Coffee, Journaling, Prayer

2 Thessalonians 2: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 29.

 2 Thessalonians 3: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 29.

2 Thessalonians 1: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 29.

 1 Thessalonians 5: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 29.

 1 Thessalonians 4: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 29.

My husband and I have not watched TV (television) since 2019. It happened by accident when we stopped. The continuation, however, has been intentional.  We no longer have all that noise in our lives.  We are able to hear God more clearly because we have less noise in our lives and we intentionally try to listen for and to Him. Our faith has grown because of this. And we are a great deal less stressed.

About a year and a half ago, I got to the point that I wanted to take my faith (trust in Yeshua; belief) seriously. I wanted to live the Bible, the Word of God. I wanted to not just say it but actually do it. This meant some fast, hard changes. The taking my faith seriously came in stages.  First, I saw what I did wrongly and tried to correct that. Second, I got rid of the things in my life that had no place being part of my life... the things that did not align with what the Word of God (The Bible) says. Third, I got to searching the Scriptures and reading the Bible for myself and not reading a study Bible or commentary. I went straight to Adonai (God) and saw what He really said and what it meant. And I tried to do what He told me to do in the Word and not do the things He said not to do.  The only thing is, this could sound easy. It isn't. It has required a lot of hard work every single day.

I just found out an old friend died. (See link below about that.) And it makes me want to make sure of eternity and what it means. Does it mean eternal life or destruction for me if I were to die today? This also makes me ask another. Am I prepared to die today? And how does my life reflect and show the answer? How can I become more prepared? And if we are living in the End Times, and we are (see Matthew 24), am I prepared for that? For what is to come (see the book of Revelation)?  And how does my life reflect and show the answer? How can I become more prepared? A LINK: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-unexpected-death-and-how-god-works.html

Every holiday, my husband and I try to reach out to most everyone on our contact list. He does the text thing while I do the email.  Yesterday, I reached out to a woman God put on my heart. I found out this morning she died yesterday. Wow. God had me think of her and pray for her on the day she died. Sadly, she isn't a person I thought of on a daily basis or even a monthly basis, but a few times a year, sure.  She had a health thing that led to a fast death. I am not God. I do not judge. I have no way of knowing but I do not think she will be in heaven. This makes me stop and think of my salvation. Have I worked out my salvation today, ensuring a recommitment of trusting in Yeshua (Jesus) (see Philippians 2:12) and living what the Bible says (Deuteronomy 26:17; Matthew 7:21; Romans 2:13; James 1:22-25; Revelation 22:12)?  Am I going to heaven? What have I done today to show I trust in Yeshua and am trying to live the Word of God? 

A psalm of confession. Pray this when you do not know what to pray.

This blog journal is not for the faint of heart, easily offended, or lazy. To truly live Matthew 7:13-14, and live the narrow gate faith, it requires grit and perseverance.  It also requires work. I will say hard things. Difficult things. Things that could make you uncomfortable... and things you may want to disagree. However,  if you read (scrour; search) and live 100% of the Bible, and within proper context, you will see what I say is accurate.  Because it is not what I say that matters. I have no heaven or hell to offer anyone. It is what He says. And it is that which I seek and address. Are you really, truly serious about living the Word of Adonai (God) and living a life of trusting in Yeshua (Jesus)? If so, read on. If not, stop reading. But question if you are really saved and if you are continually working out your salvation (Philippians 2:12). 

You will find that oftentimes I will not write out verses in this blog journal. I might paraphrase some of the verse, but not always. There is a reason. I think we have become lazy in our trusting (faith; believing) of Yeshua (Jesus). And we want the fast or easy way. We do this so we can save time so we can move onto what we really want to be doing and that which we say we ought to be doing. But we forget to stop and ask the most important question of all, at all times, in all circumstances: God, what is Your will? What do You want here? This takes time. Oftentime,  a second or two. But, if we are honest, we would rather get to what we want to do. This means we really are seeking the wide road or path that leads to destruction, not the narrow path that takes us to the narrow gate that leads to eternal life. (Matthew 7:13-14). We want  fast, easy, palatable, and fun faith and walk. We do not want to do the work and put in the time. We want things our way and how we want them. ...

Thanksgiving is praising God. It is prayer. It is a form of worship. It is giving Adonai glory. It is one of the best ways to fight spiritual warfare. It is taking our eyes and focus from self and the world and is turning our gaze and focus on Him and eternity. Thanksgiving is realizing that we are right where we should be. Thanksgiving is the realization that if we are not grateful for what we have, who we have, and where we are at, then we will never be happy or pleased with more. So, praise Him and give Him thanks all day long.

 I thank the Lord for this day. I thank Him for: For my salvation that I try to seek every moment. For all I have. For all I do not have (and have been spared from). For all the people in my life. For all I am. For the two Eastern Bluebirds that just appeared on the drink rail of my deck. ... for what I have is far more than enough and is all I need.

 Yeshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus. He is the Messiah, Savior, and Redeemer.

 Adonai means Lord or God in Hebrew.

1st, Use the shampoo listed here: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/homemade-essential-oil-shampoo-and-body.html Make sure to read everything in that link to see if you should add this conditioner to your routine or not. If you still need more conditioning, then make and do this: Grab another 2 ounce bottle of your choice. INGREDIENTS 2 teaspoons total of whatever oil you choose (for example: olive oil, jojoba, grapeseed, or almond) 1/2 teaspoon aloe vera gel 5 drops lavender essential oil 3 drops peppermint essential oil 3 drops rosemary essential oil 3 drops lemon essential oil Fill the rest of the bottle with water. TIPS Put a very small amount on and through your hair. Let it set for a couple of minutes. Rinse very well. If your hair is still dry in feel and/or frizzy when dry, use the leave-in conditioner here: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/leave-in-hair-conditioner.html

Daily Bible Reading (DBR) for November 27: Psalm 125; Matthew 26-27. Psalm 125 a very good Psalm. Matthew 26 is a powerful chapter. It is hard to read, I will not lie, as it is gut-wrenching. But I read it slow. I try to take in every word. It comes alive. I learn. I am moved. I am changed by the reading. Matthew 27 is even more of a powerful chapter. Hence, I know it is even more important for me to make sure I read slowly, word for word. And it ties my stomach in even more knots. But it is truth.

I read a verse in Colossians 3 on Thanksgiving Day on Nov282024Thu (Colossians 3:17). The verse describes how whatever (and in everything) we do or say should be done in the name of Yeshua (Jesus). And it should be done or said with thanksgiving through Adonai (God). What a verse. If we were to really live out this verse, and do so as this verse says, I think we would be living drastically different lives. If we were to ask the old WWJD, what would Jesus do question, in all we do and say... And do and say as the Bible directs, we would live differently and would be different people. And we need to remember we represent Him in all we say and do. Moreover, we need to give thanks to God through it all as well. This means more mindful, purposeful, prayerful, and thankful living. Let us try to apply this in all we do today. In every moment. And then tomorrow... And the day after that... And every day, every moment thereafter. In each moment, we are to live for Him and represent Him, in all ...

1 Thessalonians 2: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 28.

1 Thessalonians 3: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 28.

1 Thessalonians 1: Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 28.

Part of my Daily Bible Reading on November 28. Thoughts Nov282024Thu Thanksgiving Day: Read Matthew 28:1. This is a very important verse. It gives information that is easily glanced over and overlooked. It was the day after Shabbat (Sabbath and day of rest). It was the first day of the week. It was Sunday, as we know it today. So this means Yeshua Messiah (Jesus the Savior and Redeemer) was dead on Saturday, Friday, and Thursday. FASCINATING THING TO NOTE Note how nowhere in this chapter does it say to change day of Shabbat and our day of gathering as a congregation and community for worship to Sunday. Read Genesis 2:1-3. BACK TO MATTHEW 28 I cannot help but wonder if Yeshua (Jesus) had been dead and in the tomb until the earthquake. Had He remained until then or did He rise earlier? Had He waited for her, and the rest of the ladies, and then risen? Or did the earthquake mean something else altogether? I will not read into it anything more than just some questions of curiosity. The end...

Thank You, Adonai, for the rain. We are in drought and need it. Rain, I know, shows Your favor. Thank You. Thank You on this Thanksgiving Day for this special blessing.

Genesis 2:1-3: Read Nov282024Thu Thanksgiving Day. (Read this as I read Matthew 28.)

Happy Thanksgiving. God is good. He is in control. He is with us when we remain with Him and in His Word. Thank the Lord for all He has given and for all that which He has not. Thank Him for all His wondrous deeds. Let us count our blessings and give Him glory.

Have you heard of putting eggshells on top of the coffee grounds in your coffee basket in your drip pot or percolator? It gets rid of the acid and it gives you nutrients. It makes the coffee taste smooth. It is better for acids reflux. I cook and bake with eggs, rinse them out, dry on a towel, and put in a baggie in fridge and use about half an egg shell per pot. And if I do not use them up quickly enough and do not trust using them after weeks, or have too many, I grind them up and add them to the ground around flower gardens and bushes. They give them nutrients and decrease bugs.

Get a 2- ounce bottle of whatever variety you want. (I use the squeeze bottle type.) INGREDIENTS 1 T Vitamin E oil 2T Aloe Vera gel 18 drops lavender essential oil 8 drops frankincense essential oil 5 drops lemon essential oil 5 drops peppermint essential oil 1/3 bottle left water 2/3 witch hazel TIPS: Shake it up and put on a cotton ball or round. Use it multiple times per day, it will refreshen your skin and not dry it out. It helps disinfect wounds and heal them quickly. USES: Facial toner Wound care Rashes Skin irritations Burns To help sleep Morning perk me up

 Grab a 2-ounce spray bottle. INGREDIENTS 2 T vegetable glycerin 2 T Aloe Vera 1 t Jojoba oil 1 t olive oil 1/2 t vitamin e oil 10 drops lavender essential oil 5 drops peppermint essential oil 5 drops lemon essential oil 5 drops rosemary essential oil Fill the rest of the bottle with water. Use while hair is wet and use a comb to comb it through your hair. I have somewhat shorter hair (just under my chin) and use about 12 sprays of this each time I use it. And I use it every time I wash my hair. It will take you some trial and error to figure it out.

 Grab a 2-ounce bottle of whatever kind you like. The kind you get for travel works great. It can be plastic because you use it up so quickly that glass is unnecessary. INGREDIENTS 1 T Vitamin E Oil 1 T Jojoba Oil 1 T Olive Oil 2 T Vegetable Glycerin 1 T Aloe Vera 2 T Water 15 drops lavender essential oil 10 drops rosemary essential oil 8 drops lemon essential oil 5 drops peppermint essential oil 5 drops tea tree oil essential oil 5 drops frankincense Fill the rest of the bottle with liquid castile soap. Shake it and use. It's great for hair and body. It also works great for shaving. TIPS WARNING: At first, the expense of buying the supplies seems high. It is. However, you'll use them for multiple other products and these last a long time. In the end, you will save money. It's just that upfront cost that hurts. Moreover, they are not chemicals. So the health benefits are huge. The aroma, adjust as you see fit. This is the combination that I use to help me with hair loss and...

This blog journal entry might be too much for some. However, if you are female and menopausal, this might be exactly what you're looking for to help you with your hair. Let me give you my story and way of life and share some hope for other menopausal women with hair problems. First, I am lazy and do not style my hair. Ever. I have more important things to do with my time. I like to keep things simple and no fuss. (And frankly don't really care. If you want to judge me about my hair, feel free to look at someone else.) I look presentable and that's well enough. Now about my hair problems. The fact I am writing this and talking about it should tell you something. I am the I-don't-care type about my hair. So the fact that I have these issues and want to share my story with others should tell you something. I don't want anyone else to have to go through these issues and not have solutions. I was having a problem with hair fall (losing my hair; thinning hair) due to meno...

  I read Matthew 27 for my Daily Bible Reading for November 27.

 I read Matthew 26 for my Daily Bible Reading for November 27.

I read Psalm 125 for my Daily Bible Reading for November 27.

I am in the process of using up store-bought, not good for you products. This includes some room sprays to make the house smell good. And I opened up my last package of one of these and found a scent I had never smelled before. It's the best scent I have ever smelled in my life. It's called Driftwood Sea Spray. It's so good that I had to recreate it immediately while I still had the scent to make sure I match it. I admit I have not done much with fragrance. I was a little intimidated by it. But then I realized that aromas are like foods. One you taste, one you smell. I can do the recipe and food thing, so surely I can figure out how to do the smell thing. I quickly did some research and figured out how to attempt to recreate the scent that I love. It's funny, one of the essential oil blog gals mentioned how if a smell is good enough for a room, you can use it for a perfume or body spray, and vice versa. Well, I like this scent so much that I determined I would use it on...

Back in 2015 to 2019, I got on the essential oil kick and made my own cleaning products and skin care products. Then, I got lazy and stopped. Well, when we moved back to Virginia, I started to create and use products made of essential oils and the things that which existed back in the days of the Bible. So, they are much healthier for us. Consequently, I am needing to use up all the grocery store bought products and change to the homemade, DIY, variety. I will share all my recipes and hints and tips on this blog.

This is a forever changing list. Therefore, you might want to check this often to see if you've missed anything or see if anything else captures your fancy. BREAD: Keto Cheesy Bread ( https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/keto-cheesy-bread-recipe.html ) PERFUME: Room Spray (Refreshener) and Perfume in Driftwood Sea Spray ( https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/room-spray-refreshener-and-perfume-in.html ) ROOM SPRAY (REFRESHENER): Room Spray (Refreshener) and Perfume in Driftwood Sea Spray ( https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/room-spray-refreshener-and-perfume-in.html )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray bread pan or use parchment paper as a liner. INGREDIENTS 2 cups almond flour 1/2 cup coconut flour 1 t baking powder 8 T olive oil 1/8 t garlic powder 2 turns of a salt grinder 5 eggs 2 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I used cheddar and colby jack) 1/4 cup parm-romano cheese 1/4 cup milk/cream 1 T water HOW Throw it all in a bowl. Stir. Put it in treated bread pan. Cook 45 minutes or until brown. (Hint: If the top is tan in color from browning and not burning, it's finished. You don't even need to check it. Pull it out and cool.) I should say wait to cut and serve bread until it's cool. But, I cheat. I cut mine earlier and eat it while warm. Just know it might fall apart on you. TIP I definitely recommend serving it warm. If you want to use the bread for sandwiches, I recommend adding 1/3 cup flour and no additional liquid.

Well, my plans for this day went through the window about an hour and a half ago. It's mostly my fault, though, I admit. Ugh! I had to step away from this journal entry for a moment as my timer went off, which told me I needed to move laundry to the dryer. When I did that, I stepped on my cat by mistake (poor kitty). Then, I hit my head really hard on a shelf in the laundry room as I pulled out laundry from the dryer. Square in the middle of my forehead and at the front. Ouch. (Serves me right for stepping on kitty.) I then decided I wanted to try the bread I just baked. I made my own recipe up this morning after I realized Thanksgiving was tomorrow and I am not having to bake a great big old meal, as we are going to a friend's instead. I decided I wanted to spoil my husband, surprise him, and make a nice meal for him today.  I marinated the ribeye, which he will grill when he comes home. (He will have no issue with that. He enjoys it. And I will have the meat marinating all da...

Our food, beauty and household products, and medications have chemicals in them, which are bad for us and are hurting us. Hence, I have an aversion of chemicals. I definitely prefer natural of pretty much everything and make my own products that I can trust. I will share on this blog journal how to minimize the effects of chemicals in our lives by what we eat, what we use on our skin and hair, the cleaning products we use, and so forth. Please stay tuned.

This is my personal blog journal and I will share about living a life of trusting in Yeshua Messiah (Jesus the Savior and Redeemer) in the world today. This blog journal will cover a little of this, some of that, and a great deal of miscellany. (You've been warned.) What does it look like living a narrow gate faith? How do you live the best life possible? How do you live your every day life and live it according to the Bible? How do you live a life that is very contrary to the values of the world today? How do you remain bold in your faith in a world that hates you? How do you live according to the Word? How do you life a life for God and not get caught up in the things of this world? This blog will look at that, and just life today.  Never mind how reading through the Bible can be hard, and trying to live what the Word says can be hard as well. This blog will address that. Moreover, a really fun part of this blog will be sharing what new tidbits of information I see as I read thro...

Good day, friend. Welcome to my personal journal, which some of its entries will be published on this blog. I do not know about you but I find this world keeps getting crazier, darker, and more evil and vile all the time. All the while, nonetheless and thankfully, the light (of God/Adonai and His Word) still shines brightly and actually brighter because it is in the darkness. I am finding my trust (faith; belief) in Yeshua Messiah (Jesus the Savior) and in the Word of God (The Bible; The Word; The Word of Adonai) even more paramount than ever before. Remaining in Him and in the Word in every moment is key to right and best living. I cannot imagine living in these times if not for God (Adonai) and the Bible. He is our only real hope. Let us face it, though. Being in the Word, understanding it, and applying it can be a struggle. It is a book with content that is old and uses terms, phrases, and language we do not understand easily today. (But there are ways to help with this.) Although, ...

This is a blog journal in the planning stages. Please stay tuned. Journal entries are forthcoming.

 Welcome to the new blog journal of Stacy Duplease.