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Gathered Up:  Christian farmgirls?  |
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buffypuff
True Blue Farmgirl
1183 Posts
Claudia
Deer Park
WA
USA
1183 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 06 2011 : 11:05:56 AM
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Welcome Wendy. Share whatever you will. sometimes we are really chatty, and other times we are quiet just getting ready for some more shairng. Where in Oregon do you live..if I might ask? I live just north of Spokane in eastern Washington and fall has hit. Trying to get everything ready for winter. Hope to hear from you soon.
Buffypuff/ Claudia ~ Farmgirl Sister #870 @}~~
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." DL Moody
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musicmommy
True Blue Farmgirl
430 Posts
Wendy
Oregon
USA
430 Posts |
Posted - Oct 08 2011 : 10:06:36 PM
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Thanks for welcoming me here. We live about 45 minutes southwest of Portland in the Willamette Valley wine country. No matter where I go, I'm always ready to come home! :)
One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.
Bob Marley
www.becomingwendy.wordpress.com |
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smiley
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
lea
pea ridge
arkansas
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Oct 09 2011 : 05:09:50 AM
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| Good morning ladies. Daughter turned 16 last sun,got license mon and we got insurance rate tue. Yikes!!! Today she wants to drive to Sunday School alone (20 miles) Claudia are you listening to this????PRAY!!!!!!!!!!:) |
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buffypuff
True Blue Farmgirl
1183 Posts
Claudia
Deer Park
WA
USA
1183 Posts |
Posted - Oct 09 2011 : 2:54:36 PM
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Yikes Lea! I remember going through similar things with my 2 kids...and believe it or not, I remember at 16 having the car for the first time going to the dentist for a check...no novacaine etc. It was icey and I slide with the folks 1950 buick into the bumper of the car in front. It was just a tap and in those years, if it wasn't dented it was OK. That was 50 yrs ago. I feel those same feelings with my 93 yo Mom driving to church and the near-by drug store. Mom says she prays every time she gets into the car so that the Lord will protect her driving. Lea, these milestones drive us to our knees and make us strong. I'll be praying for her too. Wendy, I have friends in Hillsboro and eugene. One of my favorite places in the world is around 3 Sisters. Oustandingly beautiful.
Buffypuff/ Claudia ~ Farmgirl Sister #870 @}~~
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." DL Moody
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Acelady02
True Blue Farmgirl
1266 Posts
Penny
Washington
GA
USA
1266 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2011 : 10:22:33 AM
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Me too....
(((((Hugs All)))))Penny
Farmgirl Sister #3343
God gives Miracles to those who Believe, Courage to those with Faith, Hope to those who Dream, Love to those who Accept, & Forgiveness to those who Ask... |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 05:46:18 AM
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Hi,
I'm moving my ?s for Christians over here.
Trish
Make cupcakes not war!
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 05:59:55 AM
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I know someone that is a Christian faith healer. She worked on a person that was addicted to methamphetamines, but had no idea, until I told her.
Does this seem weird to you. Wouldn't you be able to sense of feel something was off with the person?
Trish
Make cupcakes not war!
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 06:01:54 AM
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A lot of Christians I know don't take Unitarianism seriously. If you have an idea why...
Trish
Make cupcakes not war!
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 06:08:31 AM
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I don't own a Bible............................short pause for shrieks, but I would like to read one, but jeez, there's a lot to know before you pick one out.
Is the Old Testament the same all over, for everyone? Does the Torah contain other writings besides the first five books? It wont say Torah, it will say OLD Testament, right?
Maybe I should start with a children's Bible :)
Trish
Make cupcakes not war!
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 08:54:38 AM
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LOL! No shrieking here, Trish! We all have to start somewhere! Welcome! Welcome to you and all the other farmgirl sisters who have joined our little group!!! How exciting!!!
Trish, I started with the Ryrie Study Bible (Protestant) and I loved it. Mine is full of notes, high-lighting, cross-references and explanations. The pages are literally falling out because I've pored over it so much! LOL! It provided a great foundation for my Christian faith. As time went on, I started really exploring the foundations of Christianity, the Christian church and my faith. I eventually came home to the Catholic Church, so the Catholic Bible is the one I am studying now (The Jerusalem Bible, the Ignatius Bible). The Catholic Bible is the same as the Protestant Bible (the passages they share are the same), EXCEPT that it contains a few extra books that the Catholic Church feels are important and imperative (that's the utmost simplistic way to put it).
The main thing is to start with a translation that you can read and understand. Over the years, I've acquired NUMEROUS different translations, because I like to cross-reference the wording to help ensure I was getting the gist of what was being said. I find the Bible and how God reveals Himself and speaks to us through His Word and throughout history absolutely exciting and fascinating. He truly loves us and has never left nor forsaken us, just as He has always said. I have read the Bible cover-to-cover, but over the years continue to read and study it, cross-referencing the passages to gain deeper understanding of the text and the messages conveyed. The more I read, the more I study, the more I learn and the more excited I become! A really good Concordance will also help open the Scriptures up to you as well. But if you start with a good Study Bible, you'll be on a great road. I'm SO excited for you! :)
The other really important thing is to study with other Christians. I highly recommend you speak with a priest or pastor in your community OR find a trustworthy, loving Christian friend and start attending church and Bible Study to help you with this. To make it a little less intimidating, though, you might enjoy a Farmgirl Bible Study! There are a couple of Bible Study strains here on MJF that are wonderful. We all come from different branches of the same tree (we are all from different church backgrounds), and the discussions are phenomenal. You can ask ANYTHING and you will gain a lot of insight from a whole bunch of women who really, really love God and the Scriptures. It's amazing. The most recent one is Bible Study #2 - Called by God: www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz//topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=47983 I haven't been able to be online for MJF very much these past few months, sadly and most regrettably, but I can definitely tell you, you will love love love it!!! Our Christian Farmgirl sisters are amazing!
And please, pray. Just ask God to reveal Himself to you and to guide you. I did. I didn't even know whether I believed He was listening when I called out to Him - I kind of felt stupid, like I was talking to the ceiling or something. But He immediately - and I do mean immediately - rushed in to meet me right where I was and loved me just as I am. My life has never been the same, and I am blessed. He'll do the same for you, I promise!!! I just love Him!!!
And, if you want, I'd be happy to send you a Bible from my personal collection. You tell me what you're looking for (Protestant or Catholic - or both), email me your address, and I'll send you one to get you started. :) I'd be happy to do this for any of our Farmgirl Sisters! Just ask! :)
Hugs, love and blessings to all of you - I miss you!!! I hope I can be back online more often very soon! You all are so wonderful!
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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Edited by - Ninibini on Oct 17 2011 08:56:31 AM |
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Cherime
True Blue Farmgirl
1222 Posts
Cherime
Wasilla
Alaska
USA
1222 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 09:27:15 AM
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Go to a good Christian bookstore and read through the different translations and see which one is easiest to understand. I would stay away from a English/Hebrew edition of the Torah for a bit. I have one but I also have a lady who is teaching classes on the Torah every week so that I can ask questions. You definitely need to study with other Christians. Satan does try so to steal our understanding. Asking God for help in understanding His words and giving you revelation is an excellent way to begin. I once encountered a Muslim man who said that the married a Christian and in trying to convert her, he picked up the Bible and the Koran and asked God to reveal the truth to him. He said that was the turning point and the more he read of the Bible the more he realized that he wished to be a Christian and instead of converting her converted himself. He had no one else pushing on him, his studies alone brought him to that conversion.
I am sending my granddaughter a copy of the New Living Translation as I think it would be easier for her to understand. I also have a parallel Bible with 4 translations in one, a Thompson Chain, and several others, not to mention Esword on the internet. Like Nini I enjoy having resources that I can go to for looking things up. I do not study near as much as I like to.
On faith healing. What kind of faith healer? Usually in church they ask me what I want prayer for so that we can pray in agreement. There is faith healing and then there is healing through the word of God. Sometimes they are not the same.
CMF |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 10:48:16 AM
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Faith healing as in laying your hands on someone to heal their physical problems.
Online Bible, didn't even think of that.
Trish
Make cupcakes not war!
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 2:34:19 PM
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*waves to Nini on her way*
Since we get to bare our souls here, I guess I can talk about my faith background for anyone's benefit.
My parents were a bad match but tried to attend church and have a Christian marriage. My mom has trust issues (for good reasons) and my dad had control issues. (Couldn't self control, and was a partner control freak going as far as extreme violence.) We went to church when I was a kid (honestly, no good ones I can look back and say.) When I was a teenager (my parents were divorced by this time)we were attending a baptist church and we were excommunicated because my mom fell pregnant by a mormon man who turned out to have a wife and family stashed in another state. Suffice it to say we pretty much stopped going at that point. She was mad because she had donated a lot to the building fund.
By this point I had a lot of religious education from being in church, but no real commitment of faith outside of vacation bible school. I was friendly and open minded of everyone's beliefs, but I didn't think much of most of them. I had seen a lot of insincerity over the years among all kinds of beliefs. Even "vegans" who ate chicken.
I got involved with a pagan man. My sense of faith was really sharpened while we dated. I was sort of agnostic (or lazy Christian) but still followed Christian values like chastity, honesty, modesty and such. We butted heads a bit over his goddess verses God. (Nothing serious, you've seen my religious debate face already in the other thread. I'm firm but nice about it.)
After we got married, we got hit with a lot of financial troubles. He got laid off from two jobs in a row. I got fired from my job because his drunk father got pissed off at him and hid our car keys one too many times. It was one thing after another and we never seemed to get our heads above water. no matter how hard we tried. The water just got deeper and deeper. In Southern California you can't afford any kind of a place on a generic wage unless you have 3 jobs so we didn't keep an apartment long. We ended up sleeping in a 10x10 aluminum storage shed in his dad's back yard on a couch and twin bed pushed together, and an electric space heater in the winter run on an extension cord with a light to see after dark.
Pretty bad eh?
Then my birth control failed.
My uncle emailed me that he wanted to come and visit before he went out to sea for the year, I had to lie and tell him I was too busy to see him.
I spent a lot of time (understandably) depressed. I just got to a point (5 months pregnant, practically homeless, on waiting list for state assistance) that I just had to say. "Ok God, I'm trying to run my own life here and I'm not doing too well. Let's give YOU a chance and see what you can do with it."
Normally, it isn't good news when your husband gets a phone call to tell him that the final assessment is his Grandmother will never leave the nursing home again, and then another one that his uncle is in hospice after drinking his liver down to jelly-- except that this meant someone had to house-sit their home and disperse the estate.
We moved into the house in the 50+ park while we worked on cleaning it up. We had to leave the shades drawn so no one knew there were 20 somethings living there but I finally had a real house to be in, a bed to sleep in and something to do with my time.
When the house was finished, and everything had either been sold, dispersed to family, or donated, we were told the uncle had left us everything he had, a modestly decent amount of cash.
With that, we bought a truck, put our things in the back of it, and moved to another state where we had other family and livable wages.
We've pretty much been ok after that. We've had some hardship and making ends meet is still a balancing act like it is for everybody but it's never been more than we could handle since I made that comitment.
The more I searched for God in prayer, meditation and reading his Word, the better I have come to know him and his people. My husband was incredibly attracted to the calm and wisdom I began to exhibit. And he couldn't deny how quickly and drastically our lives had changed when I placed our destiny in God's more capable hands. He remembers the real game changer was when he was bragging about how much cooler his goddess was in lore than my boring God when I said something like: For the sake of argument, imagine that both deities were real. What have any gods apart from mine ever done for humanity that makes them worthy of worship?
He came up with nothing. Not a single god, goddess or demigod had ever gone so far as to give a damn about all humankind.
That was really the turning point in his way of thinking. He made a commitment to Christ not long after that.
The Christian world view I've developed is very Biblically based. I take all my queues from Jesus's example, and most of my opinions are most strongly shaped by the New Testament as that is where "the new covenenant" takes over and Jesus's actual plan starts off.
Most bible scholars will describe the old testament as a prolog, it gives us the background and the story of God's grand plan and promises to redeem mankind. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. The new testament is all about what that promise means to us and how to act on it.
I am what is called a "non denominational Christian." It is written that the church(es); all facets of it, are the body of Christ. The body many have different parts, different roles, or callings, but all of those parts are sums of the whole. Catholics, baptists, pentacostals, four square, lutherans, anglicans, amish, greek orthodox, messianic judaisim... all faithful are my brothers and sisters. It's our job to encourage each other and not be divided (and weakened).
If you picture a bullseye and it's rings:
A belief in Christ as the son of man, and God all at the same time, as our only path to godliness, and the inerrancy of the Bible is at dead center in the bulls-eye of core beliefs.
That is the single thing that unites all Christian believers under one banner.
All of the other issues that separate us into groups (should women wear head coverings? should church music be acapella only? when should people be baptized? what version of the bible should you read? what color should the carpet in the church building be? how often should you take communion?-all real dividing factors.) These are all lesser issues that fall into outer rings on the belief bulls-eye. While they are not all unimportant, they are certainly less important than the core belief, and it is not worth the infighting to separate believers from each other.
Anyway, God has my devotion because not only has he been there for me, answered my prayers, I have seen him answer the prayers of others, and He is 100% consistent in fulfilling his promises. The validity of my faith is always reinforced when I see God's fingerprints on all things, and there is an answer for every question.
I don't check my brain in at the church door.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 3:28:21 PM
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I hate posting two posts in a row, but my Q & A stuff is so different from my testimony post that it is deserving of a separate post ID.
Bibles: Like others have said, there as SO many versions. I use a women's study bible NIV because it has lots of little side stories and facts nestled in there that are useful for a fuller understanding of what is going on in a passage. That's just my main one I like. There's all kinds of different study bibles... teen bibles, men's bibles, historical study bibles ... the added information is just meant to help you understand better what is already there.
I recommend plain language translations like New King James or New Century Version. "The Message Bible" is fun for cross reference. It elaborates and colors a passage with more words to help give you the full picture of what a verse is trying to say, but it is confusing as a stand alone bible.
Example:
Jeremiah 29:11-13
New International Version (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
The Message
"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. 13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you. I'll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you"—God's Decree—"bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.
It's longer, but it breaks down the verse and re-tells it in a big impact kind of way. Again, I recommend it for cross referencing only, it's very flowery and elaborates on an english translation.
Your main source of scripture should always be a translation that comes directly from the original greek manuscripts. Re-translation from the original sources is what has kept the bible pure for thousands of years, and that legacy needs to be protected.
You can read a good explanation of bible types here: http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Bible/BibleType.htm
A catholic bible is the same, but with "bonus" religious books in the back. They were added during the reformation to provide more support in catholic beliefs. I have never read them (should though, just haven't gotten around to it.) I can't vouch as to what they are about or what they add.
Avoid the LDS bible that they give away on TV, it's heavily edited to not conflict with The Book of Mormon. (Some people might say there's some kind of an agenda there...)
I also recommend a piece of fiction by CS Lewis, "The Great Divorce." It's not about married people. You can find it on Amazon for less than 6$.
Faith Healing:
I am suspicious of faith healers. It is one thing to pray for someone to get well and place the worry for the matter in God's hands and hope they do get well. (And people often do just that, and many do get well.)
It's another thing to say that a person can only be healed by a faith healer, and that you're disobeying or disrespecting God by seeing doctors or taking medicine or undergoing treatment. Obviously God had a part in those treatments developing! For goodness sake, allow him to use those methods to answer your prayers!
I'm even more upset by someone who runs a "faith healing ministry" and solicits heavy donations- usually on TV. That's a clear cut con.
Faith healing is something that persists because when Christianity was just getting started in Rome, Paul and other Church leaders had heavy help from The Holy Spirit and did a whole lot of faith healing. That was a pagan culture of people crying out for something different and real. Miracles got attention.
Today miracles happen all of the time and no one ever takes great notice. Real Faith Healing is a lot less common now, but then if it's real and it happened to you or through you, you wouldn't brag on it.
It would be limited to: "WOW! see this amazing thing God did right in front of me!!!"
Not: "I do this. I'm special because I can do it."
Unitarians:
"Unitarians adhere to strict monotheism, and maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet of God, perhaps even a supernatural being, but not God himself.[23] They believe Jesus did not claim to be God, and that his teachings did not suggest the existence of a triune God. Unitarians believe in the moral authority, but not necessarily the divinity of Jesus. Their theology is thus opposed to the trinitarian theology of other Christian denominations." -wikipedia
Basically, Unitarians are not part of the Christian club because they deny what the Bible says Jesus is.
They like the ideas behind Christianity, but they don't like the idea of Jesus being God (the reasons for that is up to each individual.) They seem to believe that reason and science cannot coexist with that concept of Jesus, so they got rid of it.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
Edited by - Dusky Beauty on Oct 17 2011 11:50:40 PM |
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buffypuff
True Blue Farmgirl
1183 Posts
Claudia
Deer Park
WA
USA
1183 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2011 : 5:16:02 PM
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Wow! I am blown away! Such knowledge and wisdom from you Jen. And Nini!!! {{{HUGS}}}, I have missed you. Trish, these good ladies have given you meat to chew on and contemplate what might be best for you. I am sure many of us have stories like Jen, in which God reached down and set things in motion as soon as Jen realized that she could not do anything to get out of the mess she was in. I have a few sayings that helped me along my way..and may mean something to you. I grew up in a large denomination and went to church regularly. I prayed prayers from my prayer book and hoped at the end of my life, that I might be worthy to get to Heaven.I threw most of it away when I entered nurses training, as I really had not made my religion real. In fact I can say that I didn't think there was a God. Through a series of circumstances, I came to realize that God was REAL, and He loved ME!. I was in a serious auto accident, & we were sued for 1/2 million dollars. My little car hit a bus, & 2 ladies on the bus broke their hips. I was trapped ion the car, but aside of having gl;ass in my hair and my body, and throwing my glasses (unbroken) across the intersection, all was well. However, my husband (1st husband)had canceled our insurance without my knowledge. To obtain the money, the bus company threathened to take our home and all our savings. My baby was 1 yr old and we had a 3 yo girl. I was sick over what was happening. My husband got angry, quit his job, so there wasn't money for them to take and became hard. I was a wreck. First saying..."THE SAME SUN THAT HARDENS CLAY, MELTS BUTTER." My husbnad became clay and I..butter. We stewed and fret for 2 years waiting for this to come to trial. About 3 weeks befor trial, a friend said to me..."Have you ever tried God?" I thought so, but I went with her to a prayer meeting at our local University. It was there that I saw a love for God and each other I never had seen before. I asked God...if He really was real...to come into my life, my heart, and to take over the mess I was in. I didn't feel anything, but hoped that if there was a God, something would happen. within a week, we were contacted by our attorney who said he didn't understand it, but they were dropping the charges, & asked for us to pay $2000 for damages to the bus. My car was totaled BTW. We agreed and made payments, settling the debt. Even though I had grown up in the church... (here comes the second saying)..."I HAD BELONGED TO THE ORGANIZATION, BUT NEVER KNEW THE BOSS." This is why it is so important to establish a relationship with God, with Jesus, the Son of God. We just don't want to know ABOUT Him, but it is imperitive that we KNOW Him. Praying...TALKING to God is so very important. He is with you all the time, but we often chose to ignore Him, sometimes like teenagers ignore their parents. What the others have said is all true, all important. I just had to show you at what lengths, Jesus will go after His people. This is just my 2 cents worth, but the most awesome change to my life. Bless you for coming here, and all the girls on this group. I will say more later about healing...but I think I will wait until I think of what I really want to say. Love to all!!
Buffypuff/ Claudia ~ Farmgirl Sister #870 @}~~
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." DL Moody
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 12:05:41 AM
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Thank You Claudia, I'm proud to be a part of the Christian sisterhood. We're a tough bunch when we face trial by fire! I appreciate your compliments. I study and absorb a lot from really good teachers and try to share what I've gained with others when I'm given the opportunity. I luuuv women's ministry :)
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 05:30:35 AM
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Jen, Thanks as always. You actually started in on a topic that atheist women shove down each others throats........Where are the women figure heads that are not a virgin giving birth, or a whore.
I think that it has always been a man's world, and Gloria Steinam's ideas are not from biblical times. I also read somewhere on a Jewish site that Jews refer to Him, as being masculine, just to keep things straight. 'I get that no place for women thing, from my MIL, who is Wiccan, but but won't say it. She says Pagan, but if she is doing ceremonies and burying things in her yard, that's witchcraft, right?
Trish
Make cupcakes not war!
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Edited by - one_dog_per_acre on Oct 18 2011 05:33:33 AM |
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smiley
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
lea
pea ridge
arkansas
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 05:36:33 AM
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| Well Claudia! I looked back to see when it was you asked if we were all napping. It seems between Sept 30 (date of post) and Oct 18 the Christian farmgirls came wide awake! Missed you Nini. I too enjoyed the depth of knowledge shown here. God will reveal Himself when we seek Him we will find Him. I came on this morning to share something before I go to work with all of you on a totaly different sub.Its been 2 years since my mom has tried to see me or my family (since dad died). Long story but gist of it is she called yesterday and said she needed to make things right with me would I forgive her? She said she had to make it right with God first and did that the day prior.Long story but please pray for me. I forgive her but the hurt runs deep and feel a need to still guard my heart. Does that make since? |
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buffypuff
True Blue Farmgirl
1183 Posts
Claudia
Deer Park
WA
USA
1183 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 09:45:35 AM
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Lea..you make perfect sense. I am so glad that you will be meeting with your Mom. It may not be the perfect situation, but to have her try and make amends is marvelous. God is the protectors of our hearts and I know He will keep yours safe. You will be in my prayers for sure. Blessings!
Buffypuff/ Claudia ~ Farmgirl Sister #870 @}~~
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." DL Moody
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 09:48:43 AM
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Lea, in my experience I find that prayer and meditation on my own part gives a surprising berth of forgiveness. When I've asked God to take my pain and hurt, it seems to help me feel sorry for the person that hurt me instead of angry. Wrapping yourself up in his love will go a long way.
Trish, we Christian women are FULL of strong female figures we can emulate and admire. Christianity being sexist? is a total and complete lie.
Women are respected and revered as courageous and strong. Jesus adored women. His female followers were his most faithful. THEY were the ones he chose to reveal himself to first after he ressurected. Not his disciples. Lots of the first churches in the Roman empire were started by women.
Just to name a handful of major figures:
Esther- jewish orphan, becomes empress of Persia by earning the love of a king, risks her life to stop a holocaust, succeeds.
Deborah- A wise judge, a leader of the people, equal to any man on her own merits.
Rahab- A prostitute in Jericho, a single mother, declares her faith in the God of the hebrews and hides the spies from the city guards. Survives the battle of Jericho as a result. She marries a hebrew man and starts another family. Gives birth to a man who marries....
Ruth- Falls in love with a hebrew man, marries him and gives up her own family. Her husband dies. Her brother in law dies. Her father in law dies. Follows her mother in law back to Israel to take care of her. Gathers leftover wheat heads from the ground all day to feed herself and her mother in law. Marries the rich man who owns the field (Rahab's son, guess if he's that well off we can assume Rahab ended her days in comfort too.) Becomes a female ancestor of King David. Becomes a female ancestor of Jesus Christ himself.
The Proverbs 31 woman-- This is a composite written by a King's mother to describe the perfect woman, and it has remained an example as to what we strive to be.
10 [b]Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
21 She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm[c] clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24 She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
27 She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
So, men are advised to marry and we are led to admire a woman who is: charitable, talented, good with her hands, owns her own property, runs businesses, farms with her own hands (and this is supposed to be a noble woman! Remember this is a queen talking!) stays up late to get everything done, gets up early to get everything done, is a good employer, takes care of her family's needs, makes her husband feel secure and happy, is modest, and competent. (Sounds like a farmgirl to me!)
She sounds like a pretty strong woman and certainly doesn't resemble the "submissive" and silent image that atheist women tell us our God is trying to force us to be.
In my experience and observation, God makes strong women to survive strong storms, often using our troubles to make us emerge stronger, not weaker.
Seems like he's a much better advocate in this world for me than some mad atheist cow who keeps telling me I'm a victim of my circumstances.
Now THAT'S empowering.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
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Cherime
True Blue Farmgirl
1222 Posts
Cherime
Wasilla
Alaska
USA
1222 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 09:54:08 AM
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Jen, yes the Unitarians do miss the boat. Jesus was God and man at the same time as far as I understand it. It is so odd how many of us can read the same scriptures and get so many differing opinions. As far as some of the other books in the Catholic Bible, Macabees (might have spelled it wrong) is interesting. If you download Esword, which is free by the way, I believe that you can also get the Catholic Bible free. Macabees if I recall correctly, is where the story of the oil for the temple being miraculously increased so that the temple lamp which was to burn continuously could burn until more oil could be made.
Faith healers who ask for money do bother me. It does say in James to call the elders and pray for the sick and that is something that our church does, pray for the sick and usually one Sat. each month, the elders come to the church and pray for those who are sick. Doctors have their place, (personally I try to stay clear of them having had many bad experiences) and there are miracles that happen daily, agreed. I know that for a fact having been healed of a crooked leg while simply standing singing a worship song in church.
Claudia, I do hear that. I have had God do some miraculous things in my life. I had cancer surgery and two bills amounting to over $22,000.00. And I now have a nice pickup truck that should last me a very long time. Shortly after I made my 1st payment on that truck, they sent me a letter telling me that they were sorry that they had to turn me down for credit due to the bankruptcy I had to file do to my DH’s very long illness and death. But I still have the truck and I am still making payments on it.
God (by that I mean Father, Son and Holy Spirit) sustained me when my DH died. Without God I would have been truly lost. The Lord is my shepherd.
CMF |
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Cherime
True Blue Farmgirl
1222 Posts
Cherime
Wasilla
Alaska
USA
1222 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 09:56:32 AM
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Jen, amen to your last post.
CMF |
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buffypuff
True Blue Farmgirl
1183 Posts
Claudia
Deer Park
WA
USA
1183 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 10:20:42 AM
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Bless you Cherime. Many sisterly hugs for you. I'm so glad to see your posts...actually all Christian sisters posts. I am not trying to compare...maybe I am, but I hope that we continue sharing and "feeding" each other. Several other posts going (those over 50...of which I am a part) and the "witchy farmgirls" have double and triple the Christian posts. There are times I am not able to attend church on Sunday, and when we are here "where 2 or 3 are gathered"....there He is in our midst. Even though we may be reading these posts at different times of the day...time is the same for God, so I believe He is blessing us as a group all the time. I think these posts are a valid ministry. Maybe some of you also think that.
Buffypuff/ Claudia ~ Farmgirl Sister #870 @}~~
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." DL Moody
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2011 : 10:44:00 AM
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On your other subject Trish, Wicca/Witchcraft/Paganism has many faces. I know probably almost as much about it as I do my own religion. As a group, they are probably even more divisive than Christians!! beliefs vary widely from person to person and coven to coven, and the hilarious part is that a lot of them--while accepting and open minded, secretly think they're the only one's doing it right!!
There's a large population who believe you can only revere the mother aspect by being totally vegan. (Any convention where vegans get to handle the catering is doomed to fail! LOL) It encompasses everything from shamanism, to channeling ancient deities. From "living a simple reverent life" to elaborate rituals. From tarot and astrology, to reading runes and summoning demons (I'm not kidding. Some people will try anything if they think it will give them some semblance of control over their circumstances.) A lot of practitioners call themselves white witches. If someone is into something other wiccans would call Black Magic, they give themselves a different brand or title like "Summoner." Ritual satanists who also practice "majik" are not generally welcome among other wiccans because they believe they are different.
The appeal to this lifestyle is control. They believe that if they follow this path, they can make their own rules and their own destiny and the universe will fall into alignment. Well, this approach doesn't work with laws in civilized society, so it seems like faulty reasoning to me to expect it to apply on a cosmic scale and that is why I rejected it for myself.
That said, many people who follow that path have "things happen" as they put it.
Applying my view and experience of spirituality I have certain truths to adhere to. I know that all creation belongs ultimately to God, and he is the ultimate power. I know that God does perform miracles through his people and impossible things can and do happen. I also know that there is a negative force in the universe that tries to do similar things to look more like God. Those are the only possible sources of non physical things we don't understand.
To determine the source of an incident you can look at the cause and the effect to find the responsible being. For a biblical example, Daniel and Joseph interpreted dreams because God told them the meanings of the dreams (cause). These men told the kings the meanings of the dreams and the kings acted on this information. There was an intention of God to use the situation to an end that served and brought glory to him or saved people suffering (effect). In these examples God worked through supernatural means to accomplish something of great importance. Today we hear about men and women who somehow "know" where a kidnapped child is. The child is found miraculously, and the person doesn't really profit from the information they gave. It may be a one time thing, or it may continue to happen. This is the type of modern application we might see.
Conversely, If someone is a psychic and giving scary accurate readings, what is being accomplished?
They are answering shallow questions from insecure people, and getting rich in the process. Doesn't sound like the kind of thing God would be involved in based on what we know to be true about him, does it?
In the end, witchcraft, fortune telling and all that really demonstrate a total lack of faith in God to handle things he promised to handle (and we know he is able to handle), and that is why it is considered a sin.
Rituals are forbidden because they do not consult God, the ultimate force of goodness. The only other alternative for "power" is not something mortals are equipped to control and we as human beings can't close that box once it's been opened. Furthermore, those forces are not our friends, they hate us. It's one of those rules we should follow because it's good for us. Seriously.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
Edited by - Dusky Beauty on Oct 18 2011 11:01:21 AM |
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FieldsofThyme
Farmgirl Guide & Schoolmarm / Chapter Leader
4928 Posts
USA
4928 Posts |
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Gathered Up: Christian farmgirls? |
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Christian farmgirls?
