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A Valentine’s Day Thought or Two

~ Bev Parker ~ 2 Comments

I always get a card for John that makes me cry – it’s the one that reminds me what’s in my heart, way deep under the crud that’s not real, and not really me.

This year, I vow, I will speak much more often like that card.  “A smart girl,” I reason, “should be able to do this.”

So, that thing that I’ve spoken (groused, grumbled, murmured) so often about, and thereby made it a real thing, needs to just go away.  Because experience teaches me that until I put it away, and give it to God entirely, it’s here to stay.  I’m talking about a little thing, because so much of the time it really is the little stuff.

It’s the little bad stuff crowding out the REALLY BIG good stuff.  In my case, it’s like packing my wicker picnic basket with fried chicken, devilled eggs, potato salad, artichoke dip with radishes and celery sticks, plus nut-filled brownies, thermoses of both cold milk and hot coffee, a bottle of Moscato, and taking it all to the river with my lover, and then . . .  letting one mosquito spoil the day.

SMASH THE MOSQUITO!!!!  SAY “NOT JUST ‘NO’, BUT HELL, NO!!!”

How again, does a smart girl smash her mosquitoes?  With her tongue.  I read Proverbs every day, and I read the tongue scriptures out loud, so my smart self can HEAR and BELIEVE and RECEIVE them.  Amen!

Like so:  Proverbs 6:2 – You are snared by the words of your mouth, you are taken by the words of your mouth (not anymore!!!!); 8:9 – All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them; 10:19 – In the multitude of words sin is not lacking; 12:18 – There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health; 13:3 – He who guards his mouth preserves his life (and marriage!), but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction; 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger; 15:28 – The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil; 16:21 (especially for parenting) The wise in heart will be called prudent, and sweetness of the lips increases learning; 17:18 (perhaps my favorite) Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

I vehemently exhort you to read Proverbs 17 and 18 for yourself, and as I have, highlight each tongue scripture, and then put a big black “T” next to it.  Then in Proverbs 20 we find that “any fool can start a quarrel (verse 3), and let us not forget the squirm-inducing verses 9 and 19 in Chapter 21:  Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman; and, Better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman.

If that “angry woman” describes you (I think at times it describes all of us), get with God and get free.  “Free indeed” freedom is one of the many treasures Jesus purchased for us on the Cross. (you might begin with singing a little ditty such as, “I’m so free cause it SO aint all about me!”).

Oh, and Happy, Happy, Happy Valentine’s Day.  It’s yours for the saying.

Rx: Open the Windows and Breeze Through January!

~ Bev Parker ~ 1 Comment

Rx #1:  It may be January in the Rockies, and a bit nippish outside, but what is that to stuffiness and last night’s garlic odors permeating the inside?  Why not build a fire, put on a sweater and big socks, and open the windows?

Then get moving and start Spring Cleaning.  Morning till about 2:00, when it’s time for just a few more details under the belt, and a bit of a walk out of doors, before a nice cuppa.  Have I lost my mind?  Why, you may be asking, would I want to do Spring Cleaning in January?  Is it because it will be way too nice outside to be cleaning when Spring gets here?  Or because the house is getting a bit crusty, what with doing only surface cleaning over the holidays?  Maybe it’s just that I can’t stand to open my closet, or the pantry, or look very closely at anything.

It could be a bit of all the above, but for me, it’s mostly that January can be a bit long.  But still, you may be wondering, how could cleaning make it better?  Cleaning is, everyone knows, menial.,  Wrong.  Menial, the dictionary tells us, means “not requiring much skill and lacking prestige.”  The dictionary can be misleading, I say.  Done well, homemaking requires a great deal of skill, as evidenced by how few people can do it.  As to lacking prestige, there’s very little that makes me feel better about myself and life in general, more prestigious, than a clean and orderly home.

To clean and orderly, add happily and beautifully decorated (not “fashionable and politically correct” decorating), comfortable and comforting, relaxing and restoring, aromatic with both home-concocted essential oil sprays (see below) and no-bake cookies (those are coming later this evening because we don’t want to get carried away with all this weight-loss and fitness stuff), and all five CD trays filled and playing Mozart, and I feel more than prestigious.  I feel blessed.

So, give it a try.  Rather than more of the same (leftover holiday habits) – eating and drinking mindlessly, watching stupid stuff on the Net, and feeling like a big lump, try my prescription.  First, open the windows . . .

As for that essential oil spray:  I had an almost-empty bottle of “Balance” from “The Good Home” and I just added water and more oils.  I didn’t have all the oils in the original and might I add marvelous formula, so I added several citrus oils, some Cedarwood, and Cassia, and went through the house spraying anything and everything.  I just  realized I forgot the Clove! Clove is on the way as soon as I finish this post.

Speaking of Clove, add it to your evening drink, or whatever else you can think of, along with other very warm and marvelous oils and spices, such as caraway, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cinnamon, and you will be both physically and emotionally fed.

Rx#2:  This is for getting through long January evenings when you’re sure it must be bedtime and it’s not yet 7:00 p.m.  This is when I do my evening ablutions (such a lovely word), put on my pajamas, and settle in with a very good book (ideas coming right up).  If I get sleepy again before I want to turn in, I take a break and make a lovely evening drink, and here’s the recipe:

Warm milk, honey, vanilla extract, with cinnamon and nutmeg on top.  This must, of course, be imbibed from your very favorite mug.  You could try this, or your variation thereof, and call it your January bedtime story drink (we did this with goat milk when the kids were little and read aloud together – very fun and a way to get rid of the free goat milk our neighbors gave us).  This is a perfect time to concoct your own version of an Internet Chai recipe – I just look for what looks really spicy, then double the spice amounts.  Yay! for warmth in January.

Maybe in February (Valentine’s Day and Chocolates) add cocoa and almond flavoring to your drink and plenty of ORGANIC* heavy whipping cream.  Don’t think of this as fattening.  Rather, have only one reasonably sized mug of it and think of yourself as blessed.

And now for those books:  I started one the other night and had to tear some of the pages out lest anyone in my house see me reading such trash (OK, so you don’t do that, but do you hide the Jo Jo’s?).  Finally, this entire book went into the trash.  I went to the library the next day and came home with TREASURES:  Comstock Lode by Louis L’Amour and Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington.  I’m about 2/3 through Up From Slavery  and halfway through Comstock Lode.  Both are riveting.

It’s about time I had a cuppa (something) and did a bit of reading – Booker T. and me, and Louis as well, so swell (I know you’ll forgive my corny-ness).  Thanks for being with me, and I wish you a Happy, Blah-Free January.  Amen.

*I said ORGANIC because otherwise you may be drinking carageenan, which for me causes joint pain.  Not good, not what I want to be worrying with in my fun January.

 

There’s a Granny in the House!

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

John’s mom, Colene Parker, is with us for a few weeks, and it is just lovely.  That’s because we’re just youngsters in our early 60’s, and it’s always nice to have someone about thirty years older —  to care for and enjoy, to talk with and listen to, to take us out of ourselves, and to remind us how young we are.

It’s nice to have peaceable oldsters, vintage treasures you could say.  And if they keep their silver hair done, and their bright pink nails as well, wear plenty of jewelry, and lovely sweaters with their new blue jeans, so much the better.

If they agree with you that your children/their grandchildren are truly the finest folks ever, what else do you need, really?  We have our mutual admiration society, and dissenting opinions/views need not be considered.

It’s true.  Men very often do marry their mothers.  I once would have said my mother-in-law and I have love of John, and our children/grandchildren in common, and not that much else.  But as I study her, I have to reassess.  We both consider ourselves good managers (“not bossy, my ideas are just better”)* We both like music, art, things that sparkle, reading and crosswords.  We think a good time is what we did on the way home from the airport after picking her up Sunday night:  exclaim over all the Christmas lights; wear red and extra eye make-up, talk about blessings, eat and buy Alan Jackson Christmas CD’s at Cracker Barrel.

We made arrangements to meet Hannah (my daughter who is also lots like Colene) at Cracker Barrel.  We talked about the beloveds in our lives, and how perfect it was that Colene flew in the day before the imminent big snow.  I planned (knowing she’d agree) that we’d build a fire and read romances and drink coffee with Peppermint Jo Jo’s the next day.  We enjoyed our little circle of love.

John smiled at me in the mirror as we drove, (Colene sat beside him because it was easier for her to get into the front seat, and as I prefer sitting in back when I can) saying, “Thank you for being nice to my mommy.”

What’s not to like/love/appreciate?  She raised you, and she did a darn good job.

Plus, she likes, and is lots like, that gal in my mirror.  Who can resist?

 

Your Spiritual Authority Can Kiss My Sweet Patooty!

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

My beloved friend and several of her friends meet weekly and walk the streets of their town praying for the city, the businesses, and the people of the city.  They pray prosperity, freedom, healing – blessing.

I’ve known my friend for 25 years and blessing is all she is, it’s who she is.  So, when the church “leadership” told the group they can no longer do this (don’t want to offend anyone, blah, blah, blah), she was grieved to the bottom of her very dear heart.

She could hardly talk for crying as she told me about it.  “They’re so deceived.  They’ve built a kingdom and they’re losing The Kingdom.”

How often it happens.  A young whippersnapper gets a piece of paper from a Bible College and now he has “spiritual authority.”  What, I wonder, is a more  sure and certain indicator that Satan is at work than when people start trying to control other people?  

I know what.  It’s when people act like sheeple and say, “Oh, OK then.  I know we were led by the Holy Spirit to do this.  I know we’re blessing people.  But since you, Oh Great and Mighty Pastor Person, say we must not pray, we won’t pray,.  After all, spiritual authority and all . . . .”

Not my friend and her buds.  They, unlike their “leaders” will not be destroyed for a lack of knowledge (See Hosea 4:6).  They know what Jesus taught about prayer, and what both the Old and New Testaments teach about prayer.  They will not answer evil orders with the evil of fear and cowardice.

Daniel 3:18 tells of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response to evil orders:  “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Wolves in sheep’s clothing, folks.  Beware.  “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” – II Peter 2:1-2
And remember Joshua 24:15 :  ““And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
So there.
By the way, John Parker will be teaching on the getting of knowledge, the kind that will save us from this kind of deception, next Wednesday, November 6, at 8:00 am on The Homefront Show.  
Join us at 1360 am – http://1360khnc.com/ and please tell a friend.  Thanks so much.
P.S.  John and I just prayed for this church, that they be free from the root cause of the need to control –  FEAR.  Amen and amen.  So let it be so.

Fasting, My Dear, is About Much More Than Weight Loss!

~ Bev Parker ~ 2 Comments

The real power comes after the fast – the fast is preparation for BIG battles.

little girl praying

 

I had decided to simply, “Let it soak,” regarding an ongoing issue in my life.  And by “issue” don’t we so often mean a relationship issue?  Two people in my life were burrs under my saddle, and unlike most people, I am not willing to go through life with burrs under my saddle.

But like any horse, in my own strength I could not reach under that saddle and get that burr loose.

So, I decided to fast about it, pray about it, and keep soaking these people and myself in God’s love, which I am told on GOOD authority, never fails.

Well, I soaked them for seven days in the fast (praying for them day and night), and then two days later the burrs really stuck deep, as Satan was trying extra hard to stay where he was.

It was time to take those stained clothes out of the soaking pan and put them in the washer, agitator on on high speed!  I gave my opinion to one of these individuals, and boy did the agitator agitate.  Not fun.

I began to pray (in tongues, which is the very best and most indispensable tool for really sticky burrs, and if this is a burr under your saddle, see for yourself what Paul has to say about tongues).  Suddenly the Holy Spirit took over my prayers and I was The Somebody, as in Somebody has to take it to the heart.”

In the third Hobbit movie, Thorin took his best warriors and climbed the mountain right into the enemy command center.   Enough was enough.  He had to be that Somebody who took it to the heart.  He had to act like the King and Dragonslayer he was born and called to be.

We are born, born again, to be Kings, to take Jesus to the heart of evil.  We are not to be Craven Cowards (see Hannah Hurnard’s Hinds Feet on High Places) and go licking our wounds each time we’re scratched.  We  are to decide once and for all, that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Fasting and praying, reading the Word, and listening to faith-filled preaching for seven days, put me in that place of power, strength, and unstoppable, bulldog, enough-is-enough FAITH to take it to the heart of the issue.

The heart of the issue was spiritual.  Actually, as I prayed and did  all-or-nothing spiritual warfare  (the demons could have heard and sensed me in the next county), the Holy Spirit revealed to me what was behind each thing I prayed against.  As I came against issue after issue, stronghold upon stronghold, I realized (big surprise, duh) the root issue was fear.

II Timothy 1:7 tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.”  No need to expect power or love or a locigally reasoning mind from someone bound up in fear.  But if you can see it, if you can recognize the real root of the issue, you are the very person to take it to the mountain.  Boy, are you Somebody now!

P.S.  If you have never had the experience of being used by God to be The Someone let me tell you it’s the way to go.  You will be like Thorin and his warriors with their swords, and like Bilbo Baggins with his courage (study Smith Wigglesworth if you want inspiration for this, or just do the simple thing and read the Bible and choose the life therein).

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Thank you for your response. ✨

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Thank you for your response. ✨

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Thank you for your response. ✨

.  You will be Someone.

And if you die, you die making a difference.  So much better than being the fearful, the living dead.

Hot as a Firecracker Over Crackers

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

So I just opened this box of crackers only to find they’re so cleverly packaged that there are only half what would fit in the box.  Wrong!  My husband John just measured the little plastic cracker organizer and the box to find that there is 3.28 times more box area than cracker storage area.

Can you say shortsighted?  I will NEVER buy ANYTHING from these people again.

Same for the canned tuna and canned chicken folks who think their customers are dumb as posts and won’t notice the cans are only half full.

People do not appreciate having their intelligence insulted by dishonest companies, who would, I believe, be much better served to simply raise the price and advertise that their cans are full!

This is like a book I saw today, advertised as $2.99 but the shipping was $28.00.  To quote Tim Hawkins, it “makes you wanna slap your (their) mama!”

I say we patronize honest merchants, even if they do charge a bit more.

P.S.  Join me on The Homefront Show Wednesday morning at 8:00 Mountain.  SO MUCH good stuff and a very INTERESTING guest!  

https://1360khnc.com/

 

 

 

Coffee Table Fun, Golden Retriever Puppies who Never Make a Mess, and Ignoring the Naysayers when Decorating!

~ Bev Parker ~ 1 Comment

 

And, you can’t really do this playing it safe.  White.  Gray.  Grey.

A coffee table that’s too large, too small, too nice to put your feet on.  Too new.

What would happen, I wondered, if I turned that old, very old, dresser on it’s back.  The size would be perfect.

What happened was my daughter, Hannah, laughing until she had to slide down the wall and sit in the floor.  Just you wait.  She and every other doubting Thomas in my house went to bed.

As did I.  No, I won’t use it.  I’ll just do something else.  It’s too out there, even for me.  I went to sleep.

But then.  I woke up thinking of the exposed slats in the bottom of the old dresser, exposed and right in front of the couch.  And I thought . . . I wonder . . . Would that picture of the Golden Retrievers fit?  Nah.  Too long.

But I went to get it and tried it out and you can see the results below.  You can see what people who put their feet (pillows and warm socks always provided at our house) and their coffee on my coffee table see when they look down a bit.

And now, more of my welcoming, cozy, answer to the Bleak Facade:  (first you must decide which puppy you like best)

That’s a vintage (a-maz-ing sound!) record player in the corner – Neil Diamond “Moods” is playing.

 

The pram in the dining area (next to the piano) holds CD’s and a CD player.

 

Yay, Hooray, Today is the Day

Summer Put Away

Autumn Holding Sway!

Color, Clamor, Leaves Gone Quite Wild

Light Fine and Clear

Let us all Rejoice!  Harvest is Here.

What if my Success is More Successful than Your Success?

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

I know about Vision Boards and The Five Habits of Successful People; and about Morning Routines!!!  I’ve heard about The Seven Things Successful People have in Common, or is it Eight?

I’m familiar with the idea of turning off the loveliest of classical music, and certainly not listening to The Eagles telling me to Take it Easy, because there are motivational speakers to be heard while I drive.  And when I’m putting on make-up.  Then as I whip up a politically correct dinner, I can listen some more.

I know “successful” people are disciplined and determined and consistent.  At what?  At going after their dreams, being all they can be, living life to the fullest!

I am thankful for such people, and thankful I’m not one of them.  I, too, have my eyes on the prize, my goal clearly mapped out and pursued.  The prize is the high calling of God, and for me that is first and foremost the care and keeping of home and family.  The goal is to be so enamored of God, my ears so keenly tuned to the Holy Spirit, so after Jesus, that like Him, I only do what I hear my Father say to do (not there yet, but on the journey).

That means I get to live a life of adventure and excitement and a somewhat giddy unpredictability.  This life is much tougher than getting up at 4:00 am to write a by-God-I-will number of words daily, do my prescribed workout minutes, eat my egg whites, drink my protein shake, dress for success, and all before 9:00 a.m.

This life is for those crazy enough to forget all that and to try walking on water – no formulas, no gurus to look to.  Only Jesus.

This life is for those willing to labor to enter into His rest, to be led down the path straight to His blessed, favor-filled, victorious Garden of Eden life.  Success!

Wednesday, April 10 at 8:00 am – Yay! for the Homefront Show

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

https://1360khnc.com/ is where it’s at!

Lots about marriage, and from the star of my book, The Maker’s Marriage.  That’s so – John Parker will be short and to the point today, and it’s a point I for one can’t hear too often.

As usual, I have all kinds of goodies for my dearly beloved listeners, so make a cuppa and prepare for a blessing today on the Homefront Show.

Thanks,

Bev

 

That Last Post – Lies, All Lies

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

Most of it, anyway.

John Parker will still be on, as will John Dunlap.  The rest of what I promised will keep.

The time slotted for my marvelous self, has been given over to a higher purpose – and that will be the gift of my special guest, a lady I only met about two hours ago, Shelley Donahue.

Shelley’s passion and purpose are for the benefit of ALL parents, so if you are a parent, come along for the ride tomorrow on the Homefront Show.

https://homefrontshow.com/

Thanks for understanding!