Meat for the Hungry

  Photo by Robert Linder Within the span of 39 days, we A m e r i c a n s will celebrate two National Holidays: Memorial Day, traditionally observed on May 30 th , and our Nation’s Birthday on the 4 th of July.   Originally, Memorial Day was called Decoration Day. It was and is the day proclaimed to remember our fallen servicemen and women, to decorate their graves with the American Flag, to posthumously honor and thank them for their sacrifice. Then comes the observance of our Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.   Still, to celebrate any National Holiday, we raise our b a n n e r high. We stand and rally around the f l a g of the U n i t e d S t a t e s o f A m e r i c a while our hand crosses our chest to place it over our heart. We pledge allegiance or sing our National Anthem, The S t a r -S p a n g l e d Banner , which now stands for all free and brave Americans. It originally commemorated the battle for Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland, a ni...

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield By Allan Ramsay - National Portrait Gallery: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/ w/index.php?curid=6356695 In March of 1746, British statesman and 4 th Earl of Chesterfield, Philip Stanhope, said, “Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.” [1] All my life I’ve heard that quote or a variation of it. What does this saying mean? To me , it means doing things with your  whole heart . So, let me ask, do you do things with a whole heart ? And if you do, what is it? Some give their whole heart to doing  T h a n k s g i v i n g  and  C h r i s t m a s  right. And some, like me, barely squeak by. I’m sure there are things I do with my whole heart , yet at the moment, I can’t think of one. So what does it mean to do something with a whole heart? As soon as I asked that question my fifth-grade training kicked in, “When in doubt, look it up!” I’m high-tech now. I don’t actually use a ...

Consider all the scripture we so confidently stand on when we are healthy, job secure, and happy, does it hold true when we are sick, in need of financial aid, lonely and sad? If we are genuine believers, we know the answer is YES. Nevertheless, in the midst of trials, sometimes it’s hard to keep the faith and believe. I’m going through such a test right now. I have been diagnosed with Vertigo, a deep inner ear inflammation that causes dizziness and nausea. The ER Doc says it has to run its course. But when will that be? I’ve prayed for healing, yet I’m still waiting. I’m a busy, energetic, working woman reduced to lying flat in my bed and sleeping most of the time. I can’t serve the Lord this way and He knows it. I don’t know what to do and I don’t know when I will be better. I’m tempted to fear. But I know, deep down in my soul, God is good, no matter what. He has not given me a spirit of fear . No, He’s given me a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.  God loves me an...

The blinding stream of light swept across the courtyard. It wouldn’t return for another five minutes, I had it timed perfectly. Lying flat on my belly, head raised, forearms in position and toes dug in, I began an army-crawl across the compound. Inching toward a hole in the wall, something grabbed my ankle chains. I kicked to break free, but to no avail. Pain shot through my arms as I lugged my body toward that hole. Freedom was twenty yards away, but this thing held me back. With each pull forward, I’d be yanked back two. “Let me go!” I whisper-shouted. “No way!” it cackled. “I’m not guilty! I’m innocent I tell you. I must break free!” “You can’t, you will never be free!”

Spirit of 76 - www.wikipedia.org On July 2, 1776, in a secretive meeting set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence proposed in June 1776, by Richard Henry Lee. A committee of five men, with Thomas Jefferson as primary writer, compiled a document known to us as the Declaration of Independence. According to http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html , “ What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy [of individual liberty] in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.”

sarahbmartin.wordpress.com Ruth 4:13-22: Joy exploded as shouts of mazel tov came to Boaz. Wasting no time, he mounted his steed and rushed from the city gate to Naomi’s home. Today he would purchase her field and redeem his beautiful bride. “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife…” But what was Ruth’s redemption price? Leviticus 27:4 reveals the price of a female is thirty shekels. In Exodus 21:32, thirty shekels will also purchase a gored slave. Since ancient Israel’s shekel was a silver coin, i s it possible Boaz paid thirty pieces of silver to redeem Ruth? Again, there’s a hint of symbolism:  Boaz spiritually representing our Lord and Ruth, the Church.

Moab’s bountiful marketplace beguiled these hungry travelers and immediately they felt as if they had made the right decision. Sure, crafted altars with a graven image of Chemosh adorned almost every corner, but what did they care as long as they had food. Every new place takes a little getting used to. They’ll find a house with the money they have left and just live. If Moab doesn’t work out, they can always go back to Bethlehem.