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[Steve Crook]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/25/katrina.insurance.ap/index.html

I just felt like sending out a request that we pray for these people. Sometimes I just can not believe how insurance companies treat people after years and years of honestly paying for something that makes the insurance companies pockets deeper while leaving honest folks fitting the bill. in the end. USURY IS EVIL in my opinion.  It saddens my heart terribly.

Worse yet, and not related to insurance at all, I read yesterday about the poor souls being raped and ravaged in the Congo. It is more sad than anything I can concentrate on right now. One story included a young man that was trying to protect his sister from rape, again, from the supposed army there. She was 14 the first time she was raped repeatedly for days, almost lost the ability to walk, but the Lord saved her legs.

Now, 5 years later, after returning to her village and healing and all, she is now in the same hospital worse off than when she was 14. The description of the colon bags filling the hallways and the bowls of human waste in the hospital, where so many are being treated for rape, is well, more distrubing than my brain wants to articulate into images. The girl who I was just talking about had a 15 year old brother who tried to protect her, who then had 12 men turn on him and do him the same way.

Brothers and sisters, I personally do not know how to take in a lot of the world, but I do know that I can pray that the Lord's Will be done and done quickly. I just thought I would ask all of you to add an extra prayer in for all those un-named souls out there that are experiencing the wrath of God in their lives, and might not know that is what is happening.

It is so saddening, but I know our Father is in control. How blessed are we to be able to sit and type on a computer keyboard, eating food and drinking water, all while casually chatting about different things on our minds, on a day to day peaceful basis.

If anything else, PLEASE thank the Lord this evening that he blessed you to be YOU. I have many stories I can compare with you all, but I count it but dung considering the blessings I have, especially knowing the Lord has started to pull us all aside and reveal His TRUTH to us. I sometimes feel others are suffering the pains they have so that others can have their blessings. Of course, that is probably my carnal thinking....

Be thankful and praise His name all, be thankful.

God Bless

[gmik]

Sometimes it doesn't seem fair that our judgments are internal and all spiritual  and yet we hear of people who are definitely suffering physical torment, and yet I am here in America as God wills......

My husband went to Russia a few years ago and the Christian folks he talked to had no desire to come to America...too lukewarm, too soft and easy a life-they were afraid they would get all lazy and carnal....The couple he stayed with had never had an ice cream cone and pretty much subsisted on boiled potatoes. They were nervous about impending persecution any time the government so chose...but they were very dedicated in their love and service to Jesus....

I agree it is sad, but it is also as God wills....

[Gill]

Wow Steve,

You know, i know that God's people go through much tribulation but in reality it seems like nothing compared to what much of humanity experiences in this age.  It tears me up too ...when i let myself think about it  :oops: .  

I don't understand it but i do believe that as the elect bring in the rest of humanity into God's family ...part of that will include healing ...else what are the 'and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.' (Rev 22:2) for?  Its something that i need to resolve over time (God help me  [-o< ).

You know, when we think about what the elect will be doing in the ages to come ~ i think its all too easy to only focus on judgement.  Surely, there is more?  I can't really word this properly ...its not something i understand but something tells me that there is something special awaiting those who have gone through unimaginable sufferings.  And shouldn't God's people be tender and consider it a joy to see them have it?

I will pray ...if i can get the words out  :cry:

[Steve Crook]

Yeah, gmik, the only comfort I have is knowing our Father is in control. It all just seems to weigh down on me from time to time. As in, "Why me, oh Lord?" Ya know?

Gill, yeah, I too believe that those who suffer a lot fo physical torture in this life will also have a special reward, at least I hope I also can't truly "think" on it too much as it is a hard thing to think on. I feel that, in America especially (I'm biased because I live here of course), we fill our lives with so much to do, so that we DON"T have to think on much of anything, except our ownselves, and even that is not well thought out for most of us, or Americans wouldn't have so many drugs, lol.

From what I see from the forums and the map associated with it, most of the folks here are from America. I think about that, and our easy lives (compared to others in the world, even our poor are rich, and my family was very poor when I was growing up), and I truly have to end with saying, "Thy Lord's Will be done" LOL, that's all I can say or think. His ways are truly above ours and unsearchable by our minds.

I think the hardest thing I try to do in my life currently is to mediatate and let the Lord's voice be heard. I occasionally think I can't be the only one in this boat, so that's why I feel the urge to post messages such as these. Our lives are SO full of the adversaries devices that it is truly a miracle of the Lord that he has shined through all of that to us all and made us wake up a little.

This is getting a little long, but man there is no one else to talk to. Most people think I am depressed, when in actuality I am at more peace than I have ever been. Thinking on the old ways of the Lord and trying to hear His voice, makes the world think I'm boring.

Well, BORING I AM I want to KNOW the Truth, face to face.

God Bless

[chrissiela]

I'm surely not looking forward to another hurricane season but I would rather face another Katrina then suffer as much as some of those people in parts of Africa (and elsewhere).... whose suffering goes almost unnoticed by the world, it seems sometimes. 'Aide' is slow in coming (if it ever arrives) and yet we can find the money for the most frivolous of things.  :cry:

At least we can see a hurricane coming, though even that doesn’t guarantee that you have some place to ‘go’ for awhile until it is safe to return. That is why so many people stay. Lack of funds…. not to mention  a sense of complacency, I think. A sense that that ‘big one' that they keep ‘warning’ you about year after year (and that ‘never’ happens) WILL NEVER happen.

I know. I have lived in New Orleans most of my life and we NEVER evacuated. But believe me, I will never take an evacuation order ‘lightly’ again. I know too many people who lost EVERYTHING and some who have not yet even heard from their insurance companies yet. It’s really a shame.

Might not do much good to pray for peace and love and understanding, but I think I will ANYWAY.

Chrissie

[Steve Crook]

Yeah, chrissie, "ANYWAY". Lol, that is exactly how I feel. I bet you've had time to think about things since Katrina? My thoughts are with all sorts of folks in various conditions, and the Katrina victims are included.

I, too, think it would be "worse" to be in a country like that than be hit by a "natural disaster" of any sort. At least with a disaster such as Katrina, you don't expect it to happen to you again, or at least a person might think it is a rare possibility at best. With the rape, etc., that we have been discussing, I think as humans it would be much harder to work out in our minds because it is coming from our fellow man, and continues to happen at our fellow man's will. Of course, we are all blessed to know it is the Lord's Will, but before we all were shown a little truth, we would have blamed the men doing it to us too.

I occasionally get a huge feeling to "want" to just help those folks who need the most encouragement, but I also know unless the Lord works it out according to His Will, then it is vanity for me to act on those actions. I just wish I could share my peace with others who could surely use it...

My prayers are with you and yours chrissie.

God Bless

[chrissiela]

Thank you Steve,

I agree with you.... I think it is probably 'easier' emotionally to handle a natural disaster, even one that results in the loss of life or limb then it is to handle such a loss at the hands of another person. We would all like to think that we as 'humans' are capable of 'better'... that we are given brains to 'reason' with and hearts to 'feel' with and that we can have compassion one for another. That we can 'choose' and that we WOULD 'choose' NOT to harm others and that we would treat others with kindness and respect and as we would want to be treated. You would THINK, huh?  :cry:

I wouldn't say, though, that it is useless to even think that we can reach out and make a difference... maybe to only one person. But if that is God's will then I am sure that His will will be done. And look how many people DO just that..... reach out to people that they don't even know and have nothing in common with and 'owe' nothing to.

Of all the men, women and children who die for lack of food.... SOME are saved from starvation by the reaching out of others. Unfortunately, though, such help does not reach all. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try, if compelled to do so and are able. And the LEAST that we can do is remember them and their suffering in our prayers... and pray that those who can and are able to DO something about it will answer the call (God willing) when we can't.

I have suffered a few things in my life, including the loss of my infant daughter, Jenni, 5 years ago. But even that pales in comparison to the suffering that many in this life endure day in and day out. In comparison I am SO BLESSED and I surely do know it and am GRATEFUL to the Lord for it.  

Thank you for your prayers,
Chrissie

[Becky]

thank you all for your words that i have read this morning... it really and truely makes me think good and hard about the blessings in my life.

I can't help but think that those poor suffering people are not real... and that they are safe at home somewhere, but i know that is not the truth

I had a long talk with my husband last night about reality.  He is looking back at his past as something that he wishes could happen again.  He wishes he could hang out with his old highschool friends the same way that he used to....  i had to remind him that life is ever changing and that each new experience is just as good as the past ones.... or in the case of suffering, as my mom always said :this too in time shall pass.

I was thinking about pain and death the other night and i hoped that when i experience death that it would be over so fast that i wouldn't feel it.

My husband told me about a car accident where a lady was at a stop sign waiting to cross trafic when a man hit her from behind, sending her out into oncoming traffic... a truck driver hit her so fast that she couldn't have know what hit her!..  I was in shock thinking about how she was just minding her own business, when bam she was hit... and then killed... Life is so fragile ... it can chage drastically so fast...
and you all are right, Americans are so 'well preserved' it seems... grocery stores around every corner, medical attention, advancements in technology that keep us young and healthy.... unfortunately , it is a curse: feeling that you are indestructable... and that it's "not fair" if you don't have "heaven on earth". My husband was saying that everyone will have a lifelong freind..... I said"where is that a law??  that is a lie! not all people have that blessing and it is not promised us." I told him that I could say that i expect that i wont get wrinkly and saggy but it WILL (God willing) happen.  I told him that life is not a pleasure trip for us to get everything we want... our perfect house, health, love, friendship, job etc... I said that that is a delusion that we Americans especially have a hard time with..  Life is work.. there is a much larger purpose than pleasing ourselves....


rambling thoughts.... sorry... you all made me think though  :oops:

[shibboleth]

When I was about 12 years old, I read a book by Anne Frank. It was a book about a Jewish girl who lived, in hiding, above a spice factory during WW2.
The Nazis eventualy found out about the family and they were taken to concentration camps. Anne's father was the only member of the family to survive. The book has spawned 2 movies and is still a popular read.
Corrie Ten Boom and her family were put into concentration camp for hiding Jews. Corrie was the only one to survive.
I have read many books about the concentration camps in WW2. I have also read many books about the people who lived through that period and how their lives were changed. Why some lived and others died, I haven't a clue.
Did you know there were a number of attempts to kill Hitler? Yet everyone of them failed. This is the first time I knew God was sovereign. Why wasn't Hitler killed in at least one of these attempts? Bombs were set off, and other assanination attempts were tried, but Hitler wasn't killed, and in most cases, barely injured.
I bring this up because there never seems to be a reason for all the evil in the world. If I didn't know God has a reason and purpose for evil, I probably would have checked out years ago. Of course, I don't like the trials and tribulations when they happen to me. But I always know there was a reason and purpose for it, even if I don't know why.
We don't know how much longer this country will be free. We could be taken over by despots and overnight be under Marshall law and have our freedoms removed. It wouldn't take long to do that with technology and all.
So, as ugly as life can be, I have to hold on to my belief that God is working all things after the counsel of his will.

[gmik]

Good Words.

Bin Laden would be found if God willed it.

Until I discovered the BT website I never thought that God was behind any of the World's catastrophes. I am so glad everything is not so haphazard and that there is a reason and God is in control of everything, the good and (what we consider) the bad.

Chrissie-until you mentioned it I never knew the la at the end of chrissie referred to Louisiana. You are in my prayers.

Just some random early morning thoughts.

You guys are great and I enjoy your posts so much. Specially those of you who take the time to post scripture-I take notes they are so good.

God bless!

[Beloved]

For many who watched it was very distressing about Katrina and the devastation. But think about it, if the insurance companies really truly knew of God’s Sovereignty, then they would never have to pay for any thing ever again.  

I was amazed when I volunteered to help the victims of this hurricane on how totally unprepared many of them were. Even though we watched it coming to their coast for three days, these people had not packed or brought many of the basics. These poor people seemed so clueless.   But isn’t it the same way..... Spiritually?

What seemed rediculous was how the mainstream churches acted during and after the hurricane was even more chilling.  One of them even had the gall to remark that the devil was trying his best to get him but he foiled his attempts and was able to take his jet to Texas. There were so many things said and done by our supposed brethren that it made me  :-& .

I am so thankful that God has started his work in me and has helped me begin to separate myself from my stuff, my profession and other worldly things.

(1Ti 6:7 KJVR)  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

(1Ti 6:8 KJVR)  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

The best that we can do is just to do the Fathers Will as it presented to each of us. Jesus during His ministry seem to help everyone who asked. He only said no to religious hypocrits and the intolerant.

The way I see it, if that means giving money,goods, services and time to these people so be it. We do not do it to be good (remember we are dead ). We do it because Christ lives in us.

(Gal 2:20 KJVR)  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.


Like Ray’s recent prayer paper states, we can also pray and know that all that has and is happening is totally under His control.

Beloved

[chrissiela]

Thanks Gena, yep that's what the 'la' means...  :lol:  :lol:

Just noticing that my location is no longer showing from my profile... HMMMM... must have vanished the same time my signature did.  :roll:


Beloved,

Part of the reason that no one was 'prepared' for Katrina is (1) no one ever prepares for more than 2 or 3 days, being that is usually the longest amount of time anyone is ever displaced or business, gas stations, etc are closed after a hurricane. No one ever 'expects' (or prepares) for the worst-case scenerio  :shock: , unfortunately and (2) many expect 'someone else' (like the city/govt) to 'take care of them' while they are evactuated. That is why they go to the shelters and take very little with them in the way of supplies.... and the shelters themselves only make preparations for up to 3 days... not expecting to have to take care of that many people for that long, only to have more and more people continue to flood in for days and have NO services or supplies available in the area at all.  :cry:

It's a shame that we can ship tons and tons of medicine and other supplies to places like Indonsia after a tsunami or earthquake, etc and we can't even 'manage' to get help and supplies into a city in the US, huh??  :shock:  :roll:

Hopefully we have LEARNED and MADE EFFECTIVE CHANGES since the last hurricane season and such a tragedy will not be repeated.

Chrissie