Tamed

1 Peter 3:4 – let it be of that gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight.

I hear a lot lately abou being wild, going wild, growing wild, wild at heart…you get the drift. And while this really resonates on a whole lotta levels, I mean who does not like being compared to the gorgeous cheetah or to the marvelous she-lion! We are fierce! We are aggressive and we get what we WANT! RAWRRRR!!!!! oh but just a minute, does the Bible say anything about that?

While appealing, part of me takes a step back, crosses my legs with a finger to my pursed lips. Is this the spirit that God wants us to develop? I mean it certainly sounds cool! I am reminded how God says he is our shepherd, never once does God say He is our lion-tamer, cheetah-charmer or leopard leader (ha!) He is our shepherd. Why would God compare those that are his to the most docile of beasts? We need Him. Most animal babies come into the world pretty much fully-formed to take care of themselves. Giraffes can even land on their feet as newborns. God has done some amazing things with his creation. Now compare that to a human baby. Completely reliant upon its parents or he/she will die. That is how we that are in Christ are to be. We are not equipped with the claws, the tough skin, the self seeking behavior, at least we are not meant to be. We are meant to be led, shepherded, even dare I say it…caged in a way. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, beside still waters. When we make our home in Christ, this in a way, is our new prison. As we serve the Lord.

James 1:20 – the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

And oh, are we angry! There is injustice! I was wronged, neglected, abused, misaligned, left out to dry, etc. etc. etc. And how do we deal with these injustices? We cheat, steal and lie to get our way…oh for the mercy of God.

The gentle and quiet spirit does not mean meek, mealy or subservient. It actually takes a lot more power to be gentle and kind than to be quick and harsh. Think how much more difficult to carry a newborn baby than a bucket of slop. The slop can just go galoshing around, and if you drop it who cares? But that baby, take extra care and extra muscles to hold that right. And while we are supposed to be bold, have a sound mind and not fearful it is not aggression or rage that gets our way. Not the ripping apart our victims flesh to feeds ourselves and our famliy. We eat the grass, drink from the pleasant water and remain calm in the love and adoration of our Lord. I know the storms of life come in and we start to think “we got this” and that we can ride it through with our own power and strength. That will only get us so far. And although it is clear that there does come a time to fight it must be within God’s parameters and with His blessing. We must first and foremost check our hearts that they are in alignment with God and His way. Are we roaring, tearing, biting, stalking and forcing our way – or – are we partaking in the quiet and gentle spirit that pleases our Lord and savior.

All for now

Ellejay

diverse weights and measures

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  Scale with weights and balances.

Old school balance from the Pompeii exhibit at the Leonardo Salt Lake City, UT

There are a few things that are called an abomination in the Bible. Proverbs 20 verses 10 and 23 both say that diverse weights and measures and a false balance is not good…even an abomination. Them are fighting words – as they say – so why does it seem the Bible and God’s word takes such a hard stance against false weights and measures?

I recently watched a fascinatingly hilarious video where two monkeys were part of an experiment. They would hand the scientist a rock and in exchange they would get a treat. The first monkey was given a cucumber. The first cucumber was received with great aplomb and promptly eaten. But, in the cage right next to the first monkey, in plain view, the second monkey gave the scientist a rock and in exchange he got a grape. A GRAPE!! While the first lowly monkey had only received a lousy cucumber. The internal bells and whistles were going off like crazy in Monkey 1. The experiment was enacted again, with the monkey giving the rock (oh and this time the monkey tested the rock to make sure it was good…thinking maybe he had done something wrong to receive the detested cucumber) but when the white-lab coated experimenter handed him the cucumber AGAIN he succinctly hurled it right back at the scientist!! It was hilarious to watch.

How did the monkey innately know that he was being treated differently for the same tasks? He just did. It is almost like our Great Creator instilled into each of us a little device, kind of like that one used to make sure the picture is hanging level, and when that bubble is all the way tipped to one side – we just know it. And if it stays too long with that bubble all the way in one direction – well – the false balance gets tipped. I think that is a little of what is going on in our country today. We have had the bubble all the way tipped for too long now and our internal senses of right and wrong have tipped.

All for now,

Elle Jay

Stop Breaking the Law!

The scene above is from the movie “Liar Liar” one of the funniest movies I think I have ever seen. Because of a birthday wish of his young son, and the fact that he was prolific at it, he was unable to tell a lie. Something he found quite contrary to being a good criminal defense lawyer. One of his repeat offenders called in for legal advice after doing a repeat crime. Carrey tried to avoid him for days but finally had to take the call…the ensuing “STOP BREAKING THE LAW” came next.

Bear with me while I tie this together. I was reading in the apocrypha (just means “hidden” peeps…not blasphemous) in the book of Baruch. It was lamenting the downfall of the Israelites as they fell away from God and were captured and taken to Babylon. God is a just God, as Baruch says, and he must eventually punish for unrepentant sins. What was one of the sins? They were suffering through plagues because of something that had never happened under heaven before…that man should eat the flesh of his son and daughter Baruch 2:3.

This made me pause and catch my breath. You do not have to look very far to see the evidence that drug companies have been using aborted fetal cells to make the vaccines they use for many of the vaccines. It is possible it is in food as well, but I need to research that one more. While I know we are not roasting our sons and daughters over open flames…isn’t this even worse? Injecting (knowingly to some, unknowingly to others) cells from aborted babies. I know many people who would never want to see a baby aborted, but would line up for their vaccine. Here we are in a plague that has NEVER been seen before, and then I read about a plague that has never been seen before in Baruch. The words of God are there for our instruction and reproof.

We no longer have an excuse that we do not know. We know. I will post some links below.

God is Just

Let us all repent, for we are all guilty

STOP BREAKING THE LAW

All for now,

Ellejay

 

The dangers of home

We have been hearing (shoved down our ears) a lot lately about the dangers of going out. I am not here to downplay the dread disease that is devastating our lands. It is unfortunately really real. But I do want to shine a little light into the new dangers that are now arising. We are at risk in our homes. Domestic abuse calls have gone up 75% in Utah since the stay-at-home order was put into place. Our anxiety is going through the roof and the pressure is mounting and mounting in everyone. I mean EVERYONE. We are afraid to go to the doctor when needed. My friends, sometimes being at home is just plain dangerous. I think I read once that something like 80% of accidents happen at home. And I don’t mean just dangers just from an abusive spouse or child, but even from our normal every day reactions to things. The divorce rate in Wuhan also went up significantly post-pandemocalypse (new word yay!). Now, I am still torn between the quarantine simply bringing out the poison that was slowly seething inside anyway and truly blame, but the end result is the same.

There is a great article I just read about the Virus and how it is going to dramatically effect people in different ways. And, that divide line seems to go right down the line of economic means. As someone who kind of has a foot into both worlds of the economic divide, I think I may have a little bit of insight. On the one hand, you have the have’s who really think that whatever it is you want you can just go and get it with enough determination, drive and hard work. Like just get up and DO IT already. Duh. And in the have-not’s there is the I will never get out of this mess and the system is so much against me that I really do not have a fair shake. In my household we have two good jobs. But when our car engine blew it took every last available bit of credit to pay for it. There was no savings. Only debt…and more and more and more debt. It is almost like we are the US Government! Our fortune is that we have SOME borrowing ability. But we are in way over our heads with rent, cars, credit cards etc. A lot of people have NO borrowing ability. That is actually me, the only way I get credit is if I somehow hit the high score on guitar hero and get to put my initials in. Seriously, my parents help but the only way I could come up with emergency money is to go down to the payday loan center. You can judge me, I am sure a lot of you are, but I don’t know walk a mile ya know. So, something like this quarantine takes away the last penny that you were so desperately trying with all your might to hold onto.

What does wealth really have to do with it? Well, while some people are concerned about the 30 to 40% drop in their retirement funds other people are wondering how they can come up with the cash to buy a week’s worth of groceries and keep their internet, cell phone and insurance paid. Then there are some that don’t even have insurance to pay. Some people are in jails and prisons because they could not pay their insurance. Or, maybe they used marijuana to treat a condition, or just for fun. Listen, the economic system is totally broken. Our nation is divided. It is sad. I don’t even think a civil war can bring us back together this time. These are the dangers of home.

All for now,

Ellejay

 

 

Let’s Make a Deal

I think when it comes to the hysteria, madness, sadness and unending news surrounding the coronavirus everyone needs to let everyone else deal with it in their own way. As long as you are not doing something illegal, unethical or immoral (which I know those designations are changing on a minute by minute basis…) then let us just chill. There has been a lot of shaming lately, dare I say judging, of our fellow humans on how they are reacting and/or not reacting to this.

Even in my own family we have our ways of dealing. My Dear Hubby wants to stay in

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routine as much as possible – oh and also trying to break the world’s record for the most Costco sized M&M’s he can consume in one sitting. He went to the gym for one last workout today before they close it all down. Although I do not plan to greet with a kiss until after he has showered and will most likely covertly Lysol all of his clothes, I know he needs to do that. He needs to maintain a routine. We will call him the Robot.

Me, myself, and I on the other hand – with my journalism background – want to watch every little bit of piece of information on it. I would like to swim in the Covid-19 information pool (not a real one full of corona…I mean gross…) I have been following my twitter feed like a fiend, finding youtube videos galore and just generally wanting to be the person who knows what is up. We will call me the Investigative Reporter/Prepper.

Then there is my daughter. She cannot think or talk about it for one more minute. It is too overwhelming. Most of her time is occupied finding things NOT about “IT”. She is the escape artist. And, since a lot of it is out of our control, there is nothing wrong with that. And, there is nothing wrong with any of these responses. I would venture to say that there is nothing wrong with buying a little extra toilet paper or water either…I mean since when do we shame people for being prepared.

Is there only one “right” way to deal with a war-like pandemic that has never happened before in most of our lifetimes? My thinking is there is not. I also do not think it does any good to blame and shame people for their way of coping. I am not talking about being greedy, price-gouging, overtly disobeying the rules. We have to follow the laws of our land, our state, our government because we hope they are here to keep us safe.

So, Let’s Make a Deal to let other people deal in the way they need to deal. I am openly sorry to the extroverts out there – as an inherent introvert I can’t understand why anyone would be upset about an event being cancelled and not just joyful for the time to curl up with tea and a book…but…that’s just me.

Stay well. Stay sane. God bless.

All for now,

Elle Jay

What You Cannot See

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Cor 4:18

Photo by Rahul on Pexels.com

As real folks with fingers and toes and things that goes, I think sometimes we have a hard time reconciling our minds to this. I know I do – I mean science is funny business. First of all some say they won’t believe in anything unless they can touch, measure, taste and smell it but the first scientists had to believe it was there while they could not measure, taste, touch, or smell it. With the Covid-19 rampaging it’s way across the country and our television screens, doesn’t that hit home like a Babe Ruth in the night? We cannot see it, but truly it wants to get us.

We “know” that there are principalities, and powers and things unseen that are moving and even controlling our every day life. We have our thoughts (those rascals can definitely take us on a trip), our words (see how little of a rudder turns a big ship) and our hands. We can see our hands, but the places we touch with them…that remains a mystery to even ourselves.

I watched a news show that followed two adorable little toddlers, ages around four and six. They were told not to touch their faces under any circumstancs. We all kind of know where this is going…right? Then they let them play the ‘let’s go to the grocery store” game full of all sorts baskets, and fake fruits and veggies and checking out. Before this all started, they put the “germs” on their hands. This was a baby-powder like substance that became invisible. After the playtime, the experimenters used a blacklight to show all the places the girls had used their hands, and, as you can imagine it was everywhere. The register, the cart, the food and…yep…their sweet little faces were also covered in the substance.

What does this have to do with the invisible? Every day, minute, hour we are using our minds, our lips and our hands and we are spreading invisible things into the world. The coronavirus is an example of how deadly and real and powerful and terrifying those things can be. Let’s extrapolate that to the other things that are unseen: anger, callousness, envy, sorrow, depression. Our thoughts somehow in the unseen create real and seen outcomes. The converse is true as well; love, joy, peace, faith, longsuffering are all “unseen” and create around us very real outcomes.

I have definitely been pandemic watching my way into some fear. In a message I recently watched I was reminded that we must center ourselves on God first. Then we are able to rightly divide all the information that is being thrown at increasingly faster and faster paces. Let us dwell on the unseen things we can control. And, even the seen things we can control. Our prayers, our thoughts, our remembering of everything the Lord has done for us in the past. Oh, and to keep your hands to yourselves for a bit.

All for now,

Elle Jay

 

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

Photo by Jordan Benton on Pexels.com

That phrase keeps circling in my brain like the little widget that tells us something is happening on our computers…just wait for it…

If you don’t know the story of Esther – here it is in just two to three sentences. A myrrh and aloe dipped Esther takes the place of a very naughty Queen (Vashti) who didn’t take to one of the king’s commands (a big no-no in Persia). The King did not know she (Esther) was Jewish and through some sly maneuverings on the part of one Haman -managed to sentence the entire Jewish community to death. A very hungry Esther (3 days of fasting) begged the King not to kill her people, to which he had no idea he was going to do, and because she was quite beautiful (I mean who doesn’t look a little better after 3 days of no food?) he said that the person who said that should be killed instead.  And…well…since Haman had already made some gallows to hang his enemies the King thought – may as well not let them go to waste – and so he hanged Haman and his entire family instead. Ok, that is not the WHOLE story but not a bad rendition. If I do say so myself.

There is a very famous line in this story spoken by Mordecai – Esther’s uncle/father.

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:13 – 14 NIV

So,  I think, is not this “such a time as this”? I have heard the phrase said here and there by various religious and other authorities. So what, if anything, are we asked to do “at such a time as this?” These are get up, put on your socks and shoes and do something words. I myself keep wondering and praying every day – what do you want me to do God? You know I work for you now.

This disease. This coronavirus, has it not come to destroy an entire group of people? The tsunami is crescendoing around the world. And we, as called by God, cannot just sit by in the high up towers and expect that we will escape the wave. It will come to all of us unless there is mercy, redemption and grace given to us by almighty God. Do we really think that because we are IN AMERICA that we will not get hit by this? We need to come together (I mean figuratively, of course, social distance please!) pray, check on elderly friends and relatives, make sure people around you have what they need. Keep up on the truth of what is going on. Be careful if you are sick. But, most of all beg our King to stay this terrible illness that has come upon us so suddenly.

All for now,

Ellejay

 

 

 

From the prodigal

I watched a clip on the news the other day of a man berating Elizabeth Warren for her college debt forgiveness program. I’ll post it below. While the republican world smugly agreed with this “poor hardworking” American who put his kids through college and now gets nothing. (what’s in it for me?)

Elizabeth Warren gets berated

I have a slightly different take. My mind could not help but go to the story of the prodigal son and the elder son who resented the “fatted calf” that was killed for his younger brother.

Bible link to prodigal son

While it is true that this is the land of opportunity and often hard work, perseverance and a tough attitude can get you ahead. Some of us didn’t come up with the rising tide. It is easy to judge from the up high place of “I put my kids through college…why can’t you?” stance and forget that not all of our ships were made of the same materials. While some were rising in the economic boom some of us were just trying to put our boats back together. Maybe it was our own fault. Maybe we had addictions, bad behavior, carelessness. But maybe it was through no fault of our own. Maybe our boats hit a rock like divorce, illness, mental health issues or abuse. I am not saying you cannot rise with one of these in your past, you can, but I know that once you fall and slip this world does about everything it can to keep you down. I spend many nights with my face between my hands wondering what is wrong with me?  Why is this harder for me? And I berate myself. Sobbing for the mistakes that I have made. Some of them have been a difficult road of recovery and some things just never get back to normal. I remember resenting the song “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” because, well, it’s a lie.

I think it is one thing wrong with America. We have lost our sense of kindness. Our sense that all people want pretty much the same things. We haughtily look down on our brothers and sisters who have struggled. We put them in jail and call them lazy. We raise their interest rates to unbearable amounts and make sure that if you haven’t bought a house already that it is way too expensive to do so now. We punish and we scold and make sure that everything is “fair” and that you “pay the piper”. Am I an Elizabeth Warren fan? Not especially.

Maybe Elizabeth Warren is wrong to want to forgive college debt. But maybe she is not. Can we let go of our judgment for just a minute and talk about forgiveness?

All for now,

Elle Jay

 

Bleh

Today I needed a break. I sat on my chair that has heat and vibration and I just worked on the computer. Currently it is 3:54 PM MST and I am still in my glasses and pj’s. I need to get into the shower.

Nothing seems fun or interesting today. My stomach gurgled all last night and I barely slept – but did that have to steal most of today? Does it only count as a day when I leave the house? I don’t know. Maybe writing this little blog will count as “doing something” and then my conscience can move on.

What helps you get off the couch on “one of those days?”

all for now

Elle Jay

 

Back to Ellejay

What do you do when your husband goes to rehab…again? I guess we are about to find out since that is the situation I find myself in right now. Rehab. Again. I hope it works. I hope he gets better and never has to do it again. Odds are, he will – as in have to do it again. Because those are the odds. The dark places of my soul are igniting again. Why does it have to get ugly before it gets pretty?

That is the question.

All for now,

Elle Jay