basic survival and our instincts. The functionality of these areas reveal if you felt safe, secure, loved, abandoned or neglected and are still carrying those fundamental messages of not mattering around with you. If you were sexually abused or made to feel ashamed of your sexuality, sex or never held or physically nurtured, you might have physical problems with your sex organs, legs, feet or pelvic area. The root chakra is where your physical survival instincts are: it's the closest to the earth and represents earthly grounding. FEAR is felt in this area and controls your fight or flight response. When this area is off balance you might feel really angry, violent and even be constipated!!! I think this might even be the root cause of sexual addiction or the total lack of desire that some people struggle with. For each person it will be a bit different, but if you seek the truth, the Lord will reveal it to you.

STAND YOUR GROUND!!!
So, the shoes of peace...you gotta stand your ground with the confidence to face your enemy because you know you have the security, love, safety, and acceptance of your Father. You know He won't abandon you, you know He will provide for you, that He is your Rock and your comfort. You HAVE TO KNOW YOU ARE LOVED before you face the enemy. Your enemy is not your negative belief system...that's just the crap you have to go back and straighten out. Your enemy is satan. Make no mistake about that. It isn't your negative thoughts or your mother. But satan will use these wounds of your past to kick your ass; he will throw every fear you've ever had right in your face from people you love and trust. He will lie, cheat and steal to get you to pack it up and go home. Or...if you choose to remain ignorant about the lack of love or security you received as a child, ("oh, my parents did the best they could, lots of people had it way worse than I did...blah, blah, blah") the sexual abuse you suffered through, or abandonment you experienced, you will probably start to have physical problems with the areas defined by that chakra.

Note: Rather than go in the order of Chakras, I'm following how Paul laid this all out. It's how the Chakras fit in with the armor rather than the other way around. ALWAYS.

I'm not trying to build a bridge between Christians and New Agers or point out all the similarites so we can "all just get along". My goal with this is to get believers to take back what, by right, is ours: the power and glory of God. To filter all information through the truth of God and not God through all information. We are not to sift the Almighty God through The Secret or this new Ascended Masters bullshit and see what aspects of Him stick to their theories. Sift Eckert Tolle and Oprah through the brillance and perfection of Jesus Christ...some of it probably is legitimate and useful to us...but it must come through Jesus, not around him or without Him.

Amor of God and Chakras

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:31:00 +0000

Ephesians 6:14

14Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

There is a weird divide between Christians and New Agers that I think is really sad because we each have something the other longs for, but have an almost illogical aversion to even discussing it without coming to blows! I suffered from severe migraines one summer and no matter what I did, I could not get rid of them. I would cry they hurt so bad, but the crying would make them hurt worse. One day I was holding my head, rocking back and forth, begging God to help me and He told me to call my friend, Martha. Martha Erickson is a Healing Touch Practitioner and a Christian friend of mine that I adore; she and two other women held me together during the death of my father, the demise of my church "career" and everything in between for about 2 years. We met once or twice a month, they prayed for me, laughed with me and told me the hard truth when I was being a whiney-baby. Martha is a 70-something year old firecracker and I totally trust her spiritually. But it had never occurred to me to call her about my headaches. I was desperate though so I called her and made an appointment asap. Long story short--Martha gave me a healing touch treatment and at the end said that I "think about my feelings, but don't feel them or let them go...my mind was overloaded with carrying the burden of my emotions and I needed to give them to the Lord." Her healing touch helped and I did what she told me to do - I haven't had a migraine since. She was right...I didn't know how to feel my feelings, I only knew how to intellectualize them (read about them, think about them, write about them and stuff them back down again).

That got me thinking (naturally!) and I thought it would be fun to do a comparison study of the chakras and the armor of God. What?! You can't be serious! Well, yes, I am, but I know that I'm hopping fences here and I know that Christians don't go for this chakra business. If you're standing in a crowd of Christians and say the word "chakras" , get ready for some pursed lips and raised eyebrows! It's like saying the name Jesus out loud at the Yin/Yang Yoga Center. But, I don't get it. Is God totally out of the New Age picture, unaware of the scientific advancements in the mind/body/spirit connection? Or, is Jesus completely uninterested in our physical bodies; only concerned with our spiritual perfection and we should look forward to dying anyway so what's the big deal?

Just because one side of the fence calls the energy centers in our bodies "chakras" and Jesus is just one of the ways to God, doesn't mean that those chakras don't exist or affect us. It's the same for them, just because Christians have turned Jesus into the Church Lady, doesn't mean that Jesus wasn't who He said He was! We base our opinions about these matters on who is talking rather than what's being said. I have a brain, I can figure things out for myself, but I don't believe that what the New Agers say is wrong, I just believe that we disagree on the source of all that energy. They like God's goodies, but I think they have a problem with the whole authority piece inherent in viewing Him as the Father. That includes accepting Jesus as the only way to Heaven. Like you have to lose your mind and become a glove-wearing republican that empties her billfold every time Benny Hinn sneezes. The reason Jesus is the only way to the Father is because the only way to God is love and Jesus is love ya'll; no matter what we've done to destroy that truth, everything about Jesus is acceptance and love. Just like Christians have to stop being so ignorant and lazy about looking into the subjects they dismiss out of hand, the New Agers ought to actually read about Jesus and why God sent Him before they label Him "just another teacher". I think instead of looking at all the similarities in the world religions, it might be smart to check out the differences. Just an idea.

Ok, so back to the armor and chakras:
The belt of truth= the 3rd chakra, which is the solar plexus- the space between your naval and your heart. It is the seat of our emotions, thoughts, and feelings. It governs our self-esteem, mind, personal power, individualization, ego, accomplishments and self-confidence. It's where your instinct lives...your gut instincts. If the energy in this chakra is not operating around love, it's operating around fear...and it's spinning the wrong way. If you aren't allowed to feel your own feelings or maybe you're being told that your opinions or pain doesn't matter...where's all that going to go? Self-hatred, fear, doubt. People who have trouble in this area are angry, suffer from depression, anxiety, and worry. They have problems with their stomachs, digestion, liver, pancreas and endocrine system.

The breastplate of righteousness, the 4th chakra, the heart chakra:
Obvious: the ability to love, to be loved, to feel compassion, empathy, joy, pain, connection, and courage. It's what make us generous, giving, putting others needs before our own (in a healthy way, like a parent with a child) and the heart is what helps us to love ourselves! It is the center of all the chakras. Now, if your heart is operating out of fear rather than love, you'll experience and behave quite the opposite; you'll be jealous, bitter, cold, unemotional, isolated, greedy, probably extremely narcissistic. This chakra affects your circulatory system, the thymus, lungs, respiratory system, arms and hands.

The Belt of Truth= LOVE (not fear):

32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

Why does Paul mention the Belt of Truth first? What is a nickname for satan? He is the liar. He lies. Where would a liar start if he were going to destroy you? He'd start by lying...about everything, especially your worth and value, your abilities and competence; he'd work on negating everything God says you are and who He is and convince you that you don't matter, that there is no God and you are alone. He will try to tell you that your feelings don't matter or maybe that all your feelings are right...people really DO hate you and everything IS their fault. Satan will first try and lie to you about your feelings. The belt of truth protects your feelings from being lied to or led away from God. When satan tells you to quit, give up or kill yourself, the Truth tells you that God is with you and you cannot fail.

The Breastplate of Righteousness= TRUST (not fear)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and don't lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge him, and he shall direct your way. [Proverbs 3:5, 6]”

God will never leave you or forsake you. People might, money will, the world could...but God can't and won't. You don't have to be afraid to be yourself, to tell people you love them or to be honest. Satan wants us to be afraid of being hurt again, to be wary and closed off, to lie about who we are and what we need. Being hurt isn't what causes our hearts to break, it's our own self-imposed isolation and retarded defense system. When we give our hearts to the Lord, He gives us His in return; His heart can stand rejection and criticism without wanting to turn around and run home to hide under the bed. Maybe your boss does think you're a moron...so what? God thinks you're funny and charming...you shouldn't be working for her/him anyway 'cuz you knew they were mean when you took the job!!!

First satan will mess you up with his lies about your worth, then he'll start working on your heart. "No one loves you, you can't trust men/women, you're not worth loving, don't reveal your true feelings or they'll get you," etc, etc. A warrior of God doesn't worry about getting hurt. But, that doesn't mean you won't be hurt...it just means that having your feelings hurt isn't going to kill you. Of course you're going to be hurt, that's human; but more often than not your open and unabashed love will bring you genuine love from all over the place. Like draws like...you want real love? Then you have to REALLY love. That'll shut satan's stupid face "in a heartbeat". You want to be in the army of the Lord and not come home from the war talking to yourself??? What will keep you committed and protected from your enemy will be your ability to love without worrying about what that love will cost you because you know it will cost you, but to not love would be unbearable. You ever come across a mother bear? She'll rip your face off to save her baby cubs and she's not worrying about herself; she's putting her own safety between her babies and her enemy and she's doing this out of love. Love give you power and courage.

There is spiritual, physical and emotional information in this armor that Paul is talking about. God isn't just a spiritual God, He is a physical God, and an emotional God. Maybe that's the real trinity described as the Father (emotional), the Son (the physical) and the Spirit (the Holy Spirit)...mmmm...I like that. If we are made in His image and the Bible is His Word, then I think it's important to study scripture for it's spiritual, physical and emotional truths.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not a New Ager and I don't believe much of what they say or believe, but it's not all off base either. Say, if I'm not a new-ager, am I an old-ager??? I don't know if I like that.

The Beauty of Struggle

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:25:00 +0000

Ok, just so you don't think I'm in a maudlin place, I thought I should clarify that even though many of the things I write about here aren't all sunshine and butterflies, it's all made me a better, happier, stronger and more peace-filled woman of God. The only reason I share anything about my faith at all is so that when (and I mean when) you experience anything similar, you won't freak out or panic. My blog isn't for the brand new believer, it's for Christians who are in that place where they are about to really come into their own spiritually; Christians who are ready to have the Holy Spirit clean them up, straighten them out and get them ready for whatever is to come. Because, when you stand on that precipice and tell Jesus that you are ready to let go of all that you were to become more like him...well, let's just say it's not a "polite" process. If you want a pretty faith, Christianity isn't it. But, having said that, nothing can compare to the feeling you have when you do let go of something you've been hanging on to that Jesus replaces with the Truth. It's real Freedom-- another little bit of freedom that satan cannot touch or come near or take away. What Jesus gives you cannot be taken away.

It isn't all like this, hard and depressing! But, some of it is! It's worth it, every minute of it and I wouldn't trade the darkest night with Jesus for one second of who I used to be or what I could've become without him. I truly mean that. Between every storm is the most beautiful sun you've ever seen.

Remember this: Although we do wrestle with principalites, don't wrestle with Jesus. Our Savior takes you down to get you out of the way...then he can whip satan's ass without you interfering or getting hurt.

Kiss Kiss y'all!
Beth

Losing Faith - What if?

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Ephesians 6:13 (King James)
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The thing that always kept me from accepting Christ, apart from the dork factor, was the possibility that all of the stuff in the Bible wasn't real; that Jesus was just some nice guy who became the Messiah after 2000 years of telephone tag. Even though I was in serious need of a savior, I just could not get past my intellectual reasoning that this whole notion of Jesus and eternal life was a religious Fantasia movie ( a Disney movie that proves Walt was hitting the pipe pretty heavy).

But, one day I did have an impossible to dismiss personal encounter with Jesus that changed my life forever. There was no way that my rational mind could poo-poo it this time--Jesus had invited himself into my heart and wasn't going to leave, and I didn't want him too. I still hated church, I still thought born-again Christians were scary and that there was something sort of creepy about Billy Graham, but I loved the Bible and couldn't get enough of it. LOVED IT. I still do.

That was about 19 years ago. I've followed Jesus in my own unique fashion, of course, and honey, it's been a harrowing ride! Anyone who thinks Christians use Jesus as a crutch have never followed Him for 2 blocks or even been in the same room with Him. If Jesus is a crutch I'd rather just live with a broken leg, thank you very much. Putting your life in Christ's hands is like hopping into the seat of the biggest, highest, and fastest roller coaster in the world. It isn't as if it's awful, it's just trippy, like you can't believe you're seeing what you can see from that high up or that low down; you want to get off, but you really don't want to. I've seen broken lives put back together, hopeless situations supernaturally rectified and have personally experienced, on numerous occasions, the unbelievable grace of God. On the flip side, I've also lost friends, jobs, opportunities, been rejected, laughed at and left out. I know the reality of living a life for Christ from firsthand experience-- both the highs and the lows.

As a Pastoral Counselor, I've helped many, many people find their way out of terrible situations and mindsets. You name it, I've seen it, heard it and watched Jesus mend it. Abuse, addiction, spiritual craziness, mental illness, grief, fear... and on and on. Of course, I've been stalked, despised and/or cursed by the people who may have had something to do with my client's misery--spouses, church leaders, friends and even some clients themselves who wanted to get better without changing. Sometimes clients have gotten angry with me because I wasn't Jesus, I was just human and wouldn't be their savior. I'm the middle-man, always, without exception. I'm no one's answer and fully aware that it's Jesus they need, not me.

What does this have to do with losing faith? Well, it seemed that the more people I helped, the worse my life got. Seriously. Not right away, I've been doing this for over 15 years, but sort of a gradual wearing away of my spirit. It wasn't because I wasn't doing what I needed to do to protect myself or because I wasn't in the Word or anything else I would probably suggest to someone who just said that to me. I would guess it was because I was learning more about the darkness and teaching people what to do to fight it...and they were able to do so successfully.
I would watch their lives be put back together while my own fell apart. I'm not kidding.

(Ok...even as I'm writing this my whole house has erupted into chaos. I've had to stop writing 10 times in the last 10 min. because of some emergency (not) situation. Doorbells, dogs, kids, phone...even some sirens.)

So, as I'm helping people and teaching them the fine art of spiritual warfare, I'm dog-paddling just to keep my head above water and I'm getting more and more tired every minute. Not only am I losing strength, I'm starting to get resentful and angry. Not at any person, but I'm getting angry at God. Not consciously mind you; the idea of really resenting God or feeling passed over or forgotten by Him isn't a place mature Christians allow themselves to go. We know better, we're passed the whole "why do bad things happen to good people" question. But one day, as I was talking (ok, whining while I laid on the couch in despair) to my husband about my frustration with basically every single area of my life, it just came out. I heard myself say it: "I don't even know if I believe in Jesus anymore." And I sobbed and sobbed, like you do when you finally verbalize what's been eating at you for a long, long time. I did feel forgotten, I hadn't done anything "wrong" to deserve this endless series of calamities, I wasn't stupid or lazy, I did love Jesus and had devoted my life to Him. And what did I have to show for it? Zip. Nothing but a fucked up version of what my life used to be, of who I used to be. That's what I had. Yeah, I was mad, hurt, tired, sad, and exhausted. Tired of fighting the good fight. Fuck em. People could just live their fucked up, sad, stupid lives. I didn't care anymore. They could pay a psychologist $150.00 an hour to hear whatever they wanted to hear.

You don't think your spiritual leaders talk like this? They do. Maybe only their husbands or wives ever hear it, but after you hear one of the people you've helped is going to Puerto Rico for their anniversary while you wonder if you can pay your electric bill, you might find yourself thinking "what about me"?? Why is everyone being blessed but me??

I lost my faith. I didn't believe in any of it anymore. It's a bunch of b.s. and I've been a fool.

Isn't that satan's ultimate weapon against us? Isn't that the stuff he whispers in our ear as we're heading into battle?

"What if He doesn't show up this time??? God doesn't hear your prayers, He doesn't care about you...He forgot about you...none of this is real."

Isn't that what we're really afraid of? That we'll go out onto the battlefield in our armor and it's just cardboard? That we'll be a laughing stock standing out there in our armor costume with a clay pot on our head and a stick in our hand? What if? What if? What if? One of our greatest fears, as Christians, is what if?

Well, what if happened to me and here's what happened: I gave up on Jesus, I didn't believe anymore and the last 20 years of my life have been wasted. Everything I said to people about Jesus was wrong and I'm a big idiot for believing in it.

But He didn't give up on me.

In fact, it's when things began to get better for me. Not like POOF! instant fabulousness for Beth, but nothing bad happened and I felt this odd peace come over me that I hadn't felt in a very, very long time. He took care of some scary money things for me, gave me a little time away to rest, showed me some pretty cool things about Him that I didn't know, taught me this experience as part of our armor-- basically God just kept being God without my faith, without my assuredness, without my belief, without my hanging on to it for dear life. God does not rely on my faith in Him to have faith in me.

Pay attention to what I just said brothers and sisters, this is a biggie.

My losing my faith in God was ultimately what showed me the truth about faith.

He can be trusted to love me even when I don't love him. That God is such a good Father, unlike any Father or Mother I've ever known, to love me, help me, hear me, help me and hover over me EVEN WHEN I REJECT HIM. Now, understand this, I didn't deny Christ; in fact I only told one person other than my husband that I was feeling this. I was struggling. This wasn't an arrogant atheistic pronouncement that God doesn't exist or that Jesus was just a prophet. This was the final straw in the training of a warrior. I was finally broken. I'm no longer afraid of what satan whispers in my ear, that "what if" God isn't who He says He is. I KNOW He is my Father and I KNOW He will protect me, save me, deliver me, heal me, and love me no matter what. No matter what.

I KNOW that what caused me such misery, such unrest and anxiety was the small little bit of my spirit that wasn't quite sure he could get me out of this mess this time. That something bad might still happen, that tomorrow I might lose all my money, get cancer, have my car taken away, get divorced and my dogs would run away. We have these doubts that sit in there reminding us that all is not well, things could happen. This is the believer's unspoken, yet obvious to satan, achillies heel.

I now know what the dark night of the soul is, the valley of the shadow of death. It is the darkness of faithlessness that comes before the dawn. It is the death of self, the letting go of everything, even God, that delivers us from evil. He had to prove to me that I could trust Him, that He hadn't forgotten his little Bethie and I was his daughter, that that would never change no matter what. I cannot tell you what freedom I feel now, what utter peace I feel deep in my soul in spite of my less than perfect circumstances. They're just circumstances.

There are some dark days coming ahead for those that love Jesus and I hope that what I've just shared with you will help you stand your ground when all seems lost. It isn't, you aren't and we haven't.

Psalm 23
Matthew 6:9-13
Ephesians 6:13

We Wrestle Not

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:31:00 +0000

Ephesians 6:12

12For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.

What do you think of when you read the word "wrestling" in this passage? I always thought of it like "I was wrestling with my thoughts", more of a mental thing than actual physical wrestling. But, I don't think Paul was a metaphorical kind of guy...I think he was pretty concrete sequential in the way he wrote and talked; in other words, he meant what he said in the way he said it. Wrestling- up close and personal, you feel their breath, smell their sweat and skin, hands grab you trying to take you down and get you on your back - defenseless. But, what we see, touch and smell isn't human, they are demonic beings, sent in waves to tear us down, weaken us to the point of submission and despair. It isn't one demon we have to wrestle with, it's many, sent by rank and job description; right up to the big cheese himself (lucifer). Why? Well, to keep us from reaching our destiny, our home and our calling. He wants to stop us, slow us down, distract us and lead us into temptation, to deliver us to evil and ultimately see us flat on our backs wishing we were dead.

Jesus is the truth, the light and the way home. He is love, acceptance, forgiveness and freedom. Jesus doesn't expect us to follow some ritualistic spiritual "to do" list in order to be accepted, he doesn't make us grovel or beg for his love. There isn't a bunch of crap you have to remember, no clubs you have to join or rules you have to follow. You love Him, receive His love, let Him do what He needs to do in order to get rid of all the bullshit in your life so you can have some peace and that's that. But satan doesn't want that, he wants you imprisoned by your past and held down by shame, addiction, self-hatred, loneliness, fear, poverty, anger, unforgiveness, resentment, poverty...the list goes on and on. He knows where all your tender spots are, your wounds, what your hiding, what's broken and weak. He knows us, his opponent, but we are so ignorant about him and how dirty he fights.

See, we are human so we fight like humans and we fight in our own strength, following the rules and thinking once we defeat one opponent that it's over, we get to go home and live our lives. But, demons don't play nice, they bite, kick, pull hair, play dead, lie, cheat...whatever works. We bleed and cry, but they don't. Sure, maybe you can defeat the first two or three of these guys you fight on your own power, but these weren't their best wrestlers...these were tests sent to you to see what you do, how you fight. Then come the big boys and they don't play and they'll go for your throat, what you love, what you rely on for security, your defenses, your hopes and dreams. They don't feel pain, they don't feel anything but giddiness at your despair. If you bleed they jump up and down for joy like crazy monkeys.

To be human, to have human emotions and feelings isn't bad or wrong. The Lord never told us to not feel; our feelings are beautiful and real. We cry, we love and laugh, we hope and dream, feel afraid and brave. Only human beings are made in the likeness of God so if we feel, then He must too. We can be vulnerable and real if we allow Christ to cover us and be what we are not, to do what we can not. You don't fight spiritual battles with human weapons and Jesus Christ is the only weapon, the only opponent, that defeats the armies of demons assigned to take us down.

So many of us were taught to stop feeling, to stop being honest, to not ask for anything or need anyone. We hide, cover up our weaknesses and hope no one sees who we really are because someone told us that what we were wasn't good enough - we learned to pretend and wear a mask. That's the armor we go into battle with, our defense is the false self created to hide and protect us from being "found out". Christianity (the church and religion, not Jesus!) is just another nail in our psychological and spiritual coffin; now you have to REALLY cover up who you are and be "Christian".

The Lord wants to be our protection, He wants to free us from the armor we've made for ourselves that weighs us down and makes us a sitting duck for satan. He wants us to heal and remember that we are funny, beautiful, creative, smart, brave and talented- that we were carefully designed by the creator of the universe and He loves us because He made us...just the way we are. Yes, we are flawed and imperfect, but those are not our weaknesses that satan goes after, it's the pretense. It's our human-ness that lucifer hates, it's the real self he wants to kill because he can never be what we are or feel what we feel.

This is something I found in a book written by Sister Corita called Footnotes and Headlines.

To celebrate is to explain who we are and to say yes to ceremonially
what happens to the man
happens to the whole human race
A man reacts and responds to what is other than himself
and he reacts and responds to the many that he is inside himself.
He creates many small ceremonies and celebrations all day long -
if he has any health.

He laughs and cries and shouts
in expressing the delight and sorrow and anger
which arise in him - or descend into him.
These ceremonies underline the importance of each emotion and
the emotions are what keep the human race running.
When he refuses to form outside of him what starts to grow
from within reacting to what is out, he stunts and paralyzes
and warps the stuff that makes him
and he becomes deformed
strikes out destructively
becomes inept - not able to become human.
He stops being, at least in part.

Maybe the same thing happens to the whole human race.
When it can not longer express it's own human feelings
of love and anger, or joy and hope and despair,
it becomes deformed, unable to be human
unable to act humanly,
and then it strikes out
destructively.

The Armor Doesn't Give You Power

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:22:00 +0000

Ephesians 6:11 (amplified)

11Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

I always pictured the armor of God sort of like a turtle's shell, the hard outer protective gear that covers all my weak areas-- God's strength compensating for my weakness so the devil and his minions couldn't hurt me. But that isn't what Paul is saying and I think it's critically important that we take a closer look at these verses that precede those that describe how we're to put on the armor and what the separate pieces represent spiritually.

In verse 10 we're told to BE STRONG, to draw our strength from the Lord. Yes, we're weak, but He is strong, therefore we are strong because of Him. So, Paul is saying that it isn't just that we have to understand that we are strong, we have to behave as a strong person. We have to see ourselves as powerful and capable, conducting our affairs from a place of strength rather than weakness. This doesn't mean we get to be assholes, quite the contrary! The most insecure people I've ever known have tried to compensate for their lack of self-confidence by being nasty, pushy jerks who put people down to make themselves feel important. For example, the Bible says that satan goes about like a roaring lion, seeking something that he can devour (I Peter 5:8). But Jesus is described as the Lion of Judah in the book of Revelation, although he's not going about roaring His head off. Why? 'Cuz he doesn't have to! Jesus always just said what He had to say and that was that. Beware of big mouths that constantly tell you how spiritual they are!!

The armor isn't for weaklings!
So this armor we're instructed to PUT ON, (another requirement that we actually get up and do something), doesn't give us strength, it simply protects it. You have to be strong to wear this stuff, you can't be a weakling, it's heavy!! You have to be able to a) put it on, b) stand up under it's weight and c) fight in it without falling on your butt. Those Roman soldiers trained for years before they were allowed to go into battle and they were bad asses who fought thinking and believing...knowing...that they were stronger, meaner and better trained than their enemy. How do we approach a battle? Do we even try to fight? Or do we ask Jesus to go take care of it for us while we wait it out under the bed?

Jesus says that he will make us strong, but He expects us to stand up like sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty and use the armor He has bequeathed us; to help protect what He has done in our lives, the children who He created in His own image, heirs to the throne and brides of His son. But he also has provided His armor for us so that our enemy would know we mean business and that we're not gonna just sit and take it. The armor says: "We're prepared, we're trained, we've gotta a big ass sword, a shield that can smash you like a bug and we ain't goin' nowhere so whatcha' gonna do??? mmmm???"

Armor is intimidating, it's a uniform, it's not something you wear to the grocery store. It says your a warrior and that there is actually a war that you have been called to fight in and you're fighting it. Now, I'm not suggesting you wear armor to the grocery store. That would be weird. The spiritual armor you wear isn't for other believers or even non-believers to see, it is meant to be seen by your enemy and let me tell you, if you've got on this get-up , that little shit and his bitches can certainly see it. Don't put this armor on if you aren't ready to get into the battle because it sends a message, loud and clear that you're ready to play with the big boys and they will never back down from a fight...that is until you start swinging that sword around like only a Bride of Christ knows how to swing it.

Lastly, when you put this armor on, you are a warrior, a soldier, a fighter--but you don't fight just for yourself or your loved ones; you fight for our faith, for what's right, for the Truth and for the Blessed name of Jesus Christ. You fight for the new believers, the unsaved, the unprotected, the weak, the vulnerable and the seekers. Behind you, the reason you cannot run, are those that can't fight for themselves and are depending on you to keep them safe until they themselves are prepared for the day when evil comes.

The Lord is your strength, the armor is your battle gear and the war is here. We cannot and will not fail!

You are strong, beautiful, brave and loved beyond your comprehension and you have been called for this time because He has faith in you. Be Blessed.

Beth

Ephesians 6 The Armor of God

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:39:00 +0000

HOLD YOUR HEAD UP!

EPHESIANS 6
Ephesians 6:10 starts the passage in the Bible where Paul describes how the demonic realm operates and what we, as spiritual warriors, are to do about it. He's talking to his troops, preparing them for what will come, that it will be bad, but reminding them that they are strong and they know what to do--to not be afraid.

Yesterday I was listening to coast to coast (sorry Zeph, couldn't help myself!) and these two witches were talking about their "craft". They both agreed that there is no devil. (well thanks you two, I'll let God know you figured that one out!) The one guy witch said that Christians come to him on the sly for spells or help with curses. I guess that was to imply that we publicly decry the works of the sorcerers, but that our faith offers no tools for us to deal with the evil that is turning our lives inside out. Which, I guess isn't really evil after all, just some bad ju-ju heading our way from a disgruntled witch with a serious case of revenge. The spiritual renewal that's going on in this country is heading in a really frightening direction: there is no devil and we alone hold the power within ourselves to create our reality, good or bad.

I understand this attraction to new age solutions to age-old light vs. dark spiritual agony. Church and all it's nicey-nicey programs aren't making warriors out of believers, they're turning us into crippled wanna-be's that can't swear, smoke, drink or tell the truth. But, all the classes, workbooks and prophetic conferences just empower the leaders egos, leaving the seekers confused and still powerless--dependent on the wisdom of the few to lead them out of darkness.

So, where else to they have to turn for help? At least Oprah is giving us something to DO about what's going on, some tools that could empower us to have some control over what happens to us and the direction our lives go in. But, her attempts to enlighten the masses will fall on it's face, too; this rehashing of old higher consciousness hash doesn't hold up in the long run. We're still the dog that the tail is wagging and we're all sick of it.

Just because the churches are run by narcissistic power whores doesn't mean the Bible tells Christians to be polite little lemmings who lose their minds and do what their told. Being a follower of Christ isn't for the lazy or selfish and you'd better leave your white gloves at home if you want to go where He's taking you. You can't kick ass in patent leather shoes.

Back to Ephesians 6...the Armor of God Chapter. The Lord revealed somethings to me about this passage that I'd never seen or even thought about before. The Bible is very orderly, one verse follows another for a REASON.

Ephesians 6:10
In conclusion; be strong in the Lord, draw your strength from Him.

This is the verse that comes first. Be strong in the Lord...draw you strength from him. La la...we've all heard that before; be strong...ok, fine. But think about it: he's saying BE STRONG; not on your own power or ability, but draw your strength from Christ. Was Christ strong? Where did He get His strength from? Who is He? Christ is God, and we have the blood of our Father coursing through our veins, we can call down Heaven to help us in our time of need, when darkness is overtaking us and drawing us into despair. We have the power of Christ at our disposal because He left His spirit with us. We are not weak, we are strong. Paul is telling us that since we ARE strong, we need to BE strong. Satan doesn't want us strong, the church doesn't want us strong, but Christ does. You wanna be like Buddah? Fine...I want to be like the Archangel Michael, kicking butt and taking names.

Ask yourself these questions:

What does strong look like?
What makes you FEEL strong?
What words describe Christ as strong in the Bible? Was he ever described as weak or helpless?
Describe strength, you know, adjectives.
What does it mean to draw from something? To draw water or power from something or someone?
Are you being strong or are you being weak?

Being strong comes before putting on the armor. The armor isn't our strength, it protects our strength from the attacks of our enemy and gives us the weapons we need to fight back. I will take this passage and break it down piece by piece for you. I will also correlate it to some new age philosophy like Chakras and energy. God already knows about Chakras and auras, He invented them! "There is nothing new under the sun", said Solomon, except "a sucker born every minute", said PT Barnum.

Be strong today.

Beth

I Am, Because You Are

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:46:00 +0000

Jesus isn't another Mohamed, he isn't another Buddha or Krishna or the Mother Mary. Jesus isn't a story, a myth, a archetype or alien conspiracy. Sorry, he isn't just part of a religious matrix that's designed to control the masses or dupe the simpletons who need a heavenly crutch. What is the problem that people have with the guy? I mean Oprah would kiss the feet of Eckhart Tolle before she knelt before the King of Kings...enlightenment x infinity himself. Why? Well, because it's hard for most of us to accept the fact that Jesus loved us without our needing to be fabulous...Jesus is sort of the leveler for the ambitious and greedy who want their own brilliance to be the explanation for their success, wealth and power. Spiritual "awakening" is for those who are "in the know", intellectuals on a higher plane who have the inside scoop and know the secret to transform your consciousness and...what? What is it that everyone wants? A connection with the divine? Or, like someone else we know who shall remain nameless whose name starts with a L- and ends with a -ucifer, do we want to know what God knows, to have the knowledge and the power ourselves instead of relying on God, let alone Jesus for our prosperity and inner peace? (human beings do not like the middleman as a general rule).

Why is it so hard for us to receive all the things (aka unconditional love) we seek from a loving Father who exists solely to give those things (aka a Father's unconditional love)? Because then we're not special, we're not better than or unique. We're just like everyone else and our hard work doesn't really matter in the long run. Would anyone listen to Oprah if she wasn't rich? No, they wouldn't. Let's face it, Jesus still isn't cool and neither are his humble servants...the nobodies and the nothings... like 99% of us.

But, when the shit hits the fan and all your "being present in the now", positive affirmations and visualizations haven't kept cancer away or prevented your husband from losing his job, you aren't going to pick up Eckhart's book (he is SO weird!!!!), you aren't going to go look at your inspirational bulletin board with pictures of big houses with swimming pools. You're going to lay on the floor and call out to Jesus. Trust me on this, I know all the crap they tell you to do. I figured it out in the 70's (none of this is new). But I've been that girl that had it all figured out and saw her life turn to dust. I didn't perform a ritual or say some gay incantation. I laid on my face and all I could mutter was a little, bitty... "help me". And He, my friend, my sweet brother Jesus was right there, no questions asked. He lent me money, fed my cat, borrowed me his car, mowed the grass and took me to get a decent haircut. He babysat the kids, brought us groceries and assured me that everything was gonna be alright. Mohamed doesn't do that, Krishna doesn't do that, Buddha sure as hell doesn't do that. But Jesus, He does and never, ever holds it against you.

Here's a poem I wrote about and to this wonderful savior, this cool-cat brother, the manifested light of the world, my best friend Jesus:

I Am, Because You Are

©Beth McDonald 2008

I am,

because

You are.

No more, true.

But certainly, no less.

You are

light fluttering through summer leaves

the breathing of the ocean at night.

You are

My daughters giggling

my son’s tender heart

the hands pulling me back from harm.

You are

my father’s kindness

the voice across empty silence

a prayer for courage when I have none.

You are

a song that says what I cannot

the mother of the unlovely

a resilient belief in something good.

You are

dancing in the rain

my warrior spirit standing up to fear

the willingness to try one more time.

You are

the unexpected gift of grace

a moment of unguarded joy

the artist that paints the sky twilight.

I am

because

You are.

No more, true.

But certainly, no less.

It is enough.

Jesus and the New Age

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:08:00 +0000

I have always had psychic abilities, ever since I was a little kid I knew what people were thinking and stuff about their lives that most of the time I wish I didn't know. I can feel people's feelings, I can hear people's thoughts and I can see their goodness too. I have dreams where the Lord tells me what is going on with someone and also where their true heart is or what nefarious activity they're up to. For the most part, it's been a painful ability for me because most people don't want to know the truth and I have a REALLY hard time pretending I don't know what I know. Parties have always been uncomfortable and small talk is virtually impossible for me. One time my Uncle actually left the table after I asked him what I thought was a benign question (something about my other's Uncle's manic depression, you know...small talk...) . He actually got up, left the table and drove away without saying a word to me. My sister saw the whole thing (we were at a big family gathering) and she knew right away what was going on and brings it up about every 5 seconds. When I go somewhere, like a store or movie, I get overwhelmed with information about people. It's totally exhausting and I have to work really hard to shut it off. Ok, so now you know where I'm coming from with what I'm about to say.

The same gifts that allow me to tune in to people around me also allow me to tune into the spiritual realm...both halves, if you know what I mean. So, life for me has not exactly been a blast and it seems like even the simplest activities that should be fun...going on vacation or to a stupid fair are just unbearable if I don't have the energy to just ignore all the messages coming in. I could never understand why things that seemed so easy for other people were so hard for me and, for the most part, I've made some peace with it, but sometimes it makes me really sad. I get jealous of people who plan parties or go on bike trips. You know what I mean? It's not like I can't do those things, it's just that I don't like to. I can't shut my mind off at a BBQ or not notice things about people at a concert or play. That's why I got interested in reading The Secret...maybe I have the wrong mindset about things, some negative thought processes that have prevented me from having the fun stuff in life or maybe I just shoot too low and don't expect God's best for me. Which, I do believe is somewhat true, but not completely.

I mean, I'm a Christian and I'm not filled with peace. But I really, really want to be. So, the Secret pops into my life and I think that if I can change my thinking, I can change my life...which I do know is true. But it isn't a matter of pointing my brain on prosperity or success, it's a matter of accepting who I am, what I am, what is healthy for me, who is healthy for me and what I need to do to take care of myself. I need to take care of myself, to protect my energy, so that I can function the way I was designed to function...which is to tell the truth.

The world is heading into a VERY dark time, the new age has ramped up, the paranormal is escalating,UFO's are being sited at an alarming rate and all the information swirling around all of this is very, very dangerous. People think the aliens are here to help us save our planet, ghosts are mostly harmless, Jesus is part of a made up religion and demonic activity is very, very rare.

Ok, here's the truth about Jesus Christ: if you don't believe in the power of Christ or the truth of the Bible, then you've never been on your knees crying out to God with nowhere else to go. (I know, maybe you've asked him to help you and He didn't do it right away, that's a whole other subject). You know Jesus is the real deal if you've ever really needed Him. I've had the Word read to me while I slept, thinking I was dreaming, but I could hear every word. Jesus is not a teacher, He's was crucified on the cross, He is the Son of God and He is the way to the Father. The only way.

If people don't believe in satan or the demonic, then there's no reason for a savior. That's what lucifer is up to. If he's not real, then neither is Christ. Let me tell you brothers and sisters...lucifer, satan and demons are very real. They are busy, they hate you, they want you broke, alone, depressed and dead. Jesus is the only protection we have from the deception and destruction of utter darkness. Satan wants Jesus Christ out of the picture and it's kind of working.

That's what I'm here for: to tell people about Jesus Christ, to teach people how to do spiritual warfare, to tell Christians to snap out of it, to stop moping around, pick up their swords and start swinging. IT'S ON. I think I'm also supposed to enjoy my life, to play with my kids and pay attention to what's good and beautiful, but my reason for living during this time in history is Jesus.

Blessings to you, my sensitive fellow travelers. Time to kick some ass for Jesus...you in???

Love y'all,
Beth

Christianity and the Secret of the New Age

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:35:00 +0000

I have spent the last few months trying to come to terms with what I know about the metaphysical world we live in and what I know about the Word and the nature of Jesus Christ. It all started when I was staying at a friend's house and read her copy of "The Secret", a book that I had avoided as a new millennium version of Shakti Gawain and creative visualization. Since I was a teen ager I was interested in studying the mind and the mysteries of religion and science. My bookshelves were filled with new age authors and ideas and I agreed with most of what they said, but something was always missing in their theories. I could never maintain whatever it was I was supposed to be doing and I always seemed to slip back into my own thought patterns and behaviors. Only to get the books back out and try once again to tap into "the higher mind, the power of the universe". It was always about ME knowing the steps to manifesting my dreams and it just never seemed to work for very long. What was missing, why didn't this work for me? Remember the story of Rumplestiltskin? I felt like the girl who just couldn't figure out what everyone else seemed to know. This SHOULD work, it makes sense, it's completely logical! But, there was something missing, the nucleus that all this theory spun in circles around, the thing that could give it form and strength.

Then I met Jesus...again...and this time it was one on one...no Campus Crusade for Christ geeks jumping up and down like "Up with People" or Jesus People in long skirts and tambourines. The day I met the Son of the living God was the day I understood the true power of love...it was like every dead thing in me got zapped and came alive...I wouldn't say it was entirely comfortable, sort of that sick but awesome feeling you get when you realize you really love somebody and you could die without them. Oh yeah...this is great. Shit. This Jesus wasn't a dork, He wasn't mean, He wasn't weak or simple-minded. He was nothing like the Jesus on feltboard I had been avoiding like the plague since Vacation Bible School. I spent the next 15 years getting to know Him, learning about the beauty and mystery of the Word, understanding from personal experience that yes...there is a hell, demons are real, satan is not a metaphor or my subconscious fears and that church is like giant high school.

So here I was. I understand and believe in the power of the mind to create our reality and know that our understanding of quantum physics might be new, but the physical laws about it are not. But I also know that what the Bible says is completely true, I have no doubt that God is who He says He is and that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Why? Because He is the manifested love of our creator and that love is the "worm hole" to the person of God and that bridge to the unseen mysteries of the universe isn't dependent on our love for Him, but open because of His love for us. The only requirement for that connection to be constantly open and revelatory is that we receive His love, receive His Son (the gift) and allow this love to be our master and teacher. The church is not your master, your job is not your master, your childhood is not your master, your weaknesses are not your master...YOU ARE NOT THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE.

I found myself at a point in my life where I knew a lot about a lot, but I felt so lost and unsure of what to do or where to go. What place is there in this world for someone like me? I felt uncomfortable almost everywhere, but I didn't want to tuck myself away somewhere and not live, not enjoy my life. I wasn't enjoying my life and felt as though I spinning in circles emotionally, physically and most painfully, spiritually. This wasn't me...I love life, I love to laugh and go to movies, listen to music, plan for the future. I wasn't enjoying my life and needed to figure out what the shiz was going. I made a vow a long time ago that I wasn't going to be a miserable person plodding through life or accepting things because "who ever said we're supposed to be happy?" Who ever said that bullshit? There's no point to being here if there is no moments of happiness. When I met the Lord every cell in my body woke up...baby, I was born again!!! Um...where did that girl go?? Why was everything so messed up? No money, no job I could stand for more than 5 minutes, friends and family I used to be able to tolerate were intolerable (not all, but most of the narcissistic ones, which made up about 90% of my social circle and family), my marriage was yawn-yawn mixed with blips of anger and/or resentment (as you can imagine, I was really fun to be married to!), and my journey with Christ was taking some very strange and confusing twists and turns. Kids I was lost as lost gets and I prayed for God to help me find my way AGAIN. That's when I picked up "The Secret".

Now, before you think I became a visualizing, list writing, affirmation talking follower of this newly found "secret", I didn't. But it did start me on a new track and made me look at the way I talked and thought about who I was and what I hoped for, how I was an active participant in my own misery and needed to snap out of it. What I had to deal with in myself was painful, to look at how limited my expectations were, how my life had gotten exactly as far as I'd imagined it would...which wasn't very far! I had dealt with my inner life, that was on solid ground, but my outer life was shitty. I gotta be honest.

So, that's what I'm going to write about and hopefully my agonizing transformational experiences will help someone else not feel crazy or like a failure because their faithful obedience to Christ has only led them to poverty and despair. I'm certainly not rolling in money or tall with long blond hair and writing this post from my seaside villa, but I'm not laying on my bed looking at the ceiling crying "why God, why me?? what happened???" THERE IS NO NEW AGE. THE ONLY SECRET IS THAT CHRISTIANS DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE NEW AGERS DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE TRUE METAPHYSICAL TRUTH OF JESUS CHRIST.

The New Age, the Bible, Jesus and the Devil...it's all God and it's all under His authority. It's Biblical Truth, not a new age truth or a universal truth. You can't leave the creator out of the creation and you can't remove Jesus Christ from the equation. Call it the quantum physics of the Word if you will, but guess who is the manifested, law of attraction, visualized, power of thought, the mack-daddy of created reality??? Jesus, that's who.

John 1:1

1IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (^[a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ^[b]Himself.^(A)

2He was present originally with God.

3All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.

4In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.

5And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].

I got some good stuff coming friends, this is going to blow your minds!!! I'm baaaaccckkkk....

Why God, Why???

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:35:00 +0000

An insight into the daily life of a blogger/artist/writer/....it's sooo true!!! His name is Leif Petterson (seriously, where else would he be from than Minnesota???) Here's the link to his blog, it's pretty funny. http://thisiswhyiloveminneapolis.com/

Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:42:00 +0000

My latest painting, one of a series I'm calling "You ARE art"... more to come!

Why Do You Want To Know?

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:46:00 +0000

“[Love] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

We want to know things that have nothing to do with us, at least things we are absolutely helpless to prevent or do much about after they've happened. We want to have the edge, the inside scoop and not get blind-sided like the rest of them when the shiz storm comes. What we'll do to protect ourselves even if things occur exactly as we've predicted are temporary solutions at best. So what if you live on a farm and know how to cut up a cow and grow turnips? How long will that last? I mean, eventually you will go hungry. What will you do when people want some of your water or stockpiled canned goods? Shoot them?

Tell me, what good does that kind of knowledge really do? There is such an incredibly fine line between seeing into the spiritual realm in order to have an edge and seeking that same prophetic vision because you want people to know Jesus Christ. Are we unlike Eve in this respect? That temptation to be "in the know"... to be wise, to know what God knows? We don't want to BE God either, we just want to see what He sees so we can serve, so we can prepare the people. Oh yeah, and so we won't be running around like chicken little, we'll have taken care of things like invested in gold and learned to knit sweaters with dog fur. Whatever, I'm not much of a farm gal myself.

There are two kinds of prophecy:
1) Knowledge that leads to Jesus--a message of love
There is the type of prophetic utterance that warns God's people of what is going on in the spiritual realm, instructs us to draw close to Jesus, be wary of the devil's cunning hatred and reminds us to trust in God's promises and His Word. It doesn't just scare you-- it tells the truth, but points you to Him. A true Word from the Lord, through a believer, has the message of Love at it's center. It isn't to draw attention to how knowledgeable the messenger is or to set believers above the heathens. I believe at it's core is a warning for us to not let anything get in the way of sharing the Gospel of Christ, a desperate plea from a Father His children to come home.

2) Knowledge that leads to the prophet--a message of fear
Then there is the prophetic word that warns believers and non-believers alike what is coming, but leads us to fear and leaves us there. Of course, there is always advice about things we could do to prepare, but for most people those precautions aren't practical or even possible. The prophet may truly be getting insight from the Lord, but his or her ego gets in the way. Rather than being pointed to Jesus, believers seek out the wisdom of the prophet. It's sort of an "us and them" vibe, "we know something they don't know" and because of that we're part of an elite circle. These prophets hang with other uber prophets and they form the circle's inner ring, spending a whole lot of their time agreeing with each other's blogs and podcasts.

It doesn't mean that to be a message of love the prophecy is a Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Jesus Loves Me This I Know type of deal. If you have any spiritual understanding whatsoever, you know that the world is going into the crapper. Our choices for President are: bad, scary/evil, crazy, kinda weird and no hope in hell. Everyday some programmed drone shoots innocent people going about their normal routines. Satanists have basically infiltrated every secular and religious organization you can name with virtually zero resistance and you can't tell a witch from a harmless grandma unless you're tuned in to the Holy Spirit big time. So, it isn't like the prophetic messages we're getting and giving are that far-fetched, it's just that what are we supposed to do? Ok, sure, we can warn people. But here's the deal...anyone who would be open to knowing it already know. The people who don't know don't care or believe you anyway.

Satan can trick us into seeking the wisdom of God just like he did Eve, convincing us that it's far more interesting to know God's beeswax than to just sit around being obedient and out of the loop. We're instructed to love one another...not always the stuff that gets you on Coast to Coast. We can spend more time debating aliens and the nefarious plans of the Illuminati that we do having a life. I know for me, I feel like the more I know, the more control I have. But there's a point where I know too much and I forget to live my life, to love my family, to see movies or have friends over for dinner. I mean, what's the point when the world is filled with witches and greedy mo-fo's running our country? But, you have to remember that God's been in this business a long time...there are days you need to let it go and pay attention to what's around you; play music, dance around the living room, call someone you haven't talked to in a long time, maybe take a painting class.

Don't be too anxious to see into the future, no matter what your motivation is. Sometimes ignorance is not only bliss, it's for our own good (and everyone else's too.)

*****************

The Tree of Knowledge

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 03:59:00 +0000

Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight or to be desired--good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life also in the center of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of [the difference between] good and evil and blessing and calamity.

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Alright, so Adam and Eve couldn't leave well enough alone and they decide to eat the fruit that hangs heavy from the tree of knowledge, which they had been specifically forbidden to do by God. But why? Why would Adam and Eve disobey the Lord? Up until then, everything was fine...no worries, no stress, no lack, no anxiety...nothing to prove and no bills to pay. In other words, Adam and Eve lived in a little fluffy cloud of ignorance; living in the now... not dwelling on the "what if's" and "shoulda-woulda-coulda's" that most of us find ourselves swirling around in the majority of the time. God provided them with everything they needed and they were satisfied with His provision.

Personally, I don't buy the idea that Eve was motivated by a burning ambition to want to know what God knew so she could BE God. She didn't have a clue that there was anything else TO know. What satan said to her was that she would be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil. So, she liked God...I wanted to grow up and be like my dad, too. What makes us assume that what she wanted then was power and to be omniscient? How would she even know what wisdom is? Solomon was wise and we all think he was really cool, that the wisdom God gave him was a gift.

God doesn't always explain why everyone in the Bible did what they did. I mean, why did Moses lose his temper and not get to go to the Promised Land? Why in the world did Solomon lose his mind and become the Rick James of Jerusalem? Why did I ever get a Visa card? Sometimes I think what motivates us is a simple as "it seemed like a good idea at the time" and the next thing we know our lives are in chaos. Our love or reverence for God doesn't seem to get in the way of our stupidity, laziness or impulsiveness. It isn't enough that we're told to NOT do something... we really want to know WHY we can't do it. We can't just trust that He just said no and that's that. It takes a very long time and a whole lot of heartache to get it into our heads that it's just better to trust Him and stick with the plan. Maybe real wisdom is knowing that you aren't very wise after all!

The mistake Eve made was engaging in a convo with the serpent in the first place...she was no match for him. Here's who little Miss Naive-Pants was dealing with:

¹NOW THE serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made.

What the serpent did was ask her a question that we've all heard whispered in our ear:

Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?

Planting that little seed of doubt, making us question God and ourselves: "sssss....Are you sure??? Did God really tell you things would be ok? Did he really tell you you would be healed?"

...and, like Eve...we answer his questions in a blabberstorm, revealing what God spoke to us, only us, letting our enemy know EXACTLY where to attack us...which leads to all kinds of chaos and mayhem. (FYI: brothers and sisters...just because someone asks you a question, doesn't mean you have to answer it!)

I don't think the Tree of Knowledge represented or held the knowledge of sin. I think what it held in it's fruit was the knowledge of fear and death, which leads us to sin.

Adam and Eve were like naive children who didn't know what could happen, they'd never heard of or experienced anything resembling calamity---and God didn't want them to. He knew what that kind of knowledge would bring; their eyes would be open to all the ugly, dangerous, cruelty of hell. It was the knowledge of death.

It's one thing to live a life trusting in and abiding in the love of God when you don't know any better, you are blissfully unaware of all the shit that can possibly come against you. It's quite another to have the "wisdom" that comes from surviving a few nasty storms in life and STILL trust that it's better to be obedient no matter how crazy it seems to everyone else.

Trusting in the Lord looks an awful lot like obedience, there's no way around that one. Trusting in the Lord keeps us from always needing to know what's going to happen tomorrow, since 9 times out of 10 we're totally wrong anyway. Trusting in the Lord keeps us in TODAY, living our lives and staying in the present. Trusting in the Lord means what He doesn't want us to know, we're probably better off not knowing. Trusting in the Lord means that no matter how bad we fuck things up, He is merciful, He won't give up on us, and He can help us get it together. You reach a point when you stop sticking your hand in the fire to see if it really is as hot as He said it was. Personally, I don't want any more wisdom, thank you. I can stop right here.

I love how this chapter ends: with God essentially saying "What if these two numbskulls eat from the Tree of Life and live forever now, having to live for eternity with the knowledge of all that is dark and demonic?"

²²And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us [the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit], to know [how to distinguish between] good and evil and blessing and calamity; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever--

Nope, we had to wait for Jesus to know what the Tree of Life tasted like, to come full circle and have another chance to spend eternity in the Garden. So, the next time doubt slithers up and whispers sweet nothings in your ear, tell that silver-tongued devil to shut his fang hole!!!

Choices

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:11:00 +0000

I've been thinking about choices--how people say that our circumstances are the result of either good or bad choices. But, what if your situation is actually a result of good choices? Decisions based on limited options--the choices you made were the "best", given the alternatives. Is it a choice to be born into an addicted household with no stability or security? Does a person with a tenuous foundation in life have much luxury to make "good" choices?

I think about my grandmother and the choices she made. I guess you could look at her life from the outside and easily point out all of the things she did wrong and what you would've done in that situation. You could make judgments on what she "should have" done. But now, as an adult, I see the courage in those decisions. The love she had for her sons that dictated every step she took. It was her love for them that made her leave an alcoholic husband in the 1930's. She did that to protect her children, to be with them and not just emotionally sacrifice them to the volatile mood swings of their father. My grandma loved my grandpa, but she loved her children more.

Grandma Ida's optimistic stoicism wasn't vapid denial (my judgment), it was courage. A generational ability to reassure your kids that everything was OK so they wouldn't worry. It was so her kids could have a sliver of a childhood. Ida would take some broken down mess they had to move in to and sew curtains, paint the walls and set the table with a table cloth. Her smile wasn't placid in the way I always thought, it was strength...a serious "don't fuck with me" strength. She wore a Norwegian mask that was so readily underestimated, which was it's genius.

I realized this year that I have her strength in me. My choices in life have been good ones based on what I had to work with. I chose my kids over myself, although they will probably never know it. They may see me as weak or judge me for not being a better housekeeper or successful career woman. Who knows what your kids will think of you, how they perceive their own childhoods? But God showed me something really beautiful about myself so I wouldn't judge myself so harshly. I have chosen to protect my children as much as possible from life's harshness so that they could be children. I didn't want them to carry the burden of adulthood.

What tremendous selflessness it takes to sew curtains for yet another "this time things will be different" house or apartment. What power it requires for a father to go to a shitty job everyday for 12 hours so his family can feel safe and be together. What amazing love to convince your kids that it's more fun to walk than drive a car or eating eggs for dinner is how they do things in Europe. Yeah, we could all have been professors or rock stars, but why??

I know my grandma must've cried herself to sleep many nights, not knowing where her next dollar was coming from. I can imagine how embarrassing it was for her to leave her husband and live with relatives again. Like her I guess I know now that I can get through anything, that my love for my children was more powerful that my self-doubt or endless fears. I'm sure it hasn't always looked like that from the outside though. Yes, we could have more money if I worked more, but my kids would be home alone!!! Yes, my house could be cleaner, but I'd be cleaning and not hanging out with them or getting to know them. I know now that I'm not lazy or selfish or a failure or irresponsible...far from it. (My mom's nickname for me was "selfish" when I was a kid, sooo...hello...issues...)

I KNOW now that I will give my kids food before I eat, buy them clothes with money I don't have and not buy anything for myself. I learned that I will humiliate myself, swallow my pride, put my ego aside and beg, borrow or steal for my children. Life has not presented itself to me in terms of "this is a good choice that good people make and end up fabulous" or "this is a bad choice that stupid, lazy people make and end up big, fat losers".

Sometimes, most times, and I'll admit, not every time, it seemed like my options were: 1)this is an option, 2) this is a worse option and 3)this option is completely psycho and out of the question. Or the choices looked like this: 1)this will be good for you 2)this will please your parents, 3) this will impress the world with your talent and genius or 4) this will feed your kids, give them a sense of security and make them feel loved and valued.

Spiritual Mothers and Fathers
Maybe you don't have kids, but that's what God gave me to keep me from living out of my gigantic ego and helping me to learn what love looks and feels like. For those of you who don't have children or your children are grown, God brings spiritual children into your lives. You become mentors, teachers, spiritual mothers and fathers, that is a Biblical responsibility for those of us that call ourselves pastor, teacher, preacher or prophet. You can't set yourself up in a parental role and not accept the tremendous tenderness and sacrifice that comes with it. Just as I can't call myself "parent" without accepting the burden that it entails. We can be narcissistic pastors and prophets, wanting and needing those we minister to to be spiritual adults or asking them to "figure it out", angry if they're needy or unsure. Of course they are! That's why God put them in our lives...to train them and encourage them to grow and have confidence in themselves.

Before my grandma Ida died, at least a year before I even knew she was sick, she let all the grandkids go through a big suitcase full of cards and letters we'd sent her, photos, postcards, etc. She also picked something special for each one of us to have. She had nothing "valuable", but gave each something she loved that meant something to her. She even wrote a little history about whatever it was. She is the one of my relatives who has ever given me anything, valuable or not. She had nothing and she is the only one of my relatives who truly had nothing.

So, we want to be like Jesus? Really??
It isn't our fabulous insight and wisdom the world needs or our vast knowledge of Scripture. It is our hearts and some kindness. Jesus told us to love one another. It isn't money and vacations our children need, it is our hearts and some kindness. Jesus gave me what my parents never did, which was grace when I was a complete asshole. He gave me mercy when I was selfish and mean. He showed me the way when I'd let go of His hand and went wherever I felt like it. He never told me I was bad or worthless, stupid or unlovely. He has always protected me from what I couldn't handle and repeats over and over again that "everything is gonna be alright".

I think Jesus could sew curtains for dirty windows, put a table cloth on a cardboard box and convince me that eating eggs is chic. All of us need someone like that in our lives. All of us need to be that for someone else. Who in your life is the Lord asking you to love, to care for, to teach and guide? There cannot be anything more important in this stupid world than that.

LOVE FROM THE HINTERLAND!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:15:00 +0000

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LIGHT, OUR LIFE AND OUR ONLY HOPE. PRAISE HIM AND HIS HOLY NAME. WE THANK YOU LORD, FOR COMING TO LOVE US, TO SAVE US AND TO SHOW US THE WAY HOME. BLESS US, JESUS AND LET US BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS. AMEN.

LISTEN TO THIS BEAUTIFUL MUSIC BY A CHICAGO ARTIST, JOSHUA WENTZ. IT'S PERFECT FOR A SNOWY MINNESOTA CHRISTMAS...

I have new friends!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 06:38:00 +0000

I was interviewed tonite by the nicest people on their blogtalk radio show, The Living Saved Show. Karreene and 3star Jimmy were seriously adorable and down to earth, Jesus loving believers. I felt like I was talking to old friends. It's just amazing how the Lord brings people together, isn't it?

Take a listen:
Beth's radio show!

Their website is great and filled with wonderful information, humor, encouragement and the love of Christ. www.livingsavedwithrevkerrene.com

Let me know what you think (only the good stuff, naturally!)

Beth

Fear Not

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:11:00 +0000

How do satanists/demons know exactly how/where/when to attack us? You don't tell anyone what you're worrying about, yet it seems that someone or something has tapped your thoughts, bugged your phone or read your diary. Any plans you make are ruined, money doesn't come, or the excitement you have over good news is followed by some disaster or misfortune. This isn't the usual daily life stuff, this is the stuff that people don't believe if you tell them; bizarre, repeated mishaps that stack up like bricks over your ever weakening "can-do" attitude. One thing after another breaks, falls apart or gets lost, friends misunderstand something you said and never want to speak to you again, jobs get messed up and your dog runs away...all in one day.

It seems like everyone I know who is a believer, a good, honest simple believer who just wants to follow the Lord, raise some decent kids, make a difference and pay their bills, is being literally BOMBARDED with broken dreams and heartbreaking disappointment. It seems that the more determined we are to serve the Lord and take risks, the more cruel and devastating the attacks become. Like, you can't win for losing. Whatever that means! Are we just supposed to endure it, accept it and limp along like wounded soldiers? I don't think so, not any more. I believe the Lord showed me some things about our fears and the way in which those fears get exploited...and what we CAN do about it. I'll just tell it to you like He told it to me...much easier that way!

Here's my conversation with God:
They know what you fear and they know what you love. The goal is to take that from us which we love and prey upon that which we fear.

Use your gifts...FOCUS!!!

What do I fear?

What do I love?

By preying upon my fears, they want destroy what I love.

Each fear has it's corresponding love.

Fear literally acts like a signal, it has a scent and attracts the demonic to us because it leads to what we love. What do we love? Whatever brings us peace, fills us with JOY, gives our lives meaning, makes us want to get out of bed every morning. We love when we're accepted, when our work matters, when we feel like who we are matters.

Fear not. If I am not afraid, then they can't find what I love and destroy it.

God is love, He drives out fear. His presence alone protects me from my enemies. Ask for His help, in all things, and He WILL help you. He will.

Who am I then?
Who are you afraid you WON'T be? That's who you are.
What would you LOVE to be? That's who you are.
What was/is your dream and vision? That's who you are.

Who exactly is doing this to me?
It doesn't matter.

What do I do with this now?
Ask for help from me. Believe in me, trust in me. Your dreams are my dreams.
Ask for what was stolen from you...I will return it to you. I will return it to you. Remember Isaiah 61.

Why did this happen to me?
Your mind, your gifts, your freedom, your independence, your charisma. People listen to you, follow you, find me through you. You seek nothing, they can't control you and they can't use you. You are a threat to their desire for power and control over the people. They block the journey. You speed it along.

But now, you will be more powerful, more influential, more determined. You have been freed from wanting anything they have.

Take it back. Use my power flowing through you. Don't hold back, second guess yourself or hesitate. Don't let them have what I have given you.

What do we love? What God put in us to love: a home that is safe, the ability to care for those we love, meaningful work, friendship, beauty, someone who loves us, community, security, hope, acceptance. It's OK for us to want these things, to need them. We're designed that way. No one wants to go to bed alone each night or worry about what they'll eat tomorrow. But, God is the source of all our love and everything that makes us feel loved. We have to believe, without a doubt, that He will not let us be harmed and then we will live our lives without fear.

When we can live without fear, we will do what we're supposed to do, no matter what comes against us. A single-minded determination to finish the race set before us.

Living without fear doesn't mean we're not afraid, it means we don't center our attention on it. Rather, we keep our eyes on Jesus at all times and let HIM deal with our fears. Only He can stop the arrows pointed our way, we just need to let HIM position Himself to bear the brunt for us.

Amen? Amen.

Article about fear and the brain.

Patience

noreply@blogger.com (Beth McDonald) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:37:00 +0000

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them.

And the point is, to live everything."

Ranier Maria Rilke