The Score of War©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was an evil angel of war.

Believing to one day even the score.

Reciprocity.

Numerosity.

His lies got him kicked out of heaven’s door.

Do you know who I am speaking about?

He was a guardian angel in heaven. (Ezekiel 28) Beautiful, reflecting God’s glory.  He had power and wealth but it wasn’t enough.  He wanted to be like God. You may have been told angels do not have free will, like men, but they do. He chose himself over his Creator. Pride convinced him he did not need to be subject to the government of God but could be his own god. This was a lie he told himself repeatedly until it became his truth. Then he spread that lie to as many other angels that would listen to him. A rebellion was brewing.

His name was Lucifer, which means “star of the morning.”  He was beautiful. Filled with wisdom.

Lucifer rebelled against the government of God. He had power as the guardian cherubim. He was blameless on the day he was created. Lucifer walked in the Garden of Eden. He was a witness to God’s plans.

What went wrong?

His beauty and wisdom went to his head. He began to have dreams of grandeur saying, “I want to be glorified. I want to be like God.” God was planning to create something else in His own image?  Jesus. Jesus would come in the form of a man. He would be another reflection of God’s glory.  But unlike Satan, Jesus would reveal God’s glory to mankind so only God would receive all  glory.  Lucifer’s pride turned to jealousy and wickedness until the splendor of his wisdom corrupted him.  He wanted glory for himself.  From then on his corruption spread to other angels that fell prey to his side of the story of God creating another being greater than him.  And knowing that Jesus was the One who would draw all men to God, Satan begins his war with humanity. The rebellion cost him and one-third of the angels their home in heaven. 

They were cast down to the earth.

Lucifer is now called Satan.

Satan was still free to roam in the Garden of Eden. He appears as a serpent, a crafty slithering talking snake. He uses the same lies of pride to entice Eve to rebel against God.  He gets her to believe God is holding out on all the wisdom and knowledge she could have to be just like God. Isn’t that what we often want too? To know everything.

God gave a clear mandate to Adam. He could freely eat of all the trees but The Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. To eat from this tree meant death. We are not told how long it was before God made Eve from Adam’s rib, nor how long they took care of the garden in Eden before that fateful day.

Eve bites.

“Honey, c’mon, you gotta try this.” Adam loves his wife and willingly takes a bite as she gives him the forbidden fruit.  He forgot what God said about not eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It only takes a second to disobey God but the consequences are always more than we can fathom.  Thus Satan continued his lies of reciprocity.

The word reciprocity means the mutual exchange between two or more participants. One person gives something to one person and that person gives something back in return, either immediately or in the future. Satan is repeatedly deceiving people he will give them something if they align with him. His lies are crafty. They look good, really good like the fruit Eve ate and then Adam. He tries to convince you that you can have everything you want but he leaves out the punch line. Aligning with him brings you to his destiny…hell and the Lake of Fire. You may think you are wiser and know all things …

But in the end, he has taken your soul.  John 10:10a says…

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:

It is a crushing blow when your eyes are open and you realize you were duped, and taken advantage of.  The reciprocity being offered became slavery. Adam and Eve found themselves naked and ashamed. Their once perfect unity with God who had created them was broken. Satan infiltrated their home. The moment Adam and Eve agreed with satan they gave him a legal right (remember God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom Government with order and laws) to begin to steal, kill, and destroy. Just as Lucifer was kicked out of heaven and now called Satan, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden.  Outside of the garden, they would now work by sweat and pain for the things God had freely given them.

Satan stole their intimacy with God and they lost the glory covering them resulting in the need to sew the fig leaves. Their firstborn son, Caine, killed his brother Able, because he felt God loved Abel more than himself. God required a first fruit offering and Caine gave Him his left overs. God loved Caine and Able equally. Jealousy destroyed the family unity.  It was the same thing that destroyed all the angels being unified. Now Caine was sent out from the Lord’s Presence.

Satan has not stopped his quest of trying to even the score by any means to number those in his rebellious army.  He is and always will be a liar. From  his fall out of heaven to the fall of Adam and Eve and  the appointed time of Jesus arriving on earth as  the Son of God, and up to today, Satan is trying to number as many souls as possible to his side. Satan tried to tempt Jesus with the same lies that he too could have everything if he would bow down and worship him.  Read it in Matthew 4:1-11.

How did Jesus silence satan’s lies?

Jesus studied and memorized the scriptures.  Each time Satan tempted Jesus with what he could give him Jesus quoted scripture. The Word of God shuts Satan’s lips and closes the door on his lies. Satan thinks his lies win his war and evens the score. He knows his destiny, The Lake of Fire, found in Revelation. That doesn’t stop him. He wants to number as many souls with him when he goes down. We must do our very best to know what the Word of God says. A great pastor once said we should read and eat the Word. That is what Jesus said too in Matthew 4:4 as he was shutting up the devil’s temptations. 4 But he answered and said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. Jesus would never be numbered with Satan. Overcoming Satan, HE could triumphantly say:

John 10:10

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

What about you and me?

There is coming a day when our number will be up.  HE will speak our name. Will you have chosen to be numbered on the side of God? Or the side of Satan?  I pray you chose to be numbered with God’s army. Pray this prayer now to be certain.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

IF I have been deceived and unaware of Satan, the father of lies, forgive me.  If I have willing let myself be deceived and acted accordingly please forgive me of this also. Cleanse my heart by the blood of Jesus as I repent of all sin.  I confess Jesus died for my sins, crucified on the cross, and being resurrected three days later. Jesus be my Lord and Savior helping me through Holy Spirit to live for your Glory only. Loose my ears, eyes, and heart to all of Satan’s lies. Help me live now only in Your Truth. Thank You.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

 

The Rock©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a Stone that made men stumble.

A Rock of offense that made them bumble.

Only One Stone

The Rock Alone

If trusted would have kept them all humble.

1 Peter 2:4-8 The Message Bible

The Stone

4-8 Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. The Scriptures provide precedent:

 Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion,

    a cornerstone in the place of honor.

Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation

    will never have cause to regret it.

 To you who trust him, he’s a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him,

 The stone the workmen threw out

    is now the chief foundation stone.

 For the untrusting it’s

 . . . a stone to trip over,

    a boulder blocking the way.

 They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted.

 My yard is calling me. 

We don’t naturally pay attention to how rocks show up but my current home has an abundance. When I bought this house I needed to put a sewer line in. Thus began my stockpile of rocks. Small, medium, large, and very large. Along with the sewer line, put in by my brother-in-law, came a need to cut down two large pine trees. There were three of them all in a row. I was very happy because I disliked, no really hated how they blocked the sun.  I asked if he would be willing to cut the third one as well.  Yes.  Thank you a hundred times!  The ugly white picket fence had to go too. His son who often worked with him needed a project too. The son dug out all the bamboo covering approximately 1600 sq feet. It was a delight to see it go but now we needed dirt to fill in the empty spaces. My brother-in-law was able to bring a few loads of unscreened fill. Interesting things that come with that. I didn’t mind more rocks but glass, iron, and plastic not so much.  And definitely not the bicycle seat.

My landscaper neighbor then blessed me with several loads of clean fill. Three years of no bamboo was great, except I missed the privacy it gave. Bamboo is very resilient, Within those three years the rocks that were living under the ground started to appear.  For the next four years, I would dig them up and place them in the rock pile.  Some were easy to lift, others not so much. I have a very old red wagon that I would place them in and bring them to the pile. Some were just plain boulders and needed assistance to move by rolling. I had plans for all these rocks.

The more rocks I piled up the more I began to realize how much I love rocks. They come in all different configurations, sizes, colors, and densities. Nature’s elements have made them into what they become. We have the pleasure of changing their shape and their uses. Twelve more years have gone by along with some small projects and one very large one, an inlaw addition, that yielded more than thirty boulders, fifty-plus large rocks, and over two hundred medium-sized ones. They have graced my yard as a boundary for cars not to pull onto my property. Another border that appears as a secret garden, and other areas for weed control. Some are for diverting excessive water from rain,  I also have a small pile of rocks that hasn’t quite found its eventual resting place but just continues to grow. 

Stones, rocks, and boulders all made me wonder about the way Jesus is referred to in 1 Peter 2:8 Living Bible

8 And the Scriptures also say, “He is the Stone that some will stumble over, and the Rock that will make them fall. They will stumble because they will not listen to God’s Word nor obey it, and so this punishment must follow—that they will fall.

The Jewish Rulers, Leaders, and Scribes were witnessing the Stone in their day.  They knew the scriptures. They stumbled over the truth as Jesus became an offense to their way of life. Had they forgotten what Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15 KJV?

15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.

They refused to believe Him and trust who He said He was. HE became the boulder that blocked the way to them seeing and hearing the truth.  It was right in front of them. Have you ever stumbled over a rock that was right in front of you?  How could you not see it? You stumble and fall as predicted.

If Jesus had not fully trusted His Heavenly Father, he too would have stumbled. His heart would have become a boulder blocking the way to his heavenly destiny. This is what became of the Jewish leaders. They forfeited their heavenly destiny because the stumbling stone was trusting in the tradition of religion and not Jesus. Religion is the boulder blocking the way to salvation.  Believing in Jesus opens the way.

As I survey my yard with its stone piles and rock boundaries I often think of how I would bring all these lovely rocks with me should I move.  Do I really believe there are no other rocks than the ones I have?  Where is my trust that He supplies all my needs, and often my earthly desires like rocks? The Lord gently reminds me He is the Only Stone, The Rock Alone, that I need wherever I go.

 

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

I pray my heart is not a stone, but one of flesh.  I pray my heart is always pliable, conformable, and placed in the position You desire.  It may be a boundary at times. It may need to be chiseled.  It may lead to a secret garden I didn’t know existed, a place to beckon others to visit You through me. But never let it become a boulder that blocks my way to You.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Justice Is A Joke©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a prophet in despair.

Complaining to God, “You just don’t care.”

Justice is a joke,

Evil is awoke.

Til God spoke, “Oh,  I am quite aware.”

How long is God going to let evil reign?

The prophet Habakkuk lived in a time that sounds exactly like what we are living in now. He laments how violence, chaos, lawlessness, Godlessness, and evil is everywhere. Justice is a joke! How long before You do something God?

It feels just like that today. We ask the same question.  How long God?  How long before You rescue us from evil?

Habakkuk was desperate. Knowing he would be reproved for asking, he still needed an answer. So he waited and watched to see what God would say.

It was shocking. 

God said He was going to raise up the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were dreaded and feared for they were unmerciful in their thirst for power and control. They made up their own rules as they conquered peoples and lands. Habakkuk wanted to know why God had made him look at the iniquity and injustice all around him. Wickedness surrounded the righteous and justice was perverted. He wants to know why would God use them for the work of HIS justice.

Do we have courage to ask that same question?

God Answers

God tells Habakkuk to write down the vision He shows him. It is for an appointed time.  He must write it in plain language so it can be understood easily. God makes it known the vision will tarry but it will certainly come. AND right on time. God laid out the evil deeds the unrighteous do, gaining wealth by bloodshed, usury, and deception. HE states they are full of pride and arrogance and destroy others for their own gain.

Habakkuk’s Prayer

Habakkuk is shown the destruction of his people. He is in disbelief at first that God lets evil people prosper.  His prayer is God will reveal himself again through the destruction because He knows God’s ultimate purpose is to destroy evil and those nations that have trusted in their own strength. He petitions God, as judgment must surely come, to remember mercy as well as He did for his ancestors.

As he prays he reminds himself of how God’s mercy is shown in His wrath against evil. God used pestilence, plague, earthquakes, floods, famine, drought, eclipses, and wars all to save His people. Habakkuk ends his cry to God for understanding. He knows he cannot stop what is about to come in the destruction because he sees the victory of God in it. God’s judgment brought mercy and victory overcoming Godless nations. HE will do it again. God’s rule will prevail!

Habakkuk’s despair has now become joy. Even if the cherry trees don’t blossom or the fields are stunted and the cattle barns are empty he says he will rejoice. He knows God wins.

Shout Praises!

Nothing goes unpunished whether we see it in our lifetime or not. Habakkuk realizing this broke out into song. He was up on his feet jumping and dancing with worship and joy.

I wrote a similar limerick in 2021.  Here we are three years later and should we be amazed that evil has become even more depraved? Chapter 2 of Habakkuk, God says the more evil tries, the more the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the water covers the sea.  That is something to rejoice over.  We still must fight against evil. Worship and joy are powerful weapons to use in the fight. So get up on your feet and praise and let joy fill your spirit, soul and body.  God prevails!

 

Habakkuk 1:1-10 (The Message Bible)   

Justice Is a Joke

The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it:

God, how long do I have to cry out for help

    before you listen?

How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!”

    before you come to the rescue?

Why do you force me to look at evil,

    stare trouble in the face day after day?

Anarchy and violence break out,

    quarrels and fights all over the place.

Law and order fall to pieces.

    Justice is a joke.

The wicked have the righteous hamstrung

    and stand justice on its head. “Look around at the godless nations.

                    (God answers)   Look long and hard. 

           Brace yourself for a shock.

                   Something’s about to take place

                             and you’re going to find it hard to believe.

 

 Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

You are the Highest Judge.  Justice is not a joke in Your Kingdom.  Your ruling will stand forever.  Evil will have its end. Jesus overcame evil by His death on the cross.  Forgive us for our part in letting it become our ruler and not ruling over it.  Help us push back the enemy at every opportunity.  We put on our full armor from Ephesians 6.  The Helmet of Salvation, Breastplate of Righteousness, Belt of Truth, Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, Shield of Faith, Sword of the Spirit, and the Word of God. We sing and shout praises to our Righteous Judge. Bring Your Justice back to the world. Let our mouths be filled with worship through song and word. Let our spirits be clothed in heavenly joy. Get us on our feet jumping with endless joy.  In Jesus Name we ask.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

The Busy Bee Waggle©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a busy buzzing bee

Waggling a dance for others to see

Busy bee

Be busy

Waggling all day, a busy buzzing bee.

Now that was a bit of tongue-waggling!

There is a dance called the waggling dance. It is the dance of the bee. The waggle dance is the way a bee tells other bees where and how far a food source is, all relative to the position of the sun.  Science helps us understand how and why bees do this dance in the natural ways of the ecosystem.  But what about the Creator of bee? Why would the Creator program a bee to gravitate toward the sun by what we call the waggle dance? Why is this waggle dance detailed in its direction, length, and speed? Why is it performed day after day? And the question buzzing in my ear: Why is it so critical the younger bees imitate the older bees’ waggle dance?

As we imagine a honey hive where female larvae are given a special food called royal jelly, which is specifically secreted by the nursing bees, only one female larva will become the queen bee. The sole purpose of the queen bee is to produce more eggs.  The worker bees continue to fly out of the hive to find pollen and nectar. The pollen (fine powder on plants) is fed to the larvae as well as used to pollinate flowers, fruits, and vegetables.  The nectar (a sweet substance found on some plants) is the source of energy for the bees. The bees in the hive that are twenty or more days old will fly out of the hive daily looking for food sources. They will be the ones responsible for pollinating the flowers, fruits, and vegetables. When they return, if they have found a good source of food they can’t wait to share it with their hive mates.  They do this by the waggle dance. It is a repetitive sequence that resembles a figure eight. This sequence reveals how far, which direction is the sun, and how much time it will take for other worker bees to get there and bring back the food. The sun and its ultraviolet rays are the major factors. The younger bees will observe the waggle in preparation when they become mature enough to leave the hive. It will now be their turn to sustain the hive.

The life of a bee is about thirty days.  Bees generally sleep at night, like us. The bees that travel out for food are called forager bees. If temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit they will return to the hive and rest. Forager bees use large amounts of energy for their job. Can you begin to see the pattern of this bee and the pattern of our lives? How much work would we be busy with if we knew we only had thirty days to perform it? And would we double our efforts if there were some days when the temperature dropped and we could not work?  Or take a needed rest so we could work more energized the next day?  What if our continued existence as a species was the constant feeding of larvae to ensure we always had a queen bee? Would we learn the waggle dance to perfection? And pass it on?

The depth of these questions is quite profound to our human existence. What appears as a simple life of a bee has great similarities to our own. Right down to the life-giving waggle dance. What dance do we do to benefit the lives of others?  Does it always tell the truth? Bees can’t lie, but they do sting: yet only when agitated or in protection mode. Does our dance have a purpose? Does it follow the sun? Or more importantly the Creator of the sun, God. Does our dance help feed the next generation? The questions could be endless. God loves deep questions but He loves simple truths. HE will answer you if you seek Him with a pure heart.

My last question is this: Are we busy for our gain?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33(KJV), “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” The bees in their hive live with the sole focus of sustaining the needs of each other. They still take care of their own need for food, shelter, and rest. Both these things happen as they seek the sun. I believe they know who the Creator of the sun is.

Let’s be like busy bees and waggle, waggle, waggle.

Philippians 2:3-4 KJV  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. ⁴ Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Colossians 3:23-24 KJV  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; ²⁴Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Psalm 133:1 KJV Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

A Little Science Explanation

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

We can be so busy with things that are not life-giving. Forgive us. Teach us to seek the Kingdom, especially with the ones you have placed us with, like the bees in the hive.  Help us care and feed each other knowing You will take care of our own needs.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted.© 

 

The Knowledge of Much©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There was a gal who knew a bit more much

Of knowledge acquired, but inasmuch,

Had not dared to share

For the fear of care

Would sound as if she didn’t know that much.

 

The Knowledge of Much©

I am attempting again to read the Bible in a year.  On track as of this February blog.  Believing I can do it! God is faithful.  I am enlisting His help to be faithful too. I love when He opens up new revelations in His word from passages we have read many times. It also helps to read different translations of the same passages. I have always been a die-hard King James fan but my daughter gave me an NASB, the New American Standard Bible as a Christmas gift in 2022.  It is a red-letter bible with super large print. Two of my favorite things even though I still need reading glasses to see the words.  It took me a while to appreciate this translation and decided to use it to read through the Bible this year.  I still refer to other translations for comparison and other perspectives on the same passages.

The reading for February 2^nd was Matthew 25, titled THE JUDGEMENT.  The latter part of the chapter is the judgment on nations.  Jesus is sitting on His Glorious Throne and is called King. HE separates the sheep and the goats.  The sheep to the right and the goats to the left.  Sheep nations have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, given drink to the thirsty, and visited those in prison. Goat nations have not done so.  Early on in my Christian walk these passages were always referred to on a personal level as the word nations was overlooked. But the scripture is clear it is nations that are separated. This is one of the reasons the leader of a nation can bring cursing or blessing upon his or her people as a whole. Now when I read this chapter I can see it from the perspective of the heart of a nation and the heart of a person living in the nation,  God is merciful. He sees our hearts. The King makes this statement, “For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat: I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” (Matthew 25:31-36)

Something caught my eye, literally it was the word something, I could not recall reading it in the KJV. I immediately had to look it up in the KJV.   It wasn’t there.  This simple word had just taken on a whole new meaning. I struggled to write all the monthly journals I intended to have done by 2022. This project began in 2020. Truth be told I am only in April and due to some restructuring Jan-March will need editing. I also planned to do short podcasts for each journal.  I would begin and then this nagging thought would arise. I don’t know enough to be qualified to speak on this subject. Within minutes of being self-conscious my mind and focus would shut down. They need something, something more than what I can give.  Oh, the devil is a liar and a loser.  A forever loser as Pastor Tim Sheets says.

We all know that saying, something is better than nothing. That is what I sensed The King was speaking to me.  Something.  Some thing. The King didn’t say, “You prepared a 12-course meal for me. You gave me wine, water, juice, coffee, tea, and milk all at once.”  No, you gave me something. Some thing.  And it hit me.  Every time I share a blog or write another page for the journal I am giving something, some thing.  Some word of truth, knowledge of HIM, His mercy, His grace, His love, His daring to care for us without fear.  Oh, He has given me “much  somethings.”  All He is asking me is to do is share something, some thing.  A huge weight lifted off my shoulders.  I was bent over by the weight of perfectionism.  It is a standard I put on myself out of the fear that cares what others will think what I share.  The King sees every time we give the something as though we give it to Him.  If it pleases Him what does it matter what another may think?

If I dare to share out of fear I may indeed hold back all the King has dared to share with me. When I let go of fear, which can be pride, that my sharing with writing has to be perfect in my sight, not His, then I can trust whatever words He gives me is the something, some thing, someone needs. Thank You, King Jesus.

The Judgment

Matthew 25:31-46 NASB1995

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶ naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^[e]take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you to the extent (inasmuch KJV) that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear King Jesus,

We are Your sheep. Release us from fear to care to dare to care.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

Holiday Hearts©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was the perfect holiday season.

Everyone appeared happy and pleasin’.

Faces with smiles.

Hiding the trials,

Of fragile hearts broken without reason.

 

The Perfect Holiday Heart Season

Memories of childhood celebrations shape how we enjoy them as adults, passing down traditions to our children and grandchildren. I don’t believe any family does not go through some trial or pain during these times. May I share with you two significant holidays that shaped my heart thinking for a long time.

Thanksgiving.  As far back as I can recall Thanksgiving was always at my parent’s house. The earliest memory I have is about the year I was ten.  My mother was a fabulous cook.  For sure it was from being Italian. My dad was Polish and rarely ate anything remotely spicy, salted, and never anything with onions. My mother would make two different kinds of turkey stuffing, one with onions and one without. I never thought much about that at ten.  At ten I was trying to learn how to roll pie crust.  My mother was very skilled at this.  There were no frozen pie crusts back then, it was truly homemade.

That year when I was ten, my three older sisters (13, 14, and 16) were also helping out with all the Thanksgiving food preparations. We would be hosting at least twenty people. My mother was rolling out the pie crust for an apple pie. With the small pieces left over, she had shown my sisters how to make cinnamon crust rolls.  Now it was my time to learn. Watching the “expertise” of their creativity was no match for mine.  After several attempts to create a matching masterpiece like my siblings, my mother “complimented” my hard work.  Looking over my creation she laughingly said, “You will never be a good cook.”   My ten-year-old mind and heart received those words like the crushing pounding of the rolling pin upon the crust. I felt no humor, just heartbroken by being not able to please my mother.  I never have become or desired to be a good cook. 

Many Thanksgivings have passed since that fateful one.  As a young mother myself I can recall making desserts to bring to my parent’s home. Not one of them included a homemade pie crust. Even though I do believe I forgave my mom a long time ago I would still hear those words echo in my head. “You will never be a good cook.” I got good at ignoring them but just like the little broken pieces of pie crust my mother did not want to waste, Holy Spirit, in His precious patience kept those broken pieces until I let him help me see how creative God had made me.

Fifty-five years have passed since my heart was broken,  Five is the number of grace and I sense God has gifted me double grace. This year I felt it was time to work deeper on my writing skills. God prospered me so I could hire a Cognitive Release Coach specifically for breaking off strongholds and blockages for writing. Like a perfectly timed pie crust, my second to last session with Dr. Amanda Helman formulated around this memory.  I had already formed the limerick for this month and began writing about the pie crust memory. With her help, I went back to that original breaking of my creative heart to see more clearly the deeper pain I felt with my mother ‘s words.  Our hearts truly are fragile and at that moment in time, my heart had already been broken by other trauma.  This incident, though seemingly nothing to my siblings or mother, intensified the feeling of already being the outsider, adding to my belief I could never please my mother.  With no defense from my sisters as well, it deepened the feeling of disconnect from my own family.  It’s true said my heart: I will never be a good cook. If I can’t be creative I will always be an outsider. With each passing Thanksgiving, I just went through the motions believing I had to be part of this baking ritual. And every year I felt more distant. After I was married I didn’t go at all.  Even though I wasn’t married long it wasn’t until my daughters were teenagers that I came back to the ritual.  By then I was much closer to God and He had been healing me of many hurts. But the wound had festered so long it unconsciously oozed out poison every Thanksgiving.  By the time my children were also wanting to help with the desserts I had become critical of their creativity. It took me a long time to understand the roots of those feelings and forgive my mother. But not before I wounded my own children’s fragile hearts setting up years of not feeling connected as a family and living out ways that made that lie look like truth.

My session with Dr. Helman was to go back and relive that scene in my mind but this time with Holy Spirit.  Helping me see through His eyes and heart released the lie that I am not creative.   I am not discounted from family unity. 

As we have come to understand all hearts are fragile and easily wounded.  I do not know what my mother may have been feeling that particular Thanksgiving and perhaps how fragile her heart might have been. Was she enjoying Thanksgiving preparations?  I will never know this side of heaven…but how I miss her cooking!

I pray my children are set free from any pain I caused them to not have the perfect holiday season.

Christmas. I have bits and pieces of different Christmas years but two life-changing memories are the years I was twelve and the year I was sixteen. At twelve I absolutely did not want a doll.  No, I wanted a red fire truck.   If you ask someone what they want and they tell you,  why do you need to convince them they want something else? Or more precisely,  the thing you want to give them.  I just knew at twelve years old I was done with dolls.

The feeling crept in again of not pleasing my mother.  Being older I was more aware of my feelings as well as my mother’s. She was genuinely hurt that I did not want a doll. Our subconscious minds are programmed by the feelings of experiences, not just the experiences. This experience of my mother’s displeasure is magnified by the feeling I had when I believed I failed her baking lesson. She pressed me several times. “No, I do not want a doll. I want a red fire truck.”  As much as my mother could not understand I did not want to be treated as a little girl anymore, she nor I could understand the need for the red fire truck.  Only later in life did I realize it was my mother’s pain of knowing her last daughter was growing up and childhood innocence was done.  As for me, I realized the red fire truck would make me more like my three younger brothers who appeared to be more validated and loved by my father because they were boys. A traditional boy present might make me feel more accepted, right?  If I can’t please my mother, can I please my father?  A fragile heart can appear to speak without reason.

My mother was a very generous person.  Our Christmas trees were abundantly overflowing with presents under them.  Of course, there were seven children to buy for. By the time I was sixteen my older sisters were no longer living at home but with their spouses. This only increased the amount of gift-giving for my mother. Her tradition had been to wait until Christmas Eve to do all the wrapping. Not Christmas Eve day, but night, late night.  She would hide all the gifts in different places in our house.  There were still three younger brothers at home who by now were not sleeping until at least midnight.  The collection of gifts would be gathered on our dining room table once they were asleep. This year my mom asked if I wanted to help her wrap.  It was overwhelming!  How did she ever do this by herself for so many years?

My mother was tired. She had been working outside the home for ten years now.  I was the last daughter at home.  We stopped going to relatives on Christmas day because our family day was big enough and long enough. This would of course again mean food preparation.  My sisters would bring food but my mother still had the main dishes to prepare.  Yes…I helped cook nothing!  I baked nothing!  BUT…I did say yes to helping her wrap gifts.

Our time together felt awkwardly uncomfortable to me.  There were so few times it was just my mother and me.  There were always my sisters and brothers to fill the space.  I could almost ignore that nagging feeling I was not part of this family. My father did not help but he was quite methodical in understanding the process of wrapping gifts with the least amount of wrapping paper. There I sat with my mother, past midnight, wrapping what felt like a never-ending pile of gifts.  I couldn’t tell you much of our conversation but I  remember the feeling.  Yes, you may be catching on by now.  The heart feels so many things.

That night I felt an invisible chasm between us. I wanted to feel deeply connected but how does a teenager do that?  Especially in a family that does not verbally say, “I love you”, nor express physical affection. So, there we sat, perhaps three feet from each other, sharing scissors, scotch tape, and wrapping paper. Some of these gifts were going to need creative wrapping skills. The snow was falling outside, making a beautiful Christmas scene of peace and stillness.  It was the kind of snow that glistened when the air was several degrees below freezing. The snow reminded me of Christmas movies where families are warm in their houses with blazing fireplaces and everyone looks so happy, loved, and connected.  Hugs and kisses and intimate conversations are happening. 

BUT….there you are…sitting at the dining room table hearing, “That’s too much paper.  You don’t need that much scotch tape.”  And the look that says who taught you how to wrap? Jolted out my perfect Christmas movie feeling widening the chasm. The night ends with the gifts all wrapped. My heart is wrapped as well.  There is no connection of mother/daughter closeness.  At sixteen the best I could do was wrap another fragile place in my heart with enough scotch tape so the pain of disappointment is concealed. Like the criticism of Thanksgiving preparations, the criticism of Christmas wrapping fell on my children as well. Fortunately, I believe they overcame their mother’s neurotic need to save the wrapping paper at all costs.  They show it by making sure the trash bag is ready for the wrapping paper to be tossed out within seconds of it being torn off the gift.

How long can you keep a gift wrapped?

As my adult years out of the home came with the same tradition of waiting until Christmas Eve to wrap I could now feel my mother’s fatigue. I sat alone wrapping gifts as a single mother.  I think my mother, though not single, sat alone often too. Fragile hearts in need of love.

I never mastered gift wrapping either. I don’t care now. I  did receive a gift that Christmas Eve that required no gift wrapping. It was my mother’s unique gift of writing little rhymes on some of the gifts.  They would give clues as to what the gift was. I am sure this helped my mind and heart forget for a while how much I wanted to be affectionately hugged by her. I wish I could recall the rhymes we made up.  Yet, I know they don’t really matter because this is where I finally found some level of actual acceptance and connection, however brief it may have been. Christmas Day the little rhymes were read and no one understood this was my mother’s way of connection to show love.  It had become mine too.  I didn’t realize that until the writing of this blog. 

What can I offer as Perfect Gifts during the Holidays?

My need to be loved and validated has cost me some very painful holidays.  When my children were young it was simple to please them.  They weren’t trying to figure out their mother’s fragile broken heart.  I wasn’t either.  It was easy then to have your children’s affection.  But the fragility of humanity is the things we pass down to them when we are blind to our brokenness.  It often feels too late to reverse our responses to our children that were not always kind, fueled by our own painful childhood experiences.  Years can pass unaware of heart issues that surface during holiday seasons.  It is so much easier to shut down and wait for the days to finally be done hoping next year will be better. No amount of perfectly created desserts or wrapped gifts can compare to the heart whose sole desire is love and acceptance. The only heart I know who is perfect is Jesus.  Why else do we (or hopefully do) include Him in what we call the Holiday Season? We thank Him for abundant provision on Thanksgiving.  We sing songs of Glory to the One we call Savior at Christmas. He gave His heart to be broken for the sins of the world so we could be healed of our broken hearts.

This Holiday Season let Jesus heal the fragile places of your heart.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

You have seen every day of our lives.  You know how much pain and heartache we experience and often pass on to our children and loved ones when we are unaware or unwilling to let You heal us.  Forgive us. Give us the courage to look deep into every fragile place in our hearts.  We give You permission to enter those places. Heal. Restore. Unify. Bring Peace and Good Will to all Men.  Glory to God!  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Luke 2:10-14  King James Version

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

Believing Without Seeing©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

A man from the country of Fright,

Wasn’t sure if he could see right.

Believe without seeing?

See without believing?

So we introduced him to Christ.

 

No more pretending!

The last two years have all been about fear.  Have they really?  Or are we finally waking up? Since the beginning of Adam and Eve, it’s all been about fear.  There is no more time not to just be bold and blunt.  If you do not have Jesus as your Lord and savior, you are doomed.  Doomed to fear and doomed to hell.  

Satan began in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve that God was holding out on her and Adam. He tried to get her to believe that they should be like God, knowing all things.  And the only way to get it was to eat the forbidden fruit. Satan, knowing the nature of a woman is family, chose her first.  He knew she would desire her husband to eat too. Adam chose her over God as well.  Doomed after that to a life of knowing good and evil would forever be the fall of mankind. Satan now uses every imaginable set of demonic plots to bring about fear.  It is the way he controls our minds.

The bible tells us to fear not.  It says “ fear not” 365 times. Isn’t that interesting it is the exact number of days in a year.  God always had a plan for us.  A daily plan to fear not. Now think about how the mainstream media planting a seed of fear every day into its broadcasts.  What do you think grows after 365 days!

As we entered into the year 2022 it is crucial that we fear not.  It is an understatement to say our lives depend on it.  The majority of people know full well about the plandemic.  If you haven’t gotten there yet, you will. The woke will awaken. Truth can not be escaped regardless of what one thinks.  The person may be blind to it but Truth is Truth. God Truth, not man-made truth.

The Jewish New Year is 5782.  It starts before the Gregorian calendar in the month of September.  Looking up 5872 in Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word is “Ur”.  It means to “AWAKEN!”.  That is precisely what must happen and it is happening.  God is waking up  people to Truth.  We became weak with fear.  This can no longer be.

If we truly want America back in 2022, and thereafter, we are compelled to fear not.  There is no turning back. A decision must be made. If you have not made Jesus the Lord of your life, do it today.  If you have already made that commitment but have shrunk back in fear, today is your day to step out of fear.  We all must Awaken to Truth.  Fear Not.

 

Pray this prayer with me if you have never asked Jesus to be your Lord.

Lord, today I ask You to come and be my Lord.  I believe You came to die for my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus, You paid the price for my sins by dying on the cross. I repent of all my sins. Forgive me.  Come now and live in my heart and be the Lord of my life.  Send Your Holy Spirit to help me now live this new life and to fear not.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

Pray this prayer with me if you need encouragement to fear not.

Jesus, forgive me for not trusting You in all things. Your plan has always been the redemption of man. Evil will not win.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to be bold in Your faith for Your faith is true and just and fears not.  I want to fear not.

 AS ONE!

Now together we all unite. Open our sight and free us from fright. We are more than conquerors in Him. Fear Not!

 Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (KJV)

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (KJV)

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (KJV)

Matthew 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (KJV)

 

 Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. 

 

 

   

November Nag©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There is a history that repeats every year.

The nagging sense of the cold coming days we must bear.

Dark winter

Won’t splinter

A mind that knows repeated history keeps things clear.

Steady.  Consistent.  Repetitious.  That is what I count on as I live in the New England weather.  I may not like certain things about each of the four seasons, however, I never doubt they won’t happen, and in the order they always do. There are other things I never doubt will happen too.

The phrase “Dark Winter” comes from a chilling scenario simulation in 2001 of a bioweapon used to destroy people. The weapon,  a virus. The plan,  figure out how to tell the public. The end result, get them all vaccinated.  It is detailed and well worth your time to read. You will come across this telling quote, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”   Sun Tzu

Since the Garden of Eden mankind has steadily been infected with evil plans:  Evil plans that consistently try to control others.  Cain killed Abel because of offense.  He believed it was Able’s fault God did not fully accept his offering. But that wasn’t the case. Abel gave to God the first fruits of his flock.  Abel gave his sacrifice with the right heart and the right motive.  Cain gave of his fruits, most likely not of his first harvest or a pure heart. God called Cain out on this so he could remedy his heart.  Instead, his offense deepened.  God warned him if he didn’t get control of it, it would lead to sin.  Cain would not relent and eventually, he killed his brother.  His offense turned to hate.  God continued to help by giving him a chance to explain what happened. Cain retorted by saying he was not his brother’s keeper, lying to God’s face that he knew nothing. What should God do?

Of course, God knew exactly what happened.  God is a God of justice as well as mercy.  He could have destroyed Cain on the spot. Instead, He let him go, to wander in the wilderness.  I believe God was giving Cain a lot of space to repent.  God truly is merciful.  Cain sealed his fate and grew more wicked as time went on. Even though God marked his head so no one could kill him, Cain lived a life of wandering and most likely with a constant nagging guilty conscience. He was always running from God. He built the city of Enoch, named after his first son. (Genesis 4:1-22) He multiplied his own family and lived by his own rules. God does not remove the creative gifts He gives to His children but when there is no glory given back to God eventually our sin of rebellion toward God bears fruit. Lamech followed in Cains’s footsteps when he too killed a man.  He had no repentance either, just a belief he would be avenged more than his great-great-great-great-great grandfather Cain. No one in his family could offer him the hope of forgiveness.  He lived in darkness also.

Without forgiveness, men do all sorts of evil sins to each other.  Adultery, divorce, sexual perversion, greed, human trafficking,  abortion, and the need to control the world are just some of them.  The world beomes darker and darker. 

If you have a clear mind you can see history repeating itself.  If not let me help you out.  Just as winter is coming again with the nagging truth of cold rainy and snowy days so is the hope and belief of Spring coming again.  We bear winter days with warm blankets, hot soups, and holidays.  Thanksgiving reminds us of our desire to be free of governmental tyranny.  Christmas reminds us Jesus was born to redeem us from sin and establish the  Government of the Kingdom of Heaven in our hearts and on earth.  The New Year helps us reflect and move toward new goals. Valentine’s Day is for renewing love.  Easter awakens us to the remembrance of the horrible death Jesus died so we could live free of condemnation. 

And just like that Spring is here again.  We made it through the long winter because of our hope of Spring.  We make it through life because of hope in our Creator.  Just as God created the seasons, He created a way of forgiveness.

Genesis 1:14 KJV And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. 

Daniel 9:9-10 KJV To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him. 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Men and women whose hearts are darkened fall prey to the lie they can control the world.  They make up scenarios like “The Dark Winter” to prove they can.  They kill others for feeling offended, sometimes with words and sometimes with weapons. I can not say for certain this is true but I read that Cain was killed when his own house fell on him. I wonder if he had a nagging feeling cold days were coming but no hope of Spring.  Perhaps that was his Dark Winter, made by his own unrepented heart trying to control the world he made without God.

As history will repeat itself, a house without God will be a dark winter.  I hope God lives in your house.

 

Pray this prayer with me.

Lord, I want to live with hope. Let me not fear a manmade lie of a Dark Winter.  In You, there is always light and hope for new seasons of life. I pray You keep my eyes, ears, and heart attentive to the seasons. Forgive me for wounding others or bringing You an unworthy offering.  Today I give You my heart.  No Dark Winter, only Light and Truth will I receive.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

Genesis 1:14-15 (The Living Bible)  Then God said, “Let bright lights appear in the sky to give light to the earth and to identify the day and the night; they shall bring about the seasons on the earth, and mark the days and years.” And so it was.

Genesis 4:1-22 (King James Version)

4 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 0 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. 

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Mary Ludwig Hays—1754-1832  Confronting the enemy in a time when fear had to be overcome, at the Battle of Monmouth during the American Revolution.

Wisdom Built©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way© 

There was a woman of wisdom, a house she built.

Filled with understanding covered her like a quilt.

Fear of the Lord,

No need to hoard.

For the whored woman her quilt is heavy as guilt.

 

How can we be non-confrontational in a confrontational world?

We can’t.  And we aren’t meant to be.  The best we can do is to be in control of our emotions.  Emotions set the course of everything we do.  Feelings produce the perception of an experience causing a reaction.  Behaviour drives results. Results repeated produce a program in the subconscious mind.  This program repeats itself whenever the feeling button is pushed regardless of the circumstance.   Great marketers know this.  Great marketers can be good or evil.

Fear is the biggest market programmer.

My mother was afraid to drive on the highway.  I have a sibling who for years would not travel the highway.  My mother also fearlessly told us there is no such word as can’t.  That truth caused each of her seven children to do things that sometimes appeared reckless. But it also produced the ability to withstand the onslaught of naysayers as we chose to fulfil some of our life’s dreams.  I bought a house as a single mom back in the 1980’s.  I changed careers at 40, despite my father’s fear I was making a big mistake leaving a well-established company. A good friend was one of my naysayers as well. I have now been owned my own company for 22 years. Several of my siblings have owned their own companies as well. 

What can’t fear do?

Fear can’t control you when your hope is in the Fearless One.  That doesn’t mean you won’t feel afraid or doing something afraid.  It means it can’t control you.  My mother may have never faced her fear of the highway but she had great faith in the Fearless One.  That faith made her figure out ways to get where she wanted to be, even if it meant taking a bit longer.  And when she was in her seventies she flew alone for the first time!  

We are living in a time when fear, great fear, is trying to control us.    Can you imagine what it was like to fight in the American Revolution?  It was more than just soldiers.  Whole families were fighting for freedom.  The risk was great.  The fear,  maybe greater. October 19, 1781, was the day Lord Cornwallis surrendered, ending the American Revolutionary War, and winning our freedom from Great Britain.  There was still much that would happen to secure that freedom.  

We are again facing a great fight for freedom. Such freedoms as the right to choose our medical decisions, what our children are taught, how to run our businesses, what we can say, to name just a few.  I believe with all my heart we are living in a time that God is asking us to stand unafraid and unashamed in the liberties He gave us. Do not forget that is the greatness of America.  It may have taken several generations to put forth the greatness of our Constitution but we do not want one generation to pass and all those freedoms be stripped away.

May God grant us wisdom and courage to confront the evil using fear to tell us we can’t live free.

 

Pray this prayer with me.

 Jesus,

You came to set sinful man free. Forgive us for our selfishness.  Forgive our many leaders trying to use worldly power for greed and selfish gain. Help each one of us be confrontational against evil. Give us a love for holiness and righteousness and deep hunger for Your Word. We have not known what it is to be brave fighting with our very lives.  If this is to be in our time we ask for mercy and help to stand and fight. Our hope is in You.  Amen

 

 

Galatians 5:1 KJV      Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

 

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted.