Coffee, Journaling, Prayer

Do you ever feel like you are messing up in so many ways, on so many fronts? And you know better. Yet, you keep making mistakes, even though you want so desperately to get things right. And you make the wrong choices, though you really are trying... And you feel like you fail God with every instance, with every fault, with every wrongdoing? Prayer: Father, forgive me. I want to do better. I want to be better. Help me. Teach me. Show me another way. Help me remember to stay focused on You and remain in Your Word.

Every moment has both sunshine and grey clouds (even in the tiny splatterings in the distance or the huge storm cloud overhead) There is some good and some yuck in every moment. But when our eyes drift to the grey clouds, we need to remember if we look beyond them, we see God (Adonai), and that is where we need to keep our focus. And count our blessings and give thanks through all of it, for this is by far the best way to deal with the storm.

So Russia, Iran, and Turkey are meeting... Let us pray. Is Jesus (Yeshua Messiah) coming sooner rather than later? Hmm. These are sure interesting times.

Yesterday was my first day of actual canning (pressure canning). I was taught by an elder. And a friend who is in age between us also learned with me. Three ladies getting together to can. As generations have prior. A communal thing. It was an all-day affair. But, wow, it was worth it. We did stew meat, ground beef, potatoes, and apples. I learned how easy canning is but it takes a lot of time. But in stages. You do some work, have wait time time, do more work, repeat. I learned canning is fun.  And the peace of mind I have that I have good food preserved is far greater than I thought I would have... because of emergency possibilities... and all the other reasons listed in Part 1 and the other reasons in this blog journal entry. The three of us wonder why more people do not can. It takes time. Sure. But the benefits far outweigh the things that stop us from canning. I will eat cheaper meals for a bit and sacrifice a little sleep because of the benefits of canning. And I made plans ...

A couple months ago, I decided I wanted to do some canning. Pressure canning, I was told. That, I will be honest, was something that had not come to mind until one moment and at that time. God put it on my heart.  I will be honest. When He did, I was not sure why. I just know He told me to do so. Hence, I knew I needed to do so. I wanted to be obedient. I have learned through the years to do it, even if I don't understand... and even if I disagree. But I pray and ask Him to help me do so.  I still proceed, though, even if I never understand or agree. Because I trust. This is most important.  I am finite and sinful. I am not God.  That being said, I usually am blessed through my obedience.  The last year and seven months has been one big trust, though I don't fully understand time in my life. Canning is just another way or thing in that I didn't understand (though I do understand now). So I began to buy all the expensive upfront items needed to can. I did so out ...

I will not lie. I have been struggling with this. I hear what some dentists say about toothpaste and mouthwash. I also hear what some say about the homemade recipes. I have been using up store bought toothpaste. I have not tried this yet for long-term use, but have friends and family who have mentioned this. But last night, I put together this recipe and began using it: First, grab a container of some kind that has a lid and where you can pour combination into your hand and rub your toothbrush over to collect on the bristles. This is a 2-ingredient recipe. INGREDIENTS 1/3 of that container sea salt 2/3 of the container baking soda TIPS Pour some into your hand. Run your toothbrush over some hot water. Rub your toothbrush over to collect on the bristles. Brush your teeth. If the mixture is too dry, run your toothbrush fast under some water and try then to brush your teeth. This should make your oral health even better and save you from the damages of fluoride. 

I have heard people say that they follow the entirety of the Bible (as in 100% of the Word of God). I've even said it. But is this reality? Are we really following all of the Bible or are we just saying that we are? This past year and a half, as I have been reading through the Bible, I have learned how I have not in fact been following or living the entirety of the Bible. In fact, I have come to realize how much I have not been doing so and this has been a quite painful lesson and journey. The thing is, I thought I was. But, if we are not doing everything that Jesus did, we are not living the entirety of the Bible. Period. And can I share a secret? Most of us in the Body have not been living the entirety of the Bible. Nor have we been doing what Jesus did. I will share what I mean by this in future blog journal entries (posts).  Stay tuned. In the meanwhile, see if you can find out when Jesus (Yeshua) practiced the Sabbath (Shabbat). Then ask yourself, when do you practice Shabbat?...

Through my reading of the Bible this year, I have learned something. There are many traditions and doctrines that I have followed for decades... that are not in the Bible. I pause and search for words, some hard truths, some honest conversation. That will come. This past year, I have come to realize how I would much rather do exactly what God says, and tells us in the Bible (in His Word) than follow traditions or doctrine... of the things that I thought were in the Bible but are not. Let me rephrase it, I would rather live how Jesus did and do what He and taught. I want to do what the Bible says, which is what God says, and not do what people say or what the world says. My eternity is dependent upon living the Bible, and doing what Jesus did, not what man says. If I am going to do something, I want to do it with eternity in mind, not because it feels good in this worldly reality. I don't want to do what the masses do. I want to do what Jesus did, pure and simple. I want to live as ...

Let us not forget that it is okay to disagree. We can even agree to disagree. That's okay, too. We can still get along, and do so well, even though we do not see eye to eye. We answer to God alone, not to one another. He alone is judge. He alone has heaven or hell to offer. So if I say something and you disagree, it is just fine. But maybe we can learn from the disagreement and use it to check and see what God and the Bible really say about the issue. This is the real litmus test of everything. Sound good? (Can we agree on that?)

This blog journal is also my way of beginning to think about writing a spiritual memoir. Of reflecting back on my life, of seeing what God has done, and how we have traveled this road together. I will be sharing my stories of life with God and living the Bible and would love to hear yours. Again, please ad a comment at the end of any blog journal entry (post). I would love to hear your stories, too.

Question for you: Does the Bible say anything about decorating a Christmas tree? Feel free to add comments at the end of this blog journal entry (post). I would love to hear what you find.

I will also ask the question of if certain things are in the Bible. I will give you a week or so to do your own research and see for yourself. Then, I will do a follow up blog journal entry and answer the question.  Stay tuned. ~ Is This in the Bible: Decorating a Christmas Tree https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/is-this-in-bible-decorating-christmas.html

As I have read through the Bible in 2024, I have come to realize that there are many things that are not in the Bible (The Word of God) that we have thought are in the Bible... but they aren't. I am going to share blog journal entries (posts) about these topics. Stay tuned.

I cannot tell you how many times I have said that this past year as I have read through the Bible. Therefore, in the future, I will do multiple blog journal entries on the subject of: "That's in the Bible?" I want to share all the things that I didn't realize, all the things I overlooked, and all the things I didn't understand in the past of: "That's in the Bible?"

IT IS NOT EASY In so many ways, it is not easy reading through the Bible. Never mind doing so each and every day. But, talk about worthwhile. DON'T BE HARD ON YOURSELF IF YOU DON'T KEEP UP WITH THE READING This was a hard lesson for me to learn. Life happens, no matter how hard you try to avoid this from happening. You will have times that you fall behind in your reading. This is a fact. Just catch up the moment you can that week and make sure you read the Bible all the way through in a year. That's your ultimate goal and is so every year hereafter. Cut yourself grace. Get caught up. That's what Shabbat (Sabbath) is for and give you time to do so. Since I refused to back down from the ultimate goal of reading the Bible through, every page, every chapter, every book, every year, this helped keep me focused and motivated. This helped me have the drive to catch up, even at one point when I was almost ten days behind in the reading. BLINDED: HARD TRUTHS I will not sugarcoat...

In time I hope to get enough blog posts that I can turn these journal entries into books. We will see how God leads. Just know this is my intent. Time will tell as to which books are written. Stay tuned.

I pause. I take a moment to look around. I see two robins drinking out of our bird bath, a sight I have only seen one other time. I also see tufted titmouses eating peanuts I just put out for them in a handful on the drink railing of our deck. The electric fireplace is keeping me warmer. I seem to be quite chilly for some reason today. I see all the leaves on the ground and realize all the leaves that still need to fall from the trees. A robin is now bathing in the birdbath, flapping its wings. Its pale red-orange is now deep red-orange. There is a slight breeze. All of these are glory-sightings. I would have missed them if I hadn't stopped to breathe. Thank You, Lord. Your creation is beautiful and perfect. Thank You for the sights and for the joy the sights bring me. Glory! I praise You. Hallelujah!

AN INTRODUCTION My journey of reading through the Bible (the very Word of God) began in all truth on December 15, 2023. However, I had a slightly different mindset then and on January 01, 2024, a new era of reading through the Bible began for me (and my husband with our congregation). Let me offer a little context. I have read through the Bible before. A few times. I also have studied it for years, and even taught and written a few unpublished Bible studies, devotionals, and Christian living books. I even went to the seminary. Never mind all the radio ministries I have listened to and all the Christian living books, commentaries, study Bibles, and so on that I've read. I do not say that to brag. I am just giving a point of references and am sharing some of my background. However, on January 01, 2024, I learned something extremely fascinating. When you read slowly, prayerfully, and communally (knowing others are committed to reading it at the same time, and have done so for years), ...

I have tried to create blog posts that are menus, indexes, or collections of certain topics to help you find what you are looking for on this blog journal.  Here is a link that will point you to some of the Main Pages of this blog journal and could help you find what you are looking for: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/search/label/Main%20Page I will not list them all here because in time, there will be too many. The previous link, along with the following links are meant to help be a springboard to assist you on your journey through this blog journal. Here are a few of those main pages: ~ Books of the Bible: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-main-pages-of-all-books-of-bible.html

~  Matthew: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-book-of-matthew-main-page.html

This is the main page of the Book of Matthew. Here are all the links associated with this book: ~ Matthew 7: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/quoting-verses-on-this-blog-journal.html https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/this-blog-jounal-hard-and-not-for-faint.html https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-unexpected-death-and-how-god-works.html ~ Matthew 24 https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/matthew-24-main-page.html https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/matthew-246-we-are-seeing-truth-of-this.html https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/being-prepared.html ~ Matthew 26: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/matthew-26.html https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/daily-bible-reading-dbr-for-november-27.html ~ Matthew 27: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/matthew-27.html ~ Matthew 28: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/matthew-28.html ~ Matthew...

~  https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/matthew-246-we-are-seeing-truth-of-this.html ~  https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/being-prepared.html

We are seeing the truth of Matthew 24:6 right now. There are wars and rumors of wars in: ~ Israel ~ Lebanon ~ Russia ~ South Korea ~ Syria ~ Ukraine Have I missed any? Please add a comment at the end of this blog journal entry (post) if I have.

~ Living a life of faith (which includes living 100% of the Bible) ~ Each chapter of the Bible These are in no particular order: ~ Essential Oils (Chemical free living: Body (Beauty) products; household products; cleaning supplies; natural products; hair products; skin products) ~ Recipes ~ Prayers ~ Prayer requests ~ Canning (Pressure Canning) ~ News Updated: December 06, 2024, Fri., 830 a.m.

You might want to check the news right now and see what is going on in South Korea. This is something we need to pray about immediately.

~ This blog journal is always growing and being added to. Therefore, if you have enjoyed reading something in the past, you might want to read it again in the future because I will be adding to much of the material here through time. Therefore, keep re-reading anything in which you are interested. ~ Remain prayerful to see where God leads you on this blog journal. ~ Use the tabs/pages in grey at the top left of this blog as a place to start.

This blog journal entry is about how to find or search for something on this blog: Are you curious about something?  Do you have something on your heart?  Longing to learn about something?  Read something before and are trying to find it?  Do you not have any idea where to begin? There are multiple ways to find something on this blog. You might start with these options: ~ Begin with the tab or page toward the top in the grey that says, "1st." ~ Use the magnifying glass at the top right corner of this blog that says, "Search this blog." ~ Look underneath that at archives. ~ Look underneath that at labels. ~ Open up something random. ~ Add a comment at the end of any blog journal entry and ask me for help finding something.

If you are new to this blog, or have read this blog journal before and want to see if anything has changed, you might want to begin here, and in this order: ~ Introduction and Purpose of This Blog: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-real-introduction-to-this-personal.html ~ More on the Purpose of This Blog: https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/more-on-purpose-of-this-blog-journal.html ~ Let's Form a Community https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/lets-form-community-add-comment-at-end.html ~ Main Pages https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/main-pages.html ~ Books of the Bible Main Pages https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-main-pages-of-all-books-of-bible.html ~ This Blog Journal is Hard and Not for the Faint of Heart https://shininglightontheword.blogspot.com/2024/11/this-blog-jounal-hard-and-not-for-faint.html ~ Quoting Verses on This Blog Journal (The Lazy and Easy Path) https://shininglightonthew...

Please read the link listed below before you read this blog journal entry. It's about the purpose of this blog. You can read ahead here instead, but you'll get even more out of this if you read the link. The purpose of this blog journal is for me to share my journey of trying to live 100% of the Bible in 2024 (and soon to be 2025). And I hope that we can unite as you are trying the same. How many times does the Word say that the Body of Jesus needs to be united? That we are to stand together in faith (in trusting Him), in living the Bible (the Word of God), and not accepting sin (and standing against it)? The journey of trusting in Jesus (Yeshua) and doing what the Bible says is a hard but very special journey. This blog journal is about all this, of traveling this journey together as we try to read, learn, remember, and apply all that the Word says and grow deeper in trust in Him. Let's form a community here of believers and of the Body as we try to live a healthy biblical...

You might want to begin with reading the link below about some of the purpose of this blog. Then, the more in-depth purpose is this: This blog is my personal journal. It's a blog journal in which I write about the things that are near and dear to my heart. In some ways, you could say it's a miscellany and catch-all blog of journal entries (of personal thoughts). In other ways you could say that it is very purposeful in that I am sharing my life and what it looks like trying to remain in God and in His Word in these last days. I am sharing my journey of trying to live a life according to what the Bible says. And you could say this is a blog about trying to live like Jesus did but in 2024 (and soon to be 2025). If you are reading this journal, I hope it is because you trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior (Yeshua Messiah) as well and are trying to do the same. And I pray that He knows you and me, as well, since this is what ultimately matters. I hope through me sharing my journey, yo...

Pray about the ceasefire in Lebanon. God, guide and protect Israel. 

I read through and pray Deuteronomy 6:4-7 before I even get out of bed. Then I pray: Eternal God, Holy One, Most High, You alone are God. There is none like You. This day is Yours, not mine. Help me avoid anything not of You. Help me remain in You, in Your Word, in prayer, and in thanksgiving all day. Help me glorify You in all I do. For You alone deserve glory, honor, and praise. Thank You for this day, one in which I can serve You and love You.

Let's pay attention to what is going on Syria and pray His will be done. Biblical prophecies might be unfolding and may be fulfilling right before our eyes. Update: As of December 03, 2024, Tuesday, it looks like rebel groups in Syria are getting readying to attack Damascus. (You might want to take a look at Isaiah 17.)

 Adonai, I want this work week be devoted to You and to Your Word alone, nothing more. After all, this week is Yours, not mine. Help me live this way. Help me remember this. Thank You for this new work week, where I can try to live closer to You this week, tell more of Your wonderous deeds (what You have done), point others to You, and share the Good News. Will You please give me divine appointments, and help me not miss them? Thank You for the weekend, for Shabbat, and yesterday, a day to prepare for the work week. I do not want to lose sight of You. I want to live for You alone. Help me avoid temptation, sin, and evil. Help me to remember to pray without ceasing and to give You thanks for everything and in every moment. You alone are God. I will praise You and try to honor You in all I do and all that I avoid doing. Help me be quiet and to listen more. Don't let me get allured or entrapped by the things of this world. Let there be far more of You, less of me. Let others see You, ...

Right now, I have an immediate unspoken prayer request. His will be done. Update:  It was answered. Praising and giving Him glory. God (Adonai) is so good. Thank the Lord!

Happy December. Prayer: You alone are God. There is none like You. Help us focus on the truth of the Word, not on what we want it to say. Help us focus on You, not on a season, doctrine, traditions, or personal preferences. For if we focus on those other things, we are not fully reading or living Your Word. And that means we can be off track. Help us remain in Your Word and in You. December (and January through November) is only to be about You... and not on the foolishness of this world. This month is about You alone. Let us not be so focused on a holiday. Or on decorating. Not Gifts. Not traditions or customs. Not about stress of these things. Help us put You first and remember to keep You our priority in all we do. We want proper focus, right alignment, with You and Your Word, not on anything else. We only want to do Your will, not ours. And we want to love You and honor You. We want to glorify You in all we do and think. Help us keep You first. To You alone be the glory. Thank You ...

I did not post any journaling yesterday because it was Shabbat (Sabbath). This will be the case every Saturday.