On My Mind
1The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me,
“Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
~ Eziekial 37:1-14
This one of my favorite passages from the Bible. And, as I typed the last sentence, I realized I've typed it a few times before. I guess I have quite a few favorites. Anyway, I really do love this story. Sometimes it's tempting to look at situation as totally hopeless. It can feel like the end has truly come, the outlook is hopeless, there is so much evil bound up in evil bound up the circumstances that there is no just no hope. But the ultimate end of all evil is death and judging by the description of these bones in this valley, I would guess they were well and truly dead. Evil had seemingly won.
But God. . . That's a phrase I find myself typing often as well. When God shows up and takes the power from death, life has no choice but to return. And when He tells evil to leave, it cannot stay.
And He does that through His people.
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. ~ Romans 8:11
If we have that same power living in us (and the Bible says as His children we do) than we have the power to take authority over the evil, the death, that tries to render us helpless. We can bind evil in Jesus Name and speak life over the dry bones.
It's time to stand!
Kids
The kids love to watch Michael take care of the chickens and ducks. Today there were watching him clean and refill the duck's pool.
It was a quiet day today, but we still had fun. I think we wore the baby out, Michael took this picture of me holding her while she slept.
In the Kitchen
This isn't exactly in the kitchen, but it is good food. Michael grilled us some pork chops for dinner yesterday and they were really good.
Chris made chicken, rice and salad for dinner, and we still had some homemade bread left to eat with eat. it was a delicious dinner.
Enjoying God's Creation
The sky was so blue yesterday when I went for walk yesterday, with just a few fluffy white clouds floating about. It was so pretty. And I had to stop and take a picture of this stump. At first glance I thought there was a little bird sitting on it but no, it's just the way the wood is shaped.
There were bright blue skies for this evening's walk too.
Our Veterans - Thoughts, News and Notes
“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
We all know our freedom comes at a high price, but we don't always know how to act on that knowledge. Sometimes it's the simple things like having a conversation. yet understandably many people have difficulty knowing how to have a conversation with a veteran who has a vastly different life experience. How to Talk to a Veteran from War on the Rocks has some good ideas. Even with these ideas, be aware of the veteran's willingness or unwillingness to talk about life in the military. There are times when it is okay to talk about it and times when it is not, depending on where they are in their own mind that day. So, take your cue from them. Don't be afraid to try and if it seems difficult to talk about, if answers are short, or if they seem distracted or try to change the subject move on to other topics. Your effort will be appreciated more than you know.
Notary Solutions Plus - News and Notes
“Notaries public have the ability to make a positive impact in people’s lives by providing them with the tools to protect their rights and interests.” ~ Unknown
To learn more about the business services I offer including notary services, document authentication, and more please see this post - Notary Solutions Plus - How We can Help You.
Miscellaneous
A dear lady at church gave Michael this stuffed dog Sunday evening and he loves it. These stuffed animals are part of a fundraiser for St. Jude's Hospital and she bought some for the children and youth in the church. Thank you, Lisa!
Goals
Sunday
Get up at 5:30 - I got up at 5:36
Write/Online Work 1 1/2 hours - I didn't do any of this
Exercise: Walk at least one hour - I did this
Monday
Get up at 5:30 - I got up at 5:50. I accidentally turned my alarm off and overslept.
Write/Online Work 3 1/2 hours - I met this one.
Exercise: Arms routine and walk 30 minutes - I did today's arms routine and walked a little over 30 minutes
To learn more about why I write, and why I share my life here, please read this post - Uniquely You, For a Purpose.
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