SPIRITUALITY - NAKED BEFORE THE CHRIST CHILD

For a number of years now, the Lord has been exposing Gary’s and my true heart regarding how we celebrate Christ’s birth. Each year, it seems He reveals more and more of our activities which really have little significance to the true purpose of Christ. We’ve relinquished the desire to spend more than we should or fret over finding the perfect gift. We’ve recognized that no one on our gift list truly needs more. We’ve given up the frenzied attempts to decorate every corner of our home, bake cookies for every neighbor and prepare the picture perfect holiday meal. We no longer get anxious over our holiday greetings not being ready before the arrival of the New Year. The Lord continues to show us that celebrating Christ isn’t about all the “Christmas” activity.

After chipping away over the years on those more external things, our Lord has begun to expose an even deeper level of concern. We’re seeing that our very definition of “Christmas” has been built upon things we hold even more dear to our hearts, such as our tendency to look to others to make “the celebration” complete. We recognize thoughts such as, “It doesn’t really feel like Christmas if we can’t celebrate it with family.” It is at this level where we begin to ask, “Lord, what more can You take away. Isn’t this what Christmas is all about?”

It is here where Christ’s Spirit has begun to show us that celebrating His birth is about nothing and no one else, except Him. It is about being willing to stand alone before Him – everything stripped away. We don’t like that much. We don’t want to see ourselves as we truly are, let alone willingly “show it to God”. Yet this is what celebrating Christ is truly about. In fact, this is the only way to rightly celebrate His birth. To stand before God, the Son, with every obstacle removed, separated from every distraction and to see ourselves as we truly are.

Only then will we see how desperately we need Him, our Savior.

Only then will we truly know how to celebrate the real purpose in the coming of the Christ Child.

Only there, at His manger, will we truly come and receive His love.


Who among us will celebrate Christmas right?
Those who finally lay down all their power, honor, and prestige.
All their vanity, pride and self-will
at the manger,
those who stand by the lowly and let God alone be exalted,
those who see in the child in the manger the glory of God
precisely in this lowliness.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Mystery of Holy Night


It is my prayer that the Lord will richly bless you and those you love with a deep awareness of His love. May your hearts be turned toward the Christ Child for peace & strength in the days to come and may His Holy Spirit deliver unto you a clear understanding of His will for your lives.


Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie

HEALTH - THE CURATIVE BLESSINGS OF COMFREY

Our daughter, Julie has painfully dry and cracked hands in the winter. She has tried nearly every traditional product on the market to no avail. This isn’t surprising since most cosmetics, including lotions, contain harsh and harmful chemicals. In fact, one of their main ingredients is petroleum. Yes, skin requires lubrication. However, engine oil is not the choice for skin! Instead of helping, petroleum clogs the pores and keeps moisture out.

In the process of researching how I might help Julie, I discovered the blessings of comfrey.

Comfrey is a perennial herb with
a black turnip-like root,
large broad hairy leaves
and small white or lightly colored
bell-shaped flowers.

Although comfrey has the potential to cause liver toxicity if taken internally, it posesses effective healing properties when used externally. In fact, comfrey is often referred to as “knitbone” and scientific studies confirm that it can influence the healing of bones.

Comfrey is a cell proliferant and is effective in treating:
• respiratory problems
• sprains
• arthritis
• back pain
• ulcers
• skin conditions, including severe burns.

Loaded with this information, it seemed that comfrey might be the answer for Julie’s hands!

While researching, I discovered that comfrey can be propogated by taking root cuttings. Recalling that my neighbor had comfrey growing in her yard, I asked if I could take some starts. She brought me a spade and her three daughters watched me dig. As I worked to remove the “offsets”, the five year old questioned her older sisters, “Why is Bonnie digging up our weeds!”

With cheers from the girls at my success, I headed home with my new “weed”. I planted a portion away from my garden to give it room to spread and used the rest to make a hand balm following these simple steps from Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair by Dina Falconi:

• Slice roots into small sections. Place on paper towel to dry.

• Hang stalk with leaves in dry, dark spot with good circulation.

• When stalks are brittle, leaves crumbly and roots dry and hard, coarsley chop in pulsating blender.

• Place 1 oz. of processed herb in glass jar. Add 4 oz. olive oil. With lid in place, aggitate daily for six weeks. Strain.

• Combine:
o 2 oz. comfrey infused olive oil
o 1 oz plus 1 Tbsp. jojoba oil
o 2 oz. plus 1 Tbsp. shea butter
o 1 oz. beeswax

in glass measure and place it in pan of hot water over med.-low heat. Stir frequently until melted.

• Remove from heat.

• Continue stirring 2 minutes to keep ingredients mixed while cooling.

• Pour mixture into wide-mouth jar.

• Add ¾ tsp. lavender. Cap quickly to seal in essential oil

• Allow to sit undisturbed overnight.

The results were beautiful! Although it can be used any time, the greatest reparative action is achieved by applying the balm before bed and wearing 100% cotton white gloves. Irritated skin doesn’t need dyed synthetic fabric against it!

My friend, Ina has similar problems to Julie’s, so I asked if she’d be my guinea pig. With the problems already developing, she was delighted! After three days of use, cracked and painful areas on Ina’s hands were healed! With these results, I quickly filled a lovely blue satin bag with white cotton gloves; a pretty jar filled with comfrey hand balm, along with instructions and sent a package off to Julie. She called today and is also thrilled with the results!


Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie


DISCLAIMER:
The author of this article does not endorse everything represented on/in suggested links, books, etc. Each of us is accountable to God to weigh everything according to His Word.

All content of this article is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. The author sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. The information herein is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. This is best left to the Creator of the universe. In all health-related situations, “qualified healthcare professionals” should always be consulted. The author deems THE GREAT PHYSICIAN to be most qualified. The author assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material.

NOTICE

An error was made in getting last wks article published in the newspaper. So....it will be published this week. I don't want to get ahead of that publication online, therefore, I will not publish a new blog until Dec. 9th.

Thank you for your faithfulness!

God's Blessings,
Bonnie

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving: an expression of gratitude; a token of appreciation of God’s blessings.

I readily admit that I don’t always have the most thankful heart. I’m often more focused on what could and should be, rather than on giving God thanks and praise for what is and seeing His blessings in it. Where do I turn when I need a heart adjustment? Singing His praises. As I lift my spirit to Jesus in song, His Holy Spirit floods my heart with thankfulness for His precious gift of redemption and the multitude of daily blessings He brings into my life

The Holy Spirit has often used the hymn, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing to rekindle a thankful spirit within me:

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
-Psalms 100:4

If you find yourself struggling to be thankful today, it is my prayer that these lyrics will help to fix your eyes upon the only One who can create a genuinely thankful heart within you.


Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie

NATIONALISM: THE FIRST THANKSGIVING

With the national celebration of “Thanksgiving” right around the corner, I’ve been researching the history of America’s first harvest festival. This has rekindled questions in my mind about America being founded as a “Christian nation”. I’m pondering what I was taught and have always believed vs. that which historical records seemingly indicate.

Festivals of thanksgiving are among the oldest celebrations throughout history. Ancient tribes, Greeks, Romans and Jews all held harvest festivals to thank and seek favor from their gods and goddesses. I’m wondering which god was truly being worshipped at this “New World” event.

• In 1609, the first colony of English-speaking Europeans settled in Jamestown. They were contracted by wealthy Englishmen to seek more wealth, not religious freedom.

• In 1620, 102 passengers arrived on the Mayflower. Although we tend to refer to all of them as "Pilgrims" (religious traveler: somebody who goes on a journey to a holy place for religious reasons), the fact is America is not “holier” than any other land. Half of these travelers were part of an English Church from Holland and the other half were likely not “pilgrims” at all, coming instead, for economic reasons. Of the fifty who remained after the rigorous first winter, I’m wondering what they did that looked like Jesus.

There were similar settlements in other areas, some of which were “Christians” fleeing persecution. However, most of these religious colonial governments persecuted those of the "wrong" faith!

• The majority of the constitution’s framers often referred to “God”, yet never professed Jesus. Wanting no part of the religious intolerance developing in the “New World”, they set out to proclaim that the American government would never promote or interfere with any religious beliefs. In 1787, they established the first government in history to separate church and state.

• In 1797 America made a treaty with Tripoli declaring that "the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." Written under Washington's presidency, this reassurance to Islam was unanimously approved by the Senate under John Adams.

John Adams also pledged that every American citizen would be required to observe and fulfill the premises of this treaty which was printed in the Philadelphia Gazette and two New York papers, with no evidence of any public dissent! Citizens proclaiming America as a “Christian nation” are actually breaking a national pledge.

Yes, Protestant churches have been allowed to flourish in America. However, having nationally vowed to uphold neutrality in matters of any religion, all religions are to have the same freedom. Why does it surprise and irritate us then that people from various nations and religions come to America seeking to enjoy such freedom? Isn’t this the type of nation America’s founding fathers sought to establish without any opposition from its citizens?

While there are only two contemporary accounts of America’s first Thanksgiving, neither of them mentions Jesus. Could this nation’s religious freedom stance have been established at its first Thanksgiving? The “Christian pilgrims’” religion forbade them from breaking bread with “heathens”, yet we find them honoring “God” with a few pagan Englishmen and a number of naturalistic native friends Have we been fooling ourselves about which god was being worshipped at this festival? Do you suppose Jesus was honored as the only way to the Father (John 14:6) or could this harvest celebration have been the first assembly of religious unionism held in America?

Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie

HEALTH - ROSE HIPS

I’m always thrilled when I see a wild rose bush in bloom. There aren’t many things more beautiful in the heat of the summer and their fragrance is simply heavenly! It seems disappointing, though, that within a few days the blossoms fall away; leaving what appears to be nothing but an unattractive barren bush. However, around mid-October, if you look carefully you will notice that the delicate petals seem to have sacrificially made room for a beautiful display of bright red “berries” called “rose hips”.

Rose hips are considered a fruit and are related to apples. While it is said that they contain Vitamins D and E, essential fatty acids and antioxidants, the greatest value of these precious jewels is their extremly high Vitamin C content. In fact, it is recorded that during World War II, when German submarines were sinking many of the commerical ships used to import citrus fruits the people from England harvested and made syrup from wild rose hips in order to obtain adequate amounts of Vitamin C.

While there is always the option of purchasing rose hips
sometimes for a whopping $25/lb,
with the magnitude of viral colds and debilitating influenzas
going around these days,
1700-2000 mg of unadulterated Vitamin C per 100 g of dried rose hips
free for the pickin’ doesn’t sound like a bad deal.

I desired to take advantage of this precious gift; yet, I was concerned that heating the rose hips would destroy their vitamin C and that my harvesting and preserving efforts would be wasted. While rose hips do contain an enzyme which causes them to oxidize when they are broken open and left at room temperature, I discovered that this enzyme is destroyed and the antioxidant activity and levels of Vitamin C maintained when rose hips are boiled for 10 minutes!

Loaded with this information, I set out to learn how hips are harvested and how the Englishmen made this syrup. Here’s what I’ve discovered:

• Harvest rose hips just after the first frost when they are most nutritious.
• Use of metal pans or utensils when preparing the rose hips will cause loss of vitamin C. Therefore, glass pans and wooden utensils are better choices.

ROSE HIP SYRUP• Clean 4 cups fresh hips with filtered rather than chlorinated water.
• In a glass pan, boil hips in 2 cups water 20 minutes with lid on or until tender and easily mashed.
• Strain juice through fine sieve or jelly bag.
• Return pulp to pan. Add enough water to cover fruit. With lid on, boil 10 minutes.
• Strain this and add to first juices.
• Add 1 cup sugar to rosehip juice boil, 5 minutes to right consistency
• Bottle while hot.
This syrup can be taken alone, added to beverages or used on pancakes, muffins etc.

DRIED WHOLE, rose hips can also be stored in a dark cool place without losing much nutritional value.

1. ROSE HIP TEA
• Bring one pint filtered water to boiling
• Add 2 tablespoons dried rose hips
• Cover and boil 10 minutes.
Some enjoy the slightly tart tasting tea with a bit of sweetener. Oh, yes! Don’t throw out the boiled berries! They are still very nutritious and can be added to soups, stews, etc.
2. ROSE HIP POWDER
• Grind dried hips to a fine powder.
• 1 tablespoon can be added to breads and cakes, etc. for added flavor and nutritional value. It can also be added to wild game recipes to eliminate the wild taste.

I’m sure this is only the tip of the iceberg on the many blessings which rose hips have to offer us. I’m anxious to learn more.

Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie

DISCLAIMER:

All content of this article is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. The author sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. The information herein is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. This is best left to the Creator of the universe. In all health-related situations, “qualified healthcare professionals” should always be consulted. The author deems THE GREAT PHYSICIAN to be most qualified. The author assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material.

SPIRITUALITY - A RESPONSE TO NORA

I’m so thankful for Nora Giese’s recent “Letter to the Editor”. She has broached at least three important topics that may be beneficial for us all to consider. I know I don’t to have all the answers and regularly pray for a teachable spirit. Therefore, please do not receive my response to be either argumentative or condescending. I’m very willing to consider other’s opinions as we address these issues:

• Is worship the reason we often find
Jesus and His apostles in synagogues?
• Was persecution the reason why
early Christians met in homes?
• Were there occasions when
members of one church community offered
guidance to those of another?

1) Most of us, including myself, have been taught that Jesus and His apostles went to synagogues to worship. However, Scripture seems to indicate [Acts 14:1; 17:1-33; 18:4 and 19], that instead of worship, they crossed the threshold of synagogues filled with non-believing Jews in order to evangelize!

Faith in the Messiah of Nazareth was not the focus of worship in the Jewish synagogue. Consequently, we don’t find Jesus or His disciples “worshiping” with non-believing Jews nor encouraging new converts to do so. Rather than holding to human traditions of worshiping at a sacred place on a sacred day with the Jews, Jesus and His apostles took advantage of the custom of inviting visiting Rabbis to teach [Acts 13:14] and spoke against such human traditions [Colossians 2:8]. Consequently, they were expelled from the synagogue!

2) I was also taught that early Christians began to meet in one another’s homes because of persecution. However, didn’t Jesus establish His church in the open air and in homes before persecution ever began? In the three years Jesus trained His apostles, they learned to carry on the work that He began [Acts 20:20] which was not worshiping in synagogues nor choosing gathering locations out of fear.

Following Jesus’ and the apostles’ teaching, early Christians continued to meet in one another’s homes even during times of peace [Acts 2:42-47 and 9:31]. When persecution did break-out, it doesn’t seem that Christians went to great pains to “hide-out.” Instead, unbelievers knew exactly where to find them [Acts 8:3; 1 Corinthians. 14:23] … in their homes.

All local Christians also gathered daily at the accommodating temple courts [Acts 2:44-46] where the non-believing Sadducees were responsible for controlling temple activity. Such public places wouldn’t be very effective hiding for those desiring to go unnoticed!

3) Although there is Scriptural evidence that Christians from one community did offer advice to those in other communities, this isn’t the subject at hand. Instead, the issue is …

The early Church
had only one local body of believers in each community
who functioned as one family.

We learn from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians for example that, while there were at least five different “house churches” in Corinth, [1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 16:19], Paul doesn’t write to the individual groups. Instead, he wrote to all believers in Corinth [1 Corinthians 1:2] because the issues affected the entire local family!

Jesus never desired that His brothers and sisters meeting in one house would have no regard for the matters of those who met in another. In fact, Paul rebuked the Corinthian believers for thinking and functioning so independently!

While I desire to honor God’s Word and not quarrel over disputable matters; He does encourage us to lovingly challenge one another to develop a clear understanding of and devotion to what Jesus and the apostles taught [Colossians 3:16].

Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie

P.S. For those who may not have had a chance to read Nora’s letter, you may read it at http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com under “NORA’S LETTER … ”.