John's Musings About Whatever: The Songs of Israel----Choosing God’s Heritage

John's Musings About Whatever: The Songs of Israel----Choosing God’s Heritage

Covenant Of Salt

Hexagonal stress tiles on saltpan near Badwater, sunrise. Death Valley National Park, California, USA.

Covenant Of Salt

Since ancient times salt has had an important place in the lives of people. It is not only a preservative, but makes food palatable, and men and animals instinctively seek to supplement or improve their regular diet with it.

Salt was a necessary ingredient in the Levitical sacrifices. It represented the covenant of God which was one of permanent continuance and perpetual obligation: And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. Lev 2:13.

The custom of pledging friendship or confirming a compact by eating food containing salt is still retained among Arabic speaking people. The Arabic word for salt and for a compact or treaty is the same. Once an Arab has received in his tent even his worst enemy and has eaten salt (food) with him, he is bound to protect his guest as long as he remains.

The Lord gave over the kingdom of Israel to King David and his sons by a covenant of salt. 2 Chr 13:5. This was a pledge from God, and an unconditional promise, that the kingdom would remain in the Davidic line.

In Matt 5:13 the Lord calls the believers the salt of the earth. Salt is a preservative. If we have God's salt in us we can preserve a witness to His truth, and see His purposes fulfilled in and through our lives. Salt that has been contaminated loses its strength when subjected to extremes of temperature and climate (especially dampness), because the impurities react chemically with the salt and rob it of its savor, making it good for nothing - useless.

Believers are surrounded continually by evil and impurity. This evil can overwhelm anyone if the proper precautions are not taken. We must be filled with the Word of God. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom... Col 3:16. Then, and only then, can Col 4:6 be fulfilled in our lives: Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Christians should be worth their salt and not be laid on the shelf because they have lost their savor. The secret - faithfulness to the Word.

                                         Love & Blessings to all 

If this devotional has blessed you or opened your eyes to what the LORD is saying, please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you. And please share this with someone today :-).


By~http://www.believer.com

Thump Thud-Thump-Thud?

By~Max Lucado



When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of theoven and thumping it. If it “sings,” it’s ready. If it “thuds,” it’s placed back in the oven.The character of a person is also checked by thumping. Been thumped lately?
Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teacher. Grumpy moms. Burnt meals. Flat tires. You've-got-to-be-kidding deadlines. Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. Flat-footed. They aren't the big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out! Traffic jams. Long lines. Empty mailboxes. Dirty clothes on the floor. Even as I write this, I’m being thumped. Because of interruptions, it has taken me almost two hours to write these two paragraphs. Thump. Thump. Thump.
How do I respond? Do I sing? Or do I thud? Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart a man speaks (Luke 6:45).There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart. The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to-day living. If you have a tendency to thud more than you sing, take heart.There is hope for us “thudders”:
1. Begin by thanking God for thumps. I don't mean a half-hearted thank-you. I mean a rejoicing, jumping-for-joy thank-you from the bottom ofyour heart (James 1:2). Chances are that God is doing the thumping. And he's doing it for your own good. So every thump is a reminder that God is molding you (Hebrews 12:5–8).
2. Learn from each thump. Face up to the fact that you are not “thump-proof.” You are going to be tested from now on. You might as well learn from the thumps —you can't avoid them. Look upon each inconvenience as an opportunity to develop patience and persistence. Each thump will help you or hurt you, depending on how you use it.
3. Be aware of thump-slump times. Know your pressure periods. For me Mondays are infamous for causing thump-slumps. Fridays can be just as bad. For all of us, there are times during the week when we can anticipate an unusual amount of thumping. The best way to handle thump-slump times? Head on. Bolster yourself with extra prayer, and don't give up. Remember, no thump is disastrous. All thumps work for good if we are loving and obeying God


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Wow!

When I read this devotional today it gave me great pause. 

I had to stop and think about ALL the daily :Thump-Thuds"

I have every day!

And how I respond to each of them. I thought about all the times

I came out of the oven and sounded like a "thud." Only to be put back

into the oven so that one day I'd sing :-). It made me smile.

God is so good!

He is always showing, opening, giving us opportunities in our lives

to respond and react to the "Thumps" in our lives. I just never

thought of it in this way.

For me I know this analogy will stay with me forever.

Somethings just do. Maybe it will help me to come out

of the trials~"oven" Singing more :-). 

I take comfort in knowing, even if I come out with a thud

God won't give up on me. He will just put me right back

into the oven~until I come out singing.

That to me is already something to sing about :-).

Blessings & Love to all

Donna

I Have A Blessing To Share!!!

The Lamb in Jesus Arms is me :). That's exactly how I feel. I had known for a while that something was wrong with my heart. The sharp chest pains, shortness of breath, pain actually a strong ache down my left arm. But I was scared to see a Cardiologist. More fearful that I would have a heart attack. Both fears were colliding.

Last month I went to my family Dr. to talk about getting the Lap Band surgery. He said in order for that to happen I would need a clean bill of health from a Cardiologist. God was already working out a plan for me.

So I met with the Cardiologist and he suggested that I do an I V Stress test. I can't walk. Then he had the team do 2 kinds of echogardiograms on me. Three days later I went back for the results. The echogardiograms showed a problem. So he set me up for an Angioplasty in the hospital. I had the angioplasty going through my right arms main artery, He wanted better pictures to find the blockages. And he did. I had 2-85% blockages in my veins and there were side by side from one another, I also have close to a 50% blockage in the back of my heart in a vein.

So my wonderful Dr. while doing the angioplasty went ahead and put a longer stent in my heart to open both blockages! The other blockage in the back were going to wait. They put me on a blood thinner called Effient and chlosterol med called Lipitor.

That evening after the surgery I already felt 100% better. I could walk around and not be short of breath or have chest pains! I was in awe :). Even 4 days later I catch myself smiling-because no sharp chest pains or shortness of breath. To me it's my miracle. And God was holding me close to Him the whole time :).

I'd like to show you a quick video of how they go in and do the angioplasty and put the stent in. It's not graphic, It's all animated.

Go to this link

http://heart-disease.emedtv.com/angioplasty/angioplasty.html

go down and click on video for angioplasty.

It's the first video that you'll come to. It's quite amazing :). And it gave me back my life :).

Life Sucks Sometimes

This picture is how I feel. The rain, the storm is where I am right now.

Today I was supposed to see my Dr. My diabetes is not good-and I take 2 different insulin's a day. I wanted to talk to him about the depression and changing my meds. But none of that happened. Why? Because I couldn't fit my fat butt into my jeans! Yep that's it. I was devastated. I knew I had been gaining weight-but I felt like I was starting to lose some of the weight. Nope, they were really tight. I crawled into bed and just stared at the wall. I finally went to sleep. Now I'm sitting here wondering what to do next. I feel lost. Over a pair of jeans that were to tight? No, it was just the straw that broke the camels back.

I have S.A.D.-social anxiety disorder. I have only been out of the house 3 times in the last 3 months. I have missed family birthday parties, holidays with family etc... My husband Mark has been without a job for a year now. As many, many other family's are as well. I am disabled physically and cannot work. I cannot even try for social security because I spent the last 9-10 years home schooling our daughter. So therefore I don't have enough "credits" to apply for SS. So I cannot even help my sweet husband out. It hurts me too see him try and try to get a job. I am so very thankful for the unemployment that he gets-it's just our bills always seem to be more than the checks. I have been disabled for a while now-but my weight had always been the same with-which was still being over weight. But the scale had never moved up ward for many, many years. I am wondering why now? What's going on with my body? Why such a drastic change? I truly wish I knew the whole answer. We have no medical insurance-everything is out of pocket. We have tried to go through channels for financial help-medically. So far we are either over qualified or under qualified-What! Makes no sense to us. We have one more appointment to try and get medical help-our appointment is June 8th. This is the last open door for help medically. Please if you read this entry-pray that the doors would be open for all our medical needs which are numerous. I am so afraid something will go wrong and we won't get help. I truly don't know what will happen to us if this doesn't work. There is so much more I want to journal about-but I just feel so over whelmed right now. I will try again later today.

Blessings and love to all her in blogger land.

Sharing A Precious Letter To All Moms

Our daughter Brittany aka Boo is our social butterfly. She lives life 100% of every day. She has been this way since the day she was born. When we started going to church she was 4. What I'm about to share is 100% truth. Because Brittany loves everyone. We had to be at church an hour early each Sunday morning. Because that's how long it took Brittany to hug everyone :). She hugged as they came into the Sanctuary & go down every pew to not miss one person.

So I added my memories from a letter that circulated around the web years ago. I know I am not the only Mom who has shared the love of their children. I hope after reading this you will share yours with us. I know I would be proud to read them. Or take mine and add your own thoughts and memories.

                                                                   To My Daughter Brittany.


Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park and play.
"You were always so irresistible with your warm smile, holding your arms up for me to pick you up & play. So it was easy to forget the laundry to bundle you up and take you to the park. Your joyous laughter was contagious and made the day much happier. Thank you my sweet daughter-for showing me the important things in life and letting go of things that would always be there."

Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together which we'd eventually get to :).

 "When I read this it makes me smile Ü. You loved to do dishes. I always had to set up your own soapy water, rinse bowl and towel station to put your dishes on. Although not always the most spotless-just seeing that beaming smile and hands going up saying ta-da! Made me laugh." lol.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off.

I'll  sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles. Oh Boo how many,many hours did we spend letting everything else go, just so we could play with bubbles! The swirling, the rainbow colours, and to see how big we could make them lol. Then there was the forever chasing of them and laughter filling the air."

Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.

 This I wish I had done more. Stopped myself from being to busy with things that would still be there long after you were grown. I wish I had of grabbed your hand more and ran with you towards the Ice Cream truck seeing you smile as I tell you to pick out what ever you wanted. Promise me you will do more of this with your children, and remember me Ü.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

This was a simple thing for us Ü. because we would lay on a blanket look at the sky and just dream, dream, dream. Never expectations of one thing. You could never pick just ONE thing to be anyways LOL. But guilty am I for fussing and second guessing my decisions-I could have relaxed more lol.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.

Well, this was never a problem lol. After the first time of you making/baking cookies, you took charge Ü. It was ME helping YOU bake the cookies after that."

Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal. Just so you can have both toys.
OK what's there to say about Mickey D's LOL!

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.

OMG how many times have we shared that moment together Ü. Even way into your teens. I'd rub your head, play with your hair and retell the story of your precious birth and the love that just spilled out of me and never stopped.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub all you want and not get angry or rush you.

Yes, many full and irritating days spilled over to the end of the day including bath time. I'm sorry Boo. I should have spent more quality time playing and splashing around with you in the tub. Make sure you slow down with your children during bath time and teach them how to make big splashes to soak Mommy Ü.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.

One of our favorite things to do. To sit on the porch and talk about everything while just looking at the stars and listening to the cricket and frogs make music. All along the hours just floating by.

Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

Yes, will snuggle on the couch or the bed together. Will have our favorite books out and read together. One of our favorite things to do.

Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray.

I will simply be grateful that GOD has given me the greatest gift ever given. I am still doing this. And you are my greatest gift.



I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their

missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves

instead of their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms

watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't

handle it anymore.



And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little

longer. It is then, that I will thank GOD for you, and ask Him for nothing,

except one more day ....



I love you Brittany with all my heart. Forever and beyond.

Mom

                                  






Blessings,

Donna



1. How Do You Catch a Unique Rabbit?

Unique Up On It.

2. How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit?

Tame Way.

I have a new journal

I opened up blogger and saw that it has been almost a year since my last journal entry. I wanted to share a new journal called "Confessions Of A Binge Eater." Please come by and say hello.

I will start reading & saying hi too everyone's journals tomorrow.

Here is the link

http://confessionsofabingeeater-ladymagnolia.blogspot.com/

                                                                         Donna

I love this picture. It seems so peaceful and beautiful. I'd love to stand on the little bridge and just ponder on what ever comes to mind.

Well, I went and saw my Dr. last Thursday. We talked alot about my many concerns. He checked me for P.A.D. in my legs, and said everything was fine...yay! I was soooo worried. Especially with me having such severe neuropathy in my feet and legs. The neuropathy is in both my hands now-I can't feel things with my finger tips. With neuropathy there's not allot that can be done after it sets in. So I'll just keep doing what I can :). I'm not going to let it ruin my life.

Mark and I talked to Dr. D about getting on disability. Dr. D said there was no problem with that since we know I am unable to work. So now I'm in the process of applying for disability.

My Dr. did write a prescription for meds to help with the neuropathy in my lower parts. He also increased my depression meds and my anxiety meds. So far so good. I feel much calmer and clear headed. But @ times I'm scared it won't last. I like this calmness and not having that doomed or dreaded feeling with me at all times. So right now I am just going to enjoy it :).

I talked with him about my fears of having a heart attack. My dad passed away at age 49 from a massive heart attack. I am 45 and it's been lingering over me and making me fearful for the past 14 yrs. My dad's Mom & Dad died from heart attacks. My Mom's-Mom & Dad died from heart attacks. My Mom had a heart attack 11 yrs ago and survived it :) Thank the LORD. So Dr. D is setting me up an appointment for a chemical stress test. I'm just waiting on them to call me with an appointment.

I did have a full exam by a cardiologist about 8-10 yrs ago. Stress test and echo cardiogram. Everything looked great back then. I am praying I will pass this stress test with flying colors.

Mark and I went to SAMS club yesterday and did our monthly shopping. It was nice to be out and about :). I stuck to our list like a good girl lol....ok 2 cheats-I bought New York style cheese cake & chips for my dip. While there we got all the ingredients so that Mark could make his famous chili :).

Mark makes an amazing pot of home made chili, so we always get the Frito scoops to go along with it. We also add sour cream and Cheddar cheese as a topping to our bowls of chili yum :). Does anyone else eat it this way?

Last night I slow cooked bar B Q pork chops-they just fell off the bone :).

Tonight I am making our daughters favorite meal called Cheesy hash brown casserole. Here is the recipe if you would like to try it out.

Brown 3 lbs of hamburger meat
Drain when meat is fully cooked
Rinse off hamburger meat fat while in the colander.
Put back in the pot and add
2-Taco mixes to the meat
add the amount of water on the taco mix package
Cook on medium heat-till all the water is gone


Ingredients you'll need

2-bags of Ore-Ida Potato's O' Brian cubed hash browns
1-Large can of cream of mushroom soup
2-large bags of mild Cheddar cheese




Get a large bowl to put ingredients in.

Add cooked hamburger meat
both packages of hash browns
pour in the can of cream of mushroom soup
1- Cup of Cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients well


Take an oblong pan and spray it with Pam
When all ingredients are folded well-spoon it into your pan


Cook on 350 for 30-40 minutes.
5 minutes before the casserole is done-bring it out of the oven and add a layer of Cheddar cheese and cook for the remaining time left.

I also usually cook my garlic cheese biscuits with this meal.

If you decide to try the recipe let me know how you and your family liked it.




Well, I'm off to shower and hit the Library with my sweetie. I swear you could lock me up and have me live in a Library lol. I am a major book worm, so I love going to the Library :).


I wish all of you a beautiful day!

HUGS~Donna

Need To Learn...

How to make a pretty journal page. I see so many beautiful journal pages and wonder how it is done. I am not at all talented when it comes to making my journal pretty. I'd really like some advice and tips on how to make my page pretty. So if anyone out in blogger land can help me, I would really appreciate it.


How was every one's Memorial Day? Ours was pretty nice. We had beautiful weather :-) always a plus. I actually got out of the house and went to a cook out with some close friends. It went better than I expected :-). We hung out with them all afternoon watching old movies. And I didn't have 1 panic or anxiety attack!

There's been nothing on TV lately. They have all showed the cliff hangers for next season, so we have been renting movies.


Movies we've picked out.

1. Doubt (Loved the allegories in it)
2. Bedtime Story (so-so)
3. Hotel For Dogs (cute)
4. The Last Templar (loved this movie)
5. Australia (Loved that movie)
6. Taken (Loved that one)

And a few others that had to much language for me to want to watch.

Brittany our daughter brought home the movie "New In Town." So will watch that tonight.

Mark and a friend of his changed out my computer today. I'm not liking it right now, because we could not transfer 10 years of stuff onto this computer. So I don't have any tags, pictures or my favorite sites right now. It's like starting over again. But my PC was dieing so it had to be done. So I am thankful that I have another computer-I just miss my stuff.

Well, that's as exciting as it's been lol. I look forward to hearing about everyone Else's Memorial Day :-).

Oh-If anyone wants to share some pretty tags w/me you can e-mail me @ ladymagnolia1963@aol.com

HUGS To All~Donna

The Real Me

At this present time I am trying to come up with a title for this post. I hope writing it will give me the right inspiration.

Why a mime mask? Well, for many years now I have suffered from clinical depression, social anxiety disorder, panic & anxiety attacks. I have my ups and down-good days weeks and my bad days and weeks.

This pictured mask is a visual aid for me. I can't tell you how many mask I have but it is numerous.

For me I was afraid to let others know how I was really feeling. At church I wore my mask of happy to see you, glad to be here etc. Inside I was so deeply sad and scared. I was mostly scared that I wouldn't be able to pull it off. I was afraid they would be able to see through my mask, or that I would let it slip how I felt. I became very good after years of practice. Every where I went I had a different mask for different occasions. I did try and show a "few" family members and a close friend years ago what I looked & felt like-it didn't go well. My family was petrified that depression was contagious! Yes, they really believed this. It took them close to 6 months before they would come around. Even when they did, they looked like a slinky cat too afraid to get close or to ask how I was doing. So I learned to put the I'm ok mask on for them, smiling like all was ok. I was laughing on the outside for others and crying on the inside.

My husband is amazing. I have always been able to just be myself around him. He has been by my side every step of the way. Mark truly is my knight in shining armor. Yes, of course there are some chinks in the armor as he is only human. But it's amazing to have that kind of love and support through all of this.

Recently I went through a very bad patch. Mark's has not been a rose garden either. After 7 years with a company he was laid off almost 2 months ago. He loved his job. Since then it seems as if no one is hiring. We get the Sunday paper and look through the classified and I kid you not 98% are for out of state work. Our son Lil Mark has been out of a job for 4 months now. They have 2 babies to worry about! So Lil Mark has gotten very discouraged and depressed. I do try and encourage him but lately it's not enough.

Big Mark is 44 and starting over is scary. We are just 1 family among the millions in the same boat-feeling the same way. Right now we just take it one day at a time-and that's good enough.

I know this is not a happy entry but it's a part of my life and of me. I know there are probably others who feel the same way. I just wanted to post this and let others know that they are not alone.

HUGS to all~Donna