The blog, Topshelf, is moving to a new webhost and is getting a new name! But you won’t notice much of a change except the name and, of course, the url. Isn’t that great! Because the name I gave this blog is taken, we decided to change the name to “God’s Topshelf”. I really like that! I pray that God likes it too!!
When it gets up and running again, we….God and I…will be back talking again. Do I hear voices? Well, yes. There is, of course, God’s Voice which does not come in loud and clear but in a small, very gentle Voice that I have learned is also very powerful. Then there is my own voice inside which is constantly trying to get things I want. LOL! And the third voice is sometimes very loud, very intrusive and always wanting it’s own way. You know who that belongs to? The enemy.
So, I will be seeking my Father’s Voice and be back when the blog is once again up and running. God bless you richly!!!
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Yes, it’s that time again. It came so fast that I really did not believe it was about to be Christmas again. What a year this has been. I want to remember a few things here before I talk about the season. My husband knew about blogging in 2006 and tried to convince me that it would be a good thing to do. I disagreed since it was essentially a diary online for everyone to see. In January, I took the plunge and here I am. This blog started up a bit later but here we are.
It seems that at this time of year, the reason for the season is often lost in the race to get the best presents or the best vacation spot. We tend to focus on the material things as well. We get wrapped up in trying to find that special thing for this child or that one. And the kids are looking for Santa to fly across the sky because their parents told them that and they trust the parents not to lie to them.
This is truly the time of year to look at yourself and see what is there. Often, we would rather not do that especially right now because, if we did that, we would be more depressed than ever before. No, I do not suggest that. But if we can look inward to see the One Who has sacrificed Himself for us, then we can find the love He has given so that we can also give that love to someone who desperately needs it. I do not agree with the idea that ONLY now is the time to feed the hungry but I do agree that now IS the time to do so.
Now is the time to spread the love of God to each person that you meet, to show them that God lives in you and that He is love. This is the time to give from your heart to someone who needs that from you. Do you have someone in your life that you have ignored or had a fight with earlier in the year? Take the time today and heal that situation. Bring God into their lives. Show them what it means to be a loving, compassionate Christian.
Please see the actual reason for the season, Jesus Christ, and do the right thing by giving of yourself to those who are in need today. This is the true spirit of Christmas.
Merry Christmas from Topshelf!!!
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It is with a great deal of regret that I had to put the comments in moderation for this blog. It is unbelievable how unfeeling people can be especially when I put up an urgent prayer request for a little girl who is in dire need of prayer. The comments came quickly and were incredibly nasty. Not all, certainly, but many were.
I had hoped to see others who would respond and tell me they were praying for her. This was a prayer request from my dear friend who lives in Texas. The little girl is a family member, a granddaughter of my friend’s sister.
How can people be so cruel? So, for now, this blog is in comment moderation. Maybe someday I can release it again.
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On another blog that I own, I am talking about the problem in our schools and what it is doing to our children who are not getting the education that they should get. We need to get together on our webpages, our blogs and talk about this subject until people sit up and take notice. It is an absolute horror that our children are being DUMBED DOWN. If you do not believe it, ask your children what they learned in school. If they tell you anything, it will not be much because most school districts are now more interested in the dollars they get from the federal government to care about what our children are not learning. They are teaching how to take the tests that will show the school districts in a better light thereby getting more funding from the federal government. It’s all about dollars, not our children’s education. There is very little actual education going on in the U.S.
Christians, those of you who homeschool, please pray for those who cannot homeschool. Some are not qualified to do so or are unable to do so. Please help us.
Do you know that a lot of the kids do not even know who the vice President is? Do you know that when asked about the war in the middle east, most do not even know where that is? Do you know that even the adults have no idea IF we fought in the Vietnam war not when? Do you know that if you ask a person on the street about our own country that most will not have the faintest idea what you’re talking about?
YOU need to start praying about this subject. We all need to pray for the future of our children and our country because it is already being given away. When the Dumbing Down of America is at an end, none of the people of age will be able to run this country intellegently sort of like it’s going now…only MUCH worse. MUCH worse.
Christians, please pray about this. When you are finished praying, please do something about it.
Blog about it, put it up on your website. Get into action groups that address this subject. Have a VOICE in this. We all need a VOICE about this horrific subject. ACT NOW!!!
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The last ten days have been, to say the least, hectic for me. My usual routine is to take the time, first thing in the morning, and study and pray to have the information for the devotional that I want to post on this blog. But, those hectic days…I feel…robbed me of that. I could not take the time for this because of time problems in honoring commitments to my extended family. I apologize to my readers who may feel neglected here.
Believe me when I tell you that I love my family. They are precious to me. However, I really need the time to study and pray for my commitment to my Father too. That is so important. I hope to be able to spend more time with the Lord in the next few days. But for now……
We are called as witnesses of Jesus Christ Who was crucified for us, all of us. Not all will listen and accept but we must witness and do our jobs. Jesus told us to do this.
(Mar 16:15) And He said to them, Go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to all the creation.
As Christians, not just preachers or ministers, but as Christians, we are called to this task. And we can know who is willing to believe. Those who will come and see what God has offered. And those who do accept Jesus as Savior get a major benefit. Those who refuse do not get this:
(Mar 16:16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.
But what does that mean? Jesus died on the cross to save the world but the world does not believe this. But those who do will see the salvation of the Lord. They will be baptized and saved. Those who do not believe, will be condemned to hell with the fallen angels and the devil who is truly looking to pull as many as he can into that pit with him. He is working so hard to do this.
If you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please consider doing this right now. All you need to do is ask the Lord to forgive your sins. Yes, those things that you know are the wrong things in your life. Then, you ask Jesus to come into your heart and dwell there. He will do this!!! You have not done something so horrible that He will not forgive you. Please consider this.
When you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, find an good church and join it. Be a participant. Witness of Who has given you peace in your life. Enjoy the Lord!!!
Be blessed this day!
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I wrote about this on another blog of mine but I had to share this tonight with you. A friend of mine called me a little while ago, crying. I asked her what was the matter and she could hardly talk to me. Having been there before with her, I realized that the Lord had touched her in a major way. When she was able to talk, she told me that NBC Nightly News had done a story on how Jesus is in the prison system now in a big way.
For instance, Angola prison in Louisiana is or has been called the bloodiest prison in America. It is also the largest. For years, the prisoners there, mostly lifers, were extremely violent and mean. Then, apparently about ten years ago, the ministries began to visit. Since then, most of the inmates have turned to Jesus and there is literally no violence there now. What a blessing of God.
This video is one found on Youtube. To get to the report from NBC Nightly News just click on the link above.
While they are having great results in the prisons now, we still need to pray for the wonderful prison ministries that take the time to go and visit those who need Jesus so much.
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I am asking God to give me the insight and strength to see it through so that I can place another post on this blog. I have to admit that it has been a bit dry just the last couple of days. There is no excuse for my not having posted except that I do not have a thing to write at the moment. That would be why you see me simply doing a blabby fingers.
If we believe that God is in all we do then why on earth don’t we allow Him to run our lives? I wonder about that. I find myself taking back everything I have put in His hands. Of course, I am able to do that better than He can? That’s ridiculous. I guess I thought that He couldn’t do it fast enough. Sigh. Maybe it’s just that He isn’t doing what I want Him to do. After all, I KNOW what I want done. Doesn’t He know that too? That’s why I prayed for it to be that way. Uh huh.
No, we cannot try to manipulate God. He won’t stand for it. He will do what is best for your life regardless of what you think or want. Yes, He does give you the desires of your heart but only if you follow the Word of God that He has provided.
So, isn’t it time to really give it all to God instead of ripping back into your hands to do your thing instead of waiting on Him to do His?
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Normally, I do not endorse any type of commercial venture on this blog unless it’s Christian based and I still am not. But I have come across a company that deserves all the prayer and backing it can get from the Christian community. It’s called One2believe and they are selling Bible based toys on the selected shelves of Walmart and Target.
This venture is worth the time you take to pray for them and for the stores to open up sales throughout the country. They have action figures such as Daniel, Noah, Samson, David and Jesus, all of which are not usually sold in large chain stores. For years, these products have been only sold in Christian stores.
Take a moment to pray for these wonderful folks who believe that children and their parents should have a choice in what type of toys to buy. After all, there are satan dolls and evil things out there too. As we approach the halloween season, wouldn’t it be great to see more Bible toys than the spooky stuff we usually see?
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Usually, I post a devotional here or, as of last night, a music video that I love, but today we need to observe the passing of time and the horrendous occurrence on September 11th, 2001. We watched in horror as the second plane plummeted into the second tower, the first already smoking from a 747 hitting it. It was obvious by that time that it was a terrorist attack, very deliberate.
When the news came out that a third plane had hit the Pentagon, we were all thinking that we were not only under attack but that it was possible that hundreds of other places could have the same problems. A fourth plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. Would this nightmare ever end. Then the unthinkable…the first tower collapsed. The second followed soon after. My tears would not stop that day and I am having trouble writing this right now.
Through it all, I was praying and, with confidence and a knowledge of God I knew that thousands of Christians all over the world, as they heard the news, were also praying for the families, for the survivors, for those who would commit this awful act. Yes, we must pray for those people too. They have no idea what they are doing, led by fanatics and maniacs, totally deceived in their beliefs.
Today, on the anniversary of this horrifying event, we must do what we did then, pray for those who are hurting, the families of those who lost their lives and for those who still wish to hurt us. This day, six years ago, was the saddest day I think I have had except when my Dad, Grandfather and Grandmothers died (separately in different years). Even then, it was not horrifying, simply sad and hurting. I cannot imagine the hurt and pain that was felt by those who lost loved ones in the planes, at the Pentagon or at the World Trade Center.
Please join now with me in prayer for those who are hurting:
Father, I come to You today in pain and hurting for others who are hurting even more than I. Please touch them with Your Peace and healing hands that they may feel the Peace of God that passes all understanding. Please show them who You are, their Creator, their life, the Love of their life. We honor You this day with our prayers of thanksgiving even in the tough times. We thank You that You are here for us. We pray that all who ask for You will receive You into their hearts. Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice for us. In Your Name, Amen.
This day is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)
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While I would love to put a new devotional here today, I will be taking my niece back to college and won’t have the time to put up a new post. I’m here for a brief few moments.
This would be a good time to think about some of the things that have already been brought up, like…can Christians be deceived? The answer, sadly, is yes they can. In fact, I can give you a scripture that proves it.
(2Th 2:1-4) Now we beseech you, my brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you should not be soon shaken in mind or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word or letter, as through us, as if the Day of Christ is at hand. Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself forth, that he is God.
Notice in the part where it says “Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away,”? The words “deceive” and “falling away” pop out very boldly to me. I went to God and asked Him what those meant. He taught me that those who love the Lord can, indeed, be deceived if they are not grounded in the Word.
But what about “falling away”? Those two words bugged me because it implied that some who do believe in God and Jesus Christ will decide that the belief is no longer true. Whoa! Wait a minute there. Seems to me that the ones falling away would be those who just THOUGHT they were Christians, not real Christians. But that didn’t fly because you have to actually have a belief before you can turn your back on it, which is the meaning of falling away from God.
So, before I go, I want to leave you with this thought. We need to be grounded so far into the Word that we do not miss the obvious. When we do miss God on something, we need to run back to Him so He can continue to protect us like Dads do. It is very possible for a Christian to buy into something that sounds so very much like Christianity because the deceiver is so good at what he does, deceive. So, God says that if we are willing to be grounded in the Word and we spend time in prayer with Him, then you will not be deceived because you will be seeking Him and looking at Him instead of what the world provides.
Tomorrow’s Topshelf will be a little later than usual. Enjoy your day with the Lord!!!
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