Letter to My American Friends (Before They Vote)

 

My Dear American Friends,

Soon you will go to the polls and select your leader for the next four years. As a Canadian, I have had the privilege of watching you closely for more than fifty years. Even before the internet or CNN or the ability for a broadcast to reach into Europe and the rest of the world I watched what you were doing. It may have been through your TV shows or from my neighbours who had come here to escape going to Vietnam but I have seen you. So I can't help but look on you fondly and with concern. But at the same time I have the perspective of an outsider, because Canadians are very different in the way we view things and do things, although we may look and sound alike.

Before you stands the most important election you have faced in your lifetimes and I have been wondering what I can say to you that will help without being just another yelling voice. I found it in the words of your former president, Ronald Reagan.

 If you fear something someone says you have two choices. You either silence them or you depict them as a fool or lunatic. I have seen Reagan's memory so trampled that he has become nothing more than someone to do an impression of in order to get a laugh at a party. But he was a clever and wise man who loved his country, sought to make a difference, and was able to look into the future to see what the consequences of actions would be.

In a person's final words, whether from a deathbed or the oval office, a person realizes what truly matters, puts aside debates and arguments, and cuts to the chase. In President Reagan's farewell address to the nation after two terms in office (almost the entire decade of the 1980s), he hits on two points I also wish to emphasize as I myself look upon my last days on this dark and troubled planet. 

Firstly, it is found in the phrase, "informed patriotism". As you make your choice in November make SURE you know the facts. Don't simply accept what someone says or what you hear in a video, even if it is masquerading as an independent news broadcast. 

Secondly, in the phrase, "We the people ...". It's not only what the United States was built on but is the entire foundation of democracy. It is when the PEOPLE tell the Government what to do not the Government telling the people. It's not enough to put someone into power and then leave it to them. You must make sure you hold them accountable every step of the way. 

Now I want to share with you a twenty-minute video that you need to hear before you vote. It is from a man who was nobody's fool. He knew that "as long as America is good, America will be great" and that America cannot be good unless it is a "nation under God."

And from me personally, I'd like to add ... 

You may feel very afraid and alone right now because you are isolated and surrounded by hatred, chaos, and madness, but you're not. Not only are you connected to millions of other Americans who are faced with the hardships and decisions that you are, but also the love and prayers of your Brothers and Sisters in Jesus in your own country and those of us from around the world. But most importantly you are cared for and watched over by Almighty God who has made you this promise,

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

So love your country and your God by taking the time to discover what each candidate stands for, use your gifts of reason and common sense to see where their beliefs will lead and take the time to ask God who HE would have you vote for. I know He will answer you if you take the time to listen. And always remember that nothing comes as a surprise to God. Though the world may crumble and fall around you, His love and word stands firm forever.

"But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,

  the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

    the people he chose for his inheritance."

 Psalm 33:11-12

LINK Psalm 33 (complete)

LINK Reagan's Farewell Address

Speaking the truth with love,  

Always, Laura-Lee 🇨🇦✝

The Rapture Rap

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

Therefore encourage one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

(Add a funky beat and YOU rap it too. Out loud. LL)

Outta Here

 God's Word is clear

We will be

Raptured outta here

The Lord is near

Soon to be

Raptured outta here

No need to fear

Gonna be

Raptured outta here

I was here

But Laura-Lee (is)

Raptured outta here

A SHOUT I hear

It is He

I'm Raptu

Saying the "IF" ... Prayer

 The first Bible verse I ever read was printed in the inside cover of the Bible given to me as a Christmas gift from Mom years before I became a Christian, when I was only nine years old in 1975. It is something I didn't really understand.

"Perfect love casts out fear." 1 John 4:18

Forty-five years later I have experienced this love too many times to recount or even remember. I didn't know how it worked or who had this "perfect love" or how I could get at it. I only knew that I was riddled with fear and I desperately wanted it to be true and hoped someday I would discover this "perfect love" and leave all my fear behind. 

That hope was enough to set me on a path to find it. And find it I did. Three years later when someone told me that Jesus had this perfect love for me and I asked Jesus that "IF" He existed and "IF" it was true to please show it to me. I was so tired of being afraid. I felt like I was an old lady with it, even though I hadn't even reached the age of twelve yet.

And now I will "pay it forward" and tell YOU simply this. It IS true and some of the greatest lives start with the "IF" prayer. You need such tiny faith to start you off. Only enough to give Jesus a chance. Only enough to talk to Him. You don't have to understand it. You don't even have to be certain He exists. You only have to have enough faith to speak to Him. To acknowledge Him enough to ask for help. He will respond. In fact, this is exactly the opportunity He's been waiting for. He will never force Himself upon you. But the moment you take a chance on Him just enough to speak to Him, He WILL show up. It's not my promise. It's His.

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,

And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. (Isaiah 30:18)

Talk to Jesus right now. Whoever you are and wherever you are. It is my prayer you will do this. You will take a chance and say the "IF" prayer and see Jesus respond. It is SO past time to dump your fears and start really living.

Speaking the truth with love,

Always, Laura-Lee

(Yes. I "outed" my age on the internet AGAIN.)

Final Days Watch: Week beginning October 13th

 New Weekly Feature of what we should keep our eyes open for in the coming seven days.

"FAITH OVER FEAR" Watch
(Watch. What to WATCH for. Get it?)

I did a new Google Alert for "Russia, Iran, Turkey" because I know according to the Bible that the invasion of Israel described in detail in Ezekiel 38 is (one of the things) next "on deck" in these Final Days. Checking my email I got a massive list from Google Alerts concerning the combination of these three countries and something called the "Astana Process" which I have never heard of before.

"The “Astana format” was officially launched in January 2017 to formalize Russia’s dialogue with Turkey and Iran, who back a number of the armed groups involved on the ground in Syria."

LINK The Washington Institute

Syria is involved in a civil war right now and will also be involved in the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel. In all the world chaos what we need to be watching for is anything that unites these countries and demonstrates they are suffering an unstable economy. It is them wanting to steal what Israel has that motivates the invasion, NOT over religion, culture or territory.

"Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?'" (Ezekiel 38)

On the flip side, we need to watch for anything that shows that Israel is safe and continues to be economically well off. Which they currently are thanks to the massive amount of oil they recently found and the Abraham Accords peace treaty. But the stage is already set for this invasion.

Plus, we continue to watch for:

The destruction of Damascus

The beginning of building the Temple in Jerusalem, and

The Rapture of the Church

All of which are all set to go. This means nothing else needs to take place before they take place, but also because the other signs point to them being imminent.

As for us, I'm looking to set up a blog that will deal with these events specifically and not in my personal blog.

Also, I'm hoping we can begin Zoom meetings soon because I think we ALL have information and insights to share with EACH OTHER, as opposed to me rattling off information and you lapsing into a coma of despair.

And I am working on a Timeline Chart that will illustrate the main events to give us a foundation. Then we will insert the world events and various enlightening Scriptures as they are made known to us.

Now you see why I think everyone should have a Bible. This is a huge topic and now that we are here and the events spoken of thousands of years ago are being fulfilled quickly and more than one at a time you will be referring to it often. But it's not so complex that we can't understand them. On the contrary. God has informed us ahead of time because He knows we can understand and wants us to. He wants us to be prepared so we won't be scared.

 It's also good to take care of yourselves in practical ways too. Eat right, get lots of rest, and divert yourself from all the madness with something you enjoy. As I keep reminding my cousin, who lives and loves to help others, "We can't help anyone if we are tired, burned-out wrecks."

So "watch out" for yourselves and know that I am continuing to remember you in my daily prayers. And I could definitely use some from you too.

Send me an email if you feel so inclined and sign up to Follow by Email if you don't want to miss future posts. (The information to do that is in the right column.) 

The future may not seem very rosy right now but we CAN get through it in a good way if we take it day by day and step by step, uphold each other, and focus on Jesus.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." 

  (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Speaking the Truth,

With Love, Laura-Lee

LINK The End is Here (my original blog post)

How did this illustrator know what I look like? Am I being WATCHED too? LL

I highly recommend using Google Alerts. It is easy to set up an alert and will search the internet for you from a wide variety of sources and deliver them right to your Inbox. Saves massive amounts of time.

LINK Google Alerts (Canadian site)

LINK Google Alerts (America)

The RCA Dog in Prophecy

 

The tablet that I am using right now is made by RCA. So every time I turn it on I see a picture of a big white dog and a little white dog. I referred to the big dog as “he” and was asked, “What makes you think it’s a boy and not a girl? The first reaction would be to think it’s a Mama dog and her puppy.” 

I stopped and thought for a moment because at my age of fifty-four, (Yes. I “outed” my age on the internet. AGAIN!) I know a lot of stuff, but I don’t actually remember how I know all the stuff I know. But I answered, 

“Well. Because it was originally a boy dog.”

“How do you know that?”

Because back in the “dawn of time” when RCA was first founded (BTW that was before my time) it had that same dog. That’s when gramophones were the newest thing. There was a record which spun around on a table and a needle was on it and the needle was attached to a big device called a “gramophone”. And seated next to the gramophone there was a small white dog looking into it. And the motto beneath was “His Master’s Voice”. And that meant that the sound that came out of that fantastic RCA device was so lifelike that the faithful, little dog actually thought it was his master speaking to him.

Now, where I originally learned all that I can’t remember either. Knowing me, I probably heard it on TV. But after this memory surfaced God was very specific that I share this with you. However, it took me a while to figure out why I was supposed to do this until I read two Bible verses that made it plain to me.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” (John 10:27)

ALSO

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4-5)

After I declared on this blog a couple weeks ago that we were actually in the "Final Days" of planet earth (AKA. "End Times" or "Latter Days") spoken of in Bible prophecy, I started doing a lot of research and study. It has taken me all over the internet, to many different people and books and finally to my own Bible and prayer time alone with Jesus. The voices are so many, so loud and unfortunately are often saying very different things that it had a terrible effect on me. As you have searched for answers, or even just browsed the web, no doubt you have encountered the same thing. But the one thing that will keep us safe is that we will be able to know our Master’s voice. Not a facsimile. Not a recording. Not an enhancement. But the voice of our Master from our Master directly!

Jesus still talks to us today through the Bible and through the Holy Spirit. But we must be ready to shut off the other “voices” (especially when they are yelling) and listen for God’s voice. And also be willing to hear it and willing to DO what He asks of us. That takes time, effort and self-discipline. But then we will be like the wise builder who built his house on a rock and when the storms crash against us, our house will still be standing. 

(Matthew 7:24-27)

I haven’t spoken much about the Final Days since my original statement because we need to get first things first. When I say something I need to differentiate between what is just my opinion and speculation and what is actually something that God Himself is saying. And you need to know if what I’m saying is TRUE. Because I guarantee there will be times I get it wrong. And times you will be facing hardships all by yourself and need to know that the voice you are hearing IS God’s voice. That’s what will keep you safe no matter what is going on around you and peaceful even in the midst of absolute chaos. Jesus will not yell louder in order to be heard over all the other voices you allow into your life. He will wait for you to turn them off and to turn to Him with ears to hear, a heart to heed, and the desire to follow Him … wherever He leads.

Have a restful Sabbath, my friends. And to my Canadian neighbours, I wish you a thankful Thanksgiving Day.

The door to my internet home remains open and you are always welcome here. Please feel free to send me an email if you wish. I love to hear from you. 

(see the right column for my email address)

The Truth with Love, 

Always, Laura-Lee 

“Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;  and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (Emphasis Mine. 1 Kings 19:11-13)

LINK "The End Is Here" original blog post

If you don't wish to miss any new posts, please take a moment to Follow this Blog by email. (see top of the column at the right). LL

Funston's Fashions

I had just arrived for my second week of work at Funston’s Book and Bible store, removed my coat, gone to the washroom, greeted my boss, and served a couple of customers when my co-worker came up to me and excitedly asked, “ Well? What did he say?”

Having no idea what Brenda was talking about, I asked her back, 

“Who and what are we talking about?”, glancing around the large but cozy Christian book store to see only a couple of customers quietly roaming around.

“Dave.” she responded, as if that was all the clarification I needed. But still clueless I made the statement, “Brenda, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Did Dave say he wanted to talk to me about something?”

Now Dave was the owner and manager of this store and, during the previous week that I had been learning the ropes, Dave had done a lot of talking as he explained to me the way he wanted things done. But he seemed pretty satisfied that I knew what I was doing and except for responding to my, “Good morning, Dave” he hadn’t said anything else to me that day so far.

But the moment Brenda added, “About your pants,” it all became clear to me.

It is a common belief among several Christian denominations that women should only wear a dress. No exception. I gathered Dave belonged to one of these denominations and would not be pleased with a female employee showing up in pants.

I responded to Brenda with understanding spreading over me, “Oh. Dave is one of those.”

“Yes he is.” Brenda confirmed flatly and then added, “When I first came here and wore pants he came down on me pretty hard and made sure I knew in no uncertain terms not to ever do it again.” She told me as she looked around conspiratorially to see if Dave was nearby.

“Well.” I continued, “I live too far away to do anything about it today, but I appreciate the heads up. I’ll brace myself for the encounter.”

At that point I had held several positions in offices, one of which was for a Christian ministry, spent five years at a Christian high school and had attended church for many years, so I felt pretty secure that I knew how to dress modestly and appropriately as a woman and a Christian. But, suddenly feeling self-conscious, I gave myself another look over.

My dark grey pants were what I would have called, “dress slacks”. They weren’t tight because I wanted to be comfortable and they had a pocket on each side so I could carry little things like tissues around the store as I worked or to stuff my hands in when I felt shy and didn’t know what to do with them. On top I wore a light woolen vest of deepest sky-blue which was loose but not baggy. Of a cut that would be comfortable and de-emphasize the fact that I was well-endowed, preferring that people (especially men-people) would notice my personality above my physical attributes. Under the vest that, may I be so bold to say brought out the blue-grey of my eyes, was a plain but very white and crisply ironed blouse. And over my heart was pinned a small gold cross and below that was my Funston’s tag that declared my enlightened and elite position of “Sales Representative”. On my feet were just plain, black pumps with a very low heel in direct response to the fact I was going to spend most of the next eight hours on my feet. In light of my reassessment I decided that there was nothing I could do or change of my attire at the moment and would just have to weather the storm as best as I could. 

Now, depending on the level of your feminist beliefs, your reaction is running the gamut between “boring story” to swallowing your tongue because I didn’t immediately speed dial my lawyer. But as for me, I had no issue in capitulating to my bosses wishes in regards to this. I was secure in both my Christianity and womanhood, plus I had lots of dresses in my closet and (I’ve been told) “a nice turn of the ankle”. Which I later discovered was NOT referring to the fact I was prone to sprain them.

But as I went through my busy work day helping customers and discussing great Christian books and being reminded only periodically of the topic of my “pants” by my  agitated co-worker, the topic was never mentioned. Ever. Not by my boss or anyone else for that matter.

Just as Brenda was leaving that day and asked one final time if Dave had ever “brought it up”, I felt bad for her and the slight injustice she had endured being reprimanded for something that had been overlooked in my case. In an attempt to make her feel better I said to her, “Maybe he was just busy today and will speak to me about it tomorrow?”

But as I said, Dave never did mention it to me in all the time I worked there. The very next day I wore a dress. And after some time passed and Dave still had not said anything to me, I figured it was not an oversight, but rather a decision he had made. And since my clothes budget was not infinite and my closet contained several nice pairs of dress pants (at least in my estimation), I resumed and continued to wear them to work.

However, never feeling good about a double-standard, even if I am the one benefiting from it, I thought more than once about the unfairness of letting me wear slacks but not Brenda. That is until I showed up that Saturday for work. Saturday was the only day of the week the store was open that Dave didn’t work a shift and on that day Brenda came to work to strike a blow for freedom by wearing pants. And it was obvious that’s exactly the attitude in which she wore them. In defiance and rebellion. But when I looked at her brownish, red rugby pants and her rather uh, rather, … um, uh … okay, … her rather hideously, ugly striped sweater, I came to understand why Dave would have had a “talk” with her about her style of dress/mode of attire at the store. In fact, when I came to know Dave better, I suspect instead of declaring her style to be “hideously ugly”, as an insensitive person would do, he may have just asked her to “come to work in a dress” and then use his denomination as a bit of a decoy in order not to hurt her feelings.

So what is my point? What is my life lesson? 

I don’t actually have one. But this past week my cousin came to visit me and when she told me how she and her husband had just celebrated their 60th (Yes. SIXTIETH!) Wedding anniversary, I got her to tell me the story of how he “rolled up on her”. (That’s hip, young people talk for “courting”) I so deeply enjoyed relaxing and hearing her good story, I thought I would try sharing one of my own with you too in the hopes you would also “enjoy and relax”. Those two things were important before but they've become down-right essential now. 

 Thank you for visiting my online home. You are always welcome here and I hope you feel safe to relax and encouraged to be yourself. 

And even though it is written in the right hand column of this blog's  homepage, let me give you a more direct invitation to send me an email. Whether it's to make a comment, ask a question, submit something to be considered to be posted or just to say “Hello”, I do love hearing from you. And remember to put the word, “Blog” in the Subject Line so that I can easily find it.

Have a wonderful Sabbath (Saturday or Sunday) as we learn that when God asks us to do something, like obeying the Fourth Commandment, it is for OUR benefit and best because He loves and cares for us. Even more than we do for ourselves. 

Our extraordinary, almighty God!

 

Love ALWAYS, Laura-Lee

Through the years I have become an "expert" on appropriate attire for Christian Women. I'd be happy to answer your fashion questions at any time. LL