Twitterpated!

The last few weeks, I have been maintaining my Twitter account. I've unfollowed accounts that have been inactive for a year -- up to five years in some cases. 

I also created lists to include tweets I WANT to read, rather than ads; strings of names; hypertext links; and hate, especially after recent US Supreme Court decisions. I feel Yeshua weep with each "Burn in hell fagot!" tweet from those who claim to follow Him -- but that is another blog post.

This one is about what I have been doing wrong.

At the start, I believed this would bring me some sense of order and a sense of accomplishment, especially since I am a "Type A" personality. But, in truth, I have become more frustrated, angrier, impatient, less creative, and experience a sharp increase in physical pain plus an inexplicable fever.

Yeshua and I had a heart-to-heart conversation. I acknowledged that this "account management" did not make me happy. More, I had to face the fact that I am judging fellow humanity. I argued that I was no longer muting accounts (see What Would God Do?), but... I am still playing Judge. And that does not bring joy, only a whole mess of negative emotions.

He advised I set Twitter aside and consider what I was doing and why I feel the need to judge others -- just as much as those I label (judge as) "haters."

I feel justified because it gives me a sense of control in my life. I don't have control at my job; I don't have control in my home; I don't even have control over the pain that attacks my body on a daily basis. So I sought control in one little corner of my life -- over those whom I choose to read. 

But the real reason is that I want to stop all the tweets that irk me. I chose segregation, judged them as unworthy, and tried to stamp them out just as I previously chose to silence them with the mute feature. (The coincidence that the prior post is False Messiah is not lost on me...)

I argued that I need some control in my life. That is when Yeshua pointed out something simple and profound. When I try to control -- even in something as small as Twitter account management -- I do not give GOD that part of my life. How can God lead me to those whom I can help, if I no longer interact with them? How can God let me see where I can shine GOD's Light (rather than my own), if I shut the door by pre-judging others? "Prejudice" means to pre- judge.

All who hate and scream when things are not in line with their beliefs have prejudice. Yet, these are God's children, brothers and sisters whom I should love and to whom I should show love, kindness and compassion. I should never offer hate for hate or prejudice for prejudice.

I delete the lists and pray that God helps delete this belief that I have a right to judge or control others.

I can only share blessings via the Holy Spirit. When I follow my will instead of God's, there is no Blessings or Joy, only pain, anger, hate and frustration... 

These I must release to embrace God's Mercy and Forgiveness. I want to dance in Holy Spirit's Song, and let lyrical Blessings sing through tweets. I want to feel God's Love flow through me - not this bitter taste of judgment.

Hate and judgment do not make me feel better nor provide any control; the opposite is true. So, I open my hand and open my heart. No matter what I see in the tweet stream, I know and trust that God will guide me.

And God's timing and Love are both perfect.

~ ESA

False Messiahs

In Matthew 24, we are warned there will be false Messiahs in end times. Who knew I would personally correspond with at least three of them?

This is only the start; none have any miraculous signs beyond what I see for other members of humanity. Yet all three are adamant that he is Jesus Returned with a reason why he cannot perform any miracles -- yet.

To bluntly say, "You are not Jesus" creates a defense mechanism. To confront their belief makes one an enemy; they will not listen. So, I have been guided to be an example and continue to follow Christ's teachings: to Love, Forgive, show Compassion and Mercy -- to be a friend and sister rather than attacker or judge.

When the REAL Yeshua / Jesus returns, we may be without long-distance communication. When delusion is face-to-face with reality, they will need a friend all the more. That friend can be the real Christ, despite the past.

I am guided to plant little nuggets into our conversations that the Holy Spirit can use from their memories when that time comes. I pray each morning that God gives me words to use so there is Hope in God's Forgiveness, Yeshua's healing of mind, body and spirit, God's Mercy for those who trust, and a welcome for all.

This does not apply only to false Messiahs; all humanity including myself make mistakes and needs God's Forgiveness, Hope, and a last-minute chance. All can share Love, Compassion and Forgiveness, as well as pray for each other, planting reminders in our day-to-day interactions.

Believe

Forgive

Love

~ ESA

 

 

Increase in Trust

 "A war is starting." These are words a friend used to warn me of an alleged war between Blacks and Whites in the US. He fears someone will rape or even kill me because I am White.

Sad.

And a bit frightening.

I realize that if violence and riots spread, I could find it right outside my door. It doesn't have to be because of the color of my skin, but merely that i was in the wrong place when violent gangs -- of any color or creed -- decide to pillage and plunder.

That is when I heard Yeshua whisper in my heart. "I am here with you. Why do you give into this fear? This is not happening right now; it is not real. Focus on the present and let ME take care of your future."

He is not wrong.

When I focus on what may be, I create the fear myself. No one else needs to make me feel afraid. I have already done the work for them.

And why would I fear my brothers and sisters if I continue to love and pray for them? I pray that Love conquers the hate; that Light reaches even the darkest parts of each human soul.

I walked the darker streets of New York City unscathed many times over the last few decades. Why would God abandon me now? No matter what happens in this world... my soul --my true being-- is safe in God's loving hand. No one can remove me.

When I focus on God instead of fear, I focus on the present, rather than some "dark future" that may or may not be. I find Peace deep inside. Peace brings less stress, and less stress brings less chronic pain to my body. What a great blessing!

Peace also radiates out. I know that I am connected with all my brothers and sisters -- all of humanity. So why not radiate Peace and Love rather than hatred and fear? In truth, those who radiate fear and hatred are those most likely to be victims of the same. So radiating Peace creates a brighter present and a brighter -- rather than darker -- future.

I choose to share Peace, rather than ripples of fear.

~ ESA

What Would God Do?

I recently cleaned up my Twitter account by unfollowing those who were not following me or have not been active for over a year. I also muted those accounts filled with ads, "follow me!" tweets or hate.

While I was doing so, I felt an inner tug asking: What would God do? I grumbled that this is MY twitter account and I should be free to do as I please. After all, I don't want all that "crap" my stream, and if someone doesn't want to follow me, I assume it's because they do not want to interact with me. So why not unfollow them?

But the nudge came again: What would God do? I had to acknowledge the Truth.

God does not turn from us (unfollow), when we turn from God ~ ever. Nor does God turn from us, even though we have been quiet for a very long time. God is always with us, even those of us who do not believe in God.

God never mutes us.

I say stuff that disappoints God. God sees and hears my own bitterness, my own angry words that I may or may not regret. God knows my every thought, both hateful and loving.

Still, God loves me - and every one of us - unconditionally. No matter what we say, God always listens.

God never mutes my own advertisements either, whether they be prayers about myself or requests for things that the world sells to me, such as a nice house, a new car, an exotic vacation, a great job so I can buy what I desire above my basic needs. A winning lottery ticket would be nice too. The answer may be a gentle no, but God still listens ~ Always!

God never blocks us, either. While some consider Hell in the afterlife equivalent to a Twitter "block," the truth is that God never blocks anyone -- even Satan.

Those who are in the condition of Hell block their connection with God themselves. They hit that little "I don't want to talk to God; I don't want God to see what I say and do; I don't want to hear what God has to say" button on their Twitter account (allegorically).

But always remember: as one can always unblock someone  on Twitter, one can likewise always unblock their connection to the Divine... even from the depths of Hell.

Whether something big in my life, or something as simple as managing my Twitter account, I can learn and grow by asking the simple question:

What would God do?

~ESA

Final Warning

Last night's dreams left fingerprints on my soul. Usually my dreams of things to come are what will be after Rapture, when things REALLY get bad just prior to the final battle of Armageddon. This was different. While I also have dreams where I see/experience another's life through their eyes, this time I looked through the eyes of an angel.

At first, the angel was in human shape (wings unseen), walking down the main street of a village that had mostly good people. Through the angel's experience, I could feel Love and compassion of those there as we feel warm Spring sunshine on our skin. It was some remote Asian village, very far from any major city. But not so far removed that modern technology was absent.

The angel enjoyed the hospitality of the village's residents during the day. Just after sunset, however, the angel appeared to grow larger before the eyes of the residents; wings extended from the back and individual feathers could be felt dancing in the evening winds. As expected, just about everyone stopped what they were doing to see this Wonder. When the angel stood approximately three-stories high, taller than the sparse two-story buildings there, it prepared to share the message.

But first, Love flowed through the angel to those in eyesight. Many eyes and many smart phones were turned to the face of the angel. Some parents or older siblings held up young children for a better view. The angel laughed joyfully and joked with the teenagers and young adults with the smart phones, saying: "The first one who gets this on YouTube wins!"

Then the angel sobered a bit and requested, "But please get this out to the whole world...

"This is the final warning to all mankind. The Savior of the World approaches; He is not happy, for the harvest is not as bountiful as He desires. Instead more souls are lost into the darkness each day. He can no longer stay away for the sake of faithful remnant.

"Those in this village are safe and will see glorious new Wonders. But those elsewhere will see terrors beyond their comprehension. There will be a great outcry, but it will be left unanswered until all things come to pass as they have been foretold."

I felt the tears streaming down the angel's face at these words. I could see the horrors reflected in the angel's mind. Then the angel vanished from the people's sight in a flash of Light.

In the same flash of Light the angel alighted in a new place. The angel remained large, and I looked upon the city from this vantage, though I could feel feet firmly planted on the road's pavement below. There were many buildings well overhead, even as the angel grew to stand roughly seven stories high.

Like in the village, people stopped, stared and pointed smart phones in the direction of the angel. In my mind, I said, "Good, the warning will be repeated so there will be many sharing this." 

But the angel, who seemed to be aware of me at this thought, replied inside my mind, "Not so. This is the most corrupt place in the world. THIS is where it will begin..."

I did not need to look closely at the faces; the place itself revealed at least the country: America, my homeland.

Many things seemed to happen almost all at once. Other angels flashed into being there. Whole blocks turned to rubble and dust at the wave of an arm. With a glance, many humans dropped dead; the spirit of life was ripped from the flesh between breaths. When armaments were pointed to attack, they exploded the moment the trigger was activated, some by a bolt of fire from Heavens, some with no warning at all. The angel's Love stopped flowing but recoiled at the hurtful will of the attackers.

I wept as I watched through the angel's wrathful eyes.

Yet... there was still signs of Mercy. There was a girl about 13 helping others get to safety, putting herself in harm's way. An angel wrapped itself around her and protected her from all fire, falling debris and other harms.

There was a three-year old who was completely innocent. Her parents were torn from her life, but she remained alive, walking aimlessly in a shocked daze through the rubble unharmed. The aforementioned tween scooped her up and brought her to safety.

Another boy about seven was visiting family. Raised differently than his older cousins, he too, remained alive while others ceased to live around him.

Last, there was a nine-year old girl who was a kidnap victim. The kidnappers tried to wrap themselves around her, clinging to her, seeing their last desperate hope in her for she GLOWED with an inner Light.

The angel whose eyes I looked through shrank down to human size to confront these kidnappers personally. Telling the girl, "Don't be afraid, just close your eyes a moment," the angel's mind reached inside the two kidnappers and... shredded their insides like a pile of papers going through a cross-cut shredder. There was no blood outside their bodies from this, but their skin changed to a color that made my stomach lurch. Then, as they dropped lifeless to the ground, the angel took the girl's hand, saying, "Open your eyes child, you are safe now," and led her to the tween who was collecting them.

The angel pointed to winter jackets for the children to wear; they would need them for warmth, as the nights were still cold.

But it commanded sternly, "Do not take anything from this place, not even your favorite toys or stuffed animals. Do not eat any of this food for it is now poison. You will find what you need to survive; your needs will be provided. Do not be afraid. Trust, and it will be done."

Then the angel turned to the tween, "You may bring your journal provided you continue to write an account of all that takes place in this world. There will be generations that will need to know this story so the mistakes of the past will not be repeated."

As the tween nodded, still in shock past the point of tears, my connection inside the angel grew distant. Vision turned into a grey blur. Then I felt gently laid in my bed and my eyes refocussed to see my bedroom.

I lay there praying a while, but the urge to share this dream never went away but only grew stronger. I hesitate to share this (and others), because I don't want to appear like those who run around shouting "The End is Near" like chicken-little. There will be no best-seller; there will be no large auditorium-sized church.

I do not know when or where, but... the simple Truth is: Yeshua/Jesus the Christ is coming ~ VERY SOON.

~ "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs." (Matthew 10:27) ~

In hindsight, I recall that was part of my reading last night. Still hesitant, I open my trembling hand and release this post into the world. One more note to God's grand Song.

Empty Vessel

A few years ago, I tried to blog each day of Lent. I got as far as day three. This time I just put the whole idea into the Holy Spirit's hands and see where that will go.

While at lunchtime Mass to receive ashes, my mind wondered, should I blog about something today. I could write about the "start of the journey" or "40 days in the desert."

Instead, the response was simply and clearly to use this blogpost. It is not mine, but it states quite wonderfully what this day commemorates.

I contemplated summing it up in a post of my own, but it seemed like God just smiled and brushed off that idea. "No; just share the link. Her words are just what some need to hear today."

That is a stumbling block I have at times. My ego shouts "*I* want to be the one to share these nuggets of wisdom."

But Lent is all about letting go all that holds us apart from God. What is more important, sharing the wisdom or the credit? So I opened my hands and tweeted her blog post instead.

Only when the vessel is empty
Can God fill us with what is good

~ ESA

Footprints in Snow

This was originally posted to my other blog and I realized it is more appropriate on my personal one (here).
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Most people who live in wintry climes experienced climbing over a snow bank. Sometimes it is a small hill out of piled or wind-drifted snow, pristine and ready to explore with child-like delight.

 

Sometimes we face a muddy, gravel-pitted and icy hurdle to get where we want to go.

 

A recent snowfall left a shoulder-high wall between me and my morning run to the bakery. I wasn't going to be deterred. I plowed ahead with snow spilling over the tops of my knee-high boots.

 

We learn to place our steps in the footprints of those who climbed over the snowbank before us. The chance that we'd sink deeper than those footprints is miniscule; we know it is a safe path.

 

As I climbed back over the snowbank on the return trip, a thought danced through my mind and I wanted to share it with my readers.

 

We often see "footprints in the sand" signifying Christ walking with us, carrying us in times of trouble.

When things get REALLY tough and the world gives us the cold shoulder, Christ is still there, climbing over the snow banks with us.

 

Even when we insist that we can tackle the challenge on our own, Christ walks a step before us, encouraging us to walk in His footsteps, for we thus know the path is safe for us to walk too.

~ESA

Inspiration from a Coffee Pot

This morning, I was inspired by the office's communal coffee pot. It's not what you may think when you read that last sentence. This pot was empty and in desperate need of scrubbing.

Sometimes you can do a quick rinse before you start brewing the next pot of coffee. Over time, however, the transparent coffee stains get thicker and darker. If this is not addressed, it can be so bad that one can not see the coffee level inside the glass pot.

So this morning, I scrubbed it with good ol' fashioned elbow grease, rinsing it to see if I got all the stains. But then when I held it up to a white paper towel ... the stains were revealed in all their glory!

That's when inspiration struck. How often am I like that coffee pot?

There are stains on my soul that are not clearly visible day by day, but if left alone can become darker and more prominent. If I hold it up to other souls in this world, it doesn't seem so bad; for who can say if the stain are on my coffee pot or theirs? So I just rinse off and move on.

Yet...

If I held my soul up to Christ, there are my stains, dark against His glory -- a big ugly mess.

Often we hear, "Keep eyes upon God." Maybe one of the reasons to do so is that we begin to get a real good look of what is within us that needs a bit of scrubbing.

~ ESA

Check Your Shields

This weekend my husband and I attended Changing Times, Changing Worlds, an interfaith conference where I can work on some tools in my tool box, such as grounding/centering, shielding and healing.

The Shielding II class left me with a litany echoing through my mind:

• When you get up in the morning, check your shields. 
• When you shower, check your shields. 
• When you eat, check your shields. 
• When you leave your home, check your shields. 
• When you get in your car, check your shields. 
• When you get out of the car, check your shields. 
• When you enter your workplace, check your shields. 
• When you have lunch, check your shields. 
• When you take a bathroom break, check your shields. 
• When you head home, check your shields. 
• When you arrive home, check your shields. 
• When you have dinner, check your shields. 
• When you go to bed, check your shields.

My Christian faith plays a big role in everything I do, especially the spiritual aspect of my being. 

When I feel the need to shield myself, I firmly hold in my mind the image of myself in God's hand, reaffirming that God never let me go. When another is in similar need, I picture them in God's hand.

What we can conceive, what we believe, IS. Yeshua/Jesus said the same about moving mountains. It is a matter of focusing on the positive thoughts rather than on our fears or the negativity in our minds, and then letting God show us Wonders.

While I shield, I work with God to do so. When I heal another, I reach for God and let the Divine work through me. So when the above litany runs through my mind, it changes to incorporate my relationship with God:

• When I get up in the morning, pray. 
• When I shower, pray. 
• When I eat, pray. 
• When I leave my home, pray. 
• When I get in my car, pray. 
• When I get out of the car, pray. 
• When I enter my workplace, pray. 
• When I have lunch, pray. 
• When I take a bathroom break, pray. 
• When I head home, pray. 
• When I arrive home, pray. 
• When I have dinner, pray. 
• When I go to bed, pray.

God and His angels very much want to help us. But they cannot until we invite them to do so. It is the nature of our free will.

The more I pray, the more I ask for God's guidence, the more I invite God to be a part of my daily life, and the more God can do within my life, and through me, as God determines best.

The more I pray, the more I keep that communication line open. In that shielding class, it was stressed that shields left unmaintained will deteriorate and become ineffective. The same for our lines of communication with God. The more we use them, the stronger they are.

Whatever this day brings...
I Pray.

P.S. ~ I am now using my other blog post account to post on both blogs.