My sister just had her baby early this morning. It is Baby #3 for her. So I am an aunt again.

Lucian was born this morning by emergency Ce-section. That was a little bit of a disappointment for my sister as she had wanted to do things all natural.

Lucian
Weight : 8lbs. 13oz.
Height : 20”

Isn’t He such a cutie

What are you thankful for this year? 

Our family had many “downs” this year. The death of my Grandfather who raised me and my husband’s grandfather’s death. And other things as well. At the same time we have a lot to be thankful for…

I am thankful for my wonderful friends that YHVH has given me. You know who you are and I hope that you realize how important you are to me.

I am thankful for my husband Barry. God has been so good to me giving me such a wonderful man as a husband. I find it hard to believe that in July we will have been married 10 years. Those years my not have always been easy and there may be big moves and tough times ahead but these last 10 years have been the best years of my life. He is not only my husband, he is my other half. I would be incomplete with out him.

Another thing I am so thankful for are our three beautiful children. They grow up so fast. I remember when they were little babies and now they are 8, 7 and 5. I thank YHVH for entrusting us with these three blessings.

I am thankful for food to eat. It is something that people many times take for-granted but it is something very important to our survival. There have been times this past year where I was not sure what we would eat but YHVH provides. I praise Him for always taking care of us.

I am thankful to know that physical things are just things and are not important. What really matters are YHVH, family and friends. There are so many people who rely on things for happiness when things will never give lasting happiness.

I am happy for memories, even when they make me cry.

There are so many thinks to be thankful for.

“If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily”
Gerald Good

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
– Epictetus

Thank you YHVH for all you have done for me!!!

Giving Thanks – A Featured_Grownups writing prompt.

Today we went to church with my husband’s family. The pastor spoke about law and grace. He called the law vomit. I have to make a response to that. He used Galatians 2:15-21. Feel free to tell me your thoughts.

Romans 7:12 states that the Torah is holy, and that the Commandments are holy, and just, and good.

Now, what believer in their right mind is going to speak against something just, or teach that something just, and holy, and good has been done away?

Let’s say that you, as an American, believe that the Constitution of the United States is just and good, and some foreigner comes up to you and says the US Constitution has been done away, that you are no longer under the law of the US Constitution, but under grace.

You are going to look at the person like they are lunatic. It would be such an absurd statement to make. But yet people say this about the Torah (about God’s “Law”) continuously, the law of which is the Constitution of YHVH’s Kingdom, and, of the entire universe.

I tell you, in the spiritual realm, you are either under the Torah (under God’s “Law”) or under the Accuser’s (Satans) law. Who’s law do you want to be under?

It is interesting to note that despite all this evidence, that people, even in Shaul’s day, in Romans 3:8 also accused him of teaching people to do evil that good may come; because people to this very day teach this very same doctrine in the Shaul’s anglecized name, Paul.

Teaching people to break, resist, oppose, and to even do away with the Torah (with God’s Law) so that’s God’s good grace may abound to them.

But what was Emissary Shaul’s response to this doctrine and accusation?

He called it slanderous and declared that the condemnation of those who teach such slanderous doctrine is justified.

Shaul states in I Corinthians 6:9,10

6:9 Don’t you know that those who do unrighteousness will not inherit the Kingdom of Yahuweh? Neither they who prostitute themselves, or those who worship idols, or those who commit adultery, or feminized males, or homosexuals,

6:10 nor those who steal or lust after other people’s possessions, nor people who party or are drunkards, or those who speak evil of those who are good, nor those who commit extortion, will inherit the Kingdom of God.

He repeats this same message to the Galatians in Galatians 5:19-21 and to the Ephesians in Ephesians 5:3-7 as well as to the Colossians in Colossians 3:5-10 and to the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 4:18.

He went to the synagogues every Shabbat (Sabbath), Ma’aseh (Acts) 17:2,18:4 (I find it interesting that the Emissary to the nations went to synagogue every Shabbat to reach the “Gentiles”).

He kept the appointed times of Scripture, Ma’aseh (Acts) 18:21, 20:6,16 as the other Emissaries also did; Ma’aseh (Acts) 2:1.

And as stated earlier, He had Timothy, who was a Greek, circumcised, Ma’aseh (Acts) 16:1-3; and he did this, right after the council in Ma’aseh (Acts) 15, that determined that foreigners coming into the fold through Yeshua need not be circumcised.

He took Nazarite vows on at least two occasions, Ma’aseh (Acts) 18:18; 21:17-23, the vows of which require the sacrifice of an animal; B’midbar (Numbers) chapter 6. And he went up to Jerusalem at least once to offer up sacrifices on behalf of his nation; Ma’aseh (Acts) 24:17,18 in connection with one of these vows (the Ma’aseh (Acts) 21:17-23 vow).

He taught that the “Law” is just and good and holy, Romans 7:12; that the “Law” is spiritual, Romans 7:14; and that it is only the sinful mind that is opposed to it, Romans 8:6,7 not the spiritual mind, Romans 8:5-9.

And in Romans 6:12 that the grace of Yahuweh is not a license to continue violating His Torah; and in Romans 3:8 that those who teach such slanderous doctrine are condemned, and justly so.

Sha’ul is clearly teaching Legalistic keeping of Torah does not save, and that is 100% true, only Messiah saves. He clearly is also not teaching the Torah is done away with (which would contradict Messiah).

The pastor also called those who want to follow the Torah Judaizers.

The problem with the use of the term “Judaizer” …. It’s use is perpetuated by church tradition….  The term is sometimes a mask for anti-Semitism…. No support for the term in the Scripture…. The Scriptures affirm “Jewishness” – Jeremiah 31:31-35, Romans 11…. etc

To Close….
Romans 6
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Warning to self-injurers the following post my be triggering. Stay safe.

I thought I would share some of my story. I am a cutter. I do not say I was a cutter because I will always be a cutter just like an alcoholic will always be an alcoholic. I have been cut free for over a year.

I started cutting when I was in 7th grade. To be honest though that was not my first form of self injury….I used to bang my head before that. For some reason unknown even to me, when I was in 7th grade I took an exactoknife  blade from art and used it to cut myself. That was the first of many many times of cutting.

I used to cut my arms, my legs, my stomach etc.

I got most of my blades to cut with by taking apart disposable razors. Like my title says “I do not shave because I find razors to be triggering.” I know this, so even though there may be some people who find it gross…I do not shave. It is better to be hairy then to start cutting.

This is a topic that many people do NOT want to talk about. It is a topic that seems to scare people because they do not understand it.

I am hoping that this post will help.

Self-injury usually indicates that somewhere during development that person didn’t learn good ways of coping with overwhelming feelings or stress. They’re not sick or insane; they just never learned positive ways to deal with feelings and emotions for various reasons. Positive coping skills can be learned at any point in life. People who self-injure can learn to use new and healthier coping mechanisms. This process may take years to develop. It is my husband who has helped me learn healthy ways.

Self-injury is also termed self-mutilation, self-harm, or self-abuse. It can be defined as the deliberate, repetitive, impulsive, non-lethal harming of one’s self, including but not limited to;
1)cutting,
2)burning,
3)picking or interfering with wound healing,
4)infecting oneself,
5)punching/hitting self or objects,
6)inserting objects in to skin,
7)bruising or breaking bones, and
8)some forms of hair pulling.

Self-injury, like many addictions, is often a coping mechanism to deal with some manner of internal pain, many who struggle with it also struggle with other issues such as eating disorders and alcohol and drug abuse. While self-injury may be someone’s way to cope with or relieve painful or hard-to-express feelings and is generally NOT a suicide attempt.

We aren’t born knowing how to express and cope with our emotions — we learn from our parents, our siblings, our friends, schoolteachers, — everyone in our lives. One factor common to most people who self-injure, whether they were abused or not, is invalidation. They were taught at an early age that their interpretations of and feelings about the things around them were bad and wrong. They learned that certain feelings weren’t allowed. In abusive homes, they may have been severely punished for expressing certain thoughts and feelings. At the same time, they had no good role models for coping. You can’t learn to cope effectively with distress unless you grow up around people who are coping effectively with distress. How could you learn to cook if you’d never seen anyone work in a kitchen?

Although a history of abuse is common among self-injurers, not everyone who self-injures was abused. Sometimes, invalidation and lack of role models for coping are enough, especially if the person’s brain chemistry has already primed them for choosing this sort of coping.

So….My name is Kristen and I am a cutter. I am in recovery and hope to stay cut free. I will continue to do the things I can to stay that way. So I don’t shave because I would rather be hairy then be triggered. I would never write this type of post while home alone because it can be triggering so I wrote it while my husband was home to stay safe.

Do you know anyone (Everyone knows someone but may not know it) who self injures? Do you or have you injured yourself? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Here are a few pictures of my little baby, Gadget (Or squeaker as we sometimes call her because she squeaks whenever the fridge gets opened lol)

That’s my Baby!

My son’s teacher is a socialist!!!

My son was sent to school at the beginning of the year with 12 pencils. He kept them in his desk in his pencil box. That should have been plenty of pencils to last him the year. The problem….the teacher makes sure each child has 3 pencils at the beginning of each day sharpened before the children come in to school. The teacher has been TAKING MY SON’S PENCILS and using them for children who need pencils. Here is a note that all parents received this evening

Oh, yeah….I totally buy that the generic yellow sharpen better NOT!!!! It is just easier to steal from the children who have extra and makes it harder for those children to PROVE that the teacher is STEALING their pencils.

What is my answer to that? My child is a low income child. I sent him with enough pencils to last him a long time but she took them for other children. I am sending him with 4 pencils that look like the picture below. Try to STEAL those…..

I am NOT HAPPY WITH HER RIGHT NOW!!!!!

Here are a few pictures Abaya Fashion…….
Would you wear any of these? What are your favorite ones?

This is what I am hearing. What are your thoughts?  What have you heard?

“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]

“Criminal penalties

Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:

• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.

“The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.

According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016