Beautiful cloud free, blue skies greeting us this past couple of days as day breaks – supposed to be that way for the next few days.  It means, of course, lower temperatures and we are getting those also – nothing like in some other parts of the state where they are in single digits or even minus degrees.

All part of living in this state and we are prepared for it.

We had a good time yesterday, Deed and Josh, Teresa and Ian were here.  Steven, Celinda and CeeCee were to be here but after surgery pain kept them home.  Just as well, their itinerary would have brought them through some territory where several accidents occurred.

Carla and I prepared the meat and Grandma’s potato rolls while the others brought the fixin’s.  I carefully calculated the length of time needed for the rotisserie to cook our turkey, only to have it get done an hour earlier that it was supposed to get done.

I took it off the spit and we placed in the oven along with the ham at a much lower temperature and both came out good.

Turkey takes a while to cook.  I can remember mom getting up early to put it in the oven so we could eat at a specific time.  We did the same thing after we got married.

One year Carla and her mom, each, had purchased a large covered pan for the turkey – they were on sale or something.  That year we were in Redmond and so her mom cooked the turkey.  She had it timed for early afternoon dinner and put it in at the appropriate early morning hours – only to find it cooked it so fast that the turkey was ready at about 0900 – bit before expected.

We used the pan for several years, always with the knowledge we had to cook it in a lot less time.  Now I don’t cover the whole chickens or turkey, if I don’t put it on the spit, or barbecue, I put it on a rack in the oven; we like the taste better.  Dressing is done in a different pan. 

Or, as I recently found out, I can cook the bird in a cast iron skillet – no cover, put the dry stuffing with any herbs and other things I want in it around the sides of the bird, and the drippings do well to get it moist as dressing – add a little broth and stir it over a bit of heat after taking the turkey off to rest, and it comes out great.

We also celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary – early of course – but just in case – and in all likelihood – that we can’t all get together on that date.    

Ezekiel 27:2-3   Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;

³ And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

Tyrus was a magnificent city.  One of the leaders in all manner of trade and culture – but they had gone too far and attributed their great wealth and standing in the world with great pride and denied the strength and power of God.

This chapter goes to great length in expounding on their reputation and respect from the people around them, receiving gifts and homage from their neighbors.

It then goes on to say, that because they refused God they would be punished.  People will be amazed that such a great city should be condemned to ruin, overrun by its enemies and ‘natural’ afflictions such as flooding.

Ezekiel 27:32-36 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?

³³ When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.

³⁴ In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.

³⁵ All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.

³⁶ The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.

Their demise will be a lesson to other cities, other kingdoms that to claim the authority of God, to claim He has no bearing on their success will lead to destruction.

Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

I enjoy a good game of football.  I enjoy watching men at their best – testing other men at their bests to see who will win.  It takes a lot of preparation and practice.

It takes good teamwork and planning to overcome the other team on the field.

What is taking place far too much, for my tastes, is the self-praising that is becoming common place.  Score a touchdown, do a dance; tackle the quarterback in the back field, do a dance; make a tackle, do a chest bump or thump.  It is a team sport, yet these men want to be sure that the world knows they are THE one who did the work.

However, it is a microcosm of what is occurring in the world today.  Not just in America, but in most countries.  Not just in sports but in all ‘public’ endeavors.

We look at the politicians today and they chest thump, ‘look at what I have done,’ ‘this is what I will do if elected’ as if they alone can accomplish anything.

There always has been and always will be an attitude of some people that they must pat themselves on the back, must draw attention to themselves so other will admire them; making sure that they should know they should be admiring them.

However, not all are that way.  Some have provided great service to America, while using their own initiative and talents – helping others by providing a specialized service or providing a means for others to work and raise their families.  These men and women go about their work without fanfare and quietly lay a strong foundation for America.  Unfortunately, they don’t get a lot of recognition and too often are put down by those that beat their own chests.

There has been a unity of spirit, that united we can accomplish great things that as individuals we cannot.  AND if we stand under the hand of God we will accomplish great things and be blest by Him.

However, far too many of us in America think that we have accomplished this by our own fruits and minds.  Denying that God has any say in what has made this country great.

We thump our chests and say look at us, look at what WE did.

We have done great things as a country.  As a country we open our hearts to those that are oppressed.  As a nation we budget a great deal of our tax dollars to help the needy – and individuals form charities or give to charities in addition to these funds to help others. 

We have been a leader in this world.  A country that people could look up too, could depend on for support.  We have taken on that mantle with pride.

And because of God’s great blessings on this country we should indeed take leadership, we should indeed protect the innocent and help those fraught with hardship.  It is our responsibility.

But there is a difference between being great recognizing that we have done so under the protection of God and thinking we are great because WE are our own masters and God has nothing to do with it. 

And the latter is the mantra of our leaders and far too many Americans.

Forgetting the history of other nations that have turned their back on the Living God; forgetting that He will give us warnings but when we fail to acknowledge Him we will be punished – either directly or He will just remove His protecting hand – either way the nation that turns from Him, turns against Him and will be destroyed.

We hear from those that hang around on the outside of Christ, proclaiming that IF there is a God, HE will no longer act as He did in the Old Testament.  HE no longer destroys nations and HE will not destroy America.

IF there is a God that Christians proclaim, HE could not be a God that would condemn individuals to death in hell.

The tales in the Old Testament are no longer a thing to worry about or be concerned over, because Jesus came and He said He came in peace.

We have made a milk-toast out of God and Jesus.  Too many think because of His teachings that His love forbids Him to harm mankind for any perceived sins, He will overlook them.

God is no longer angered by sins since He sent Jesus.  We can live the life we want to live, if we just believe in God – and not worry about what His Word says about sin.

Belief in God, without the full understanding of who God is and what He wants; being obedient only to ones self, is worthless.  Even satan believes in God – he just refuses to acknowledge his rightful place.

And that is only if they indeed acknowledge that there is a God.

God sent prophets to countries, to kingdoms, to cities to tell them what would happen if they continued in their rebellious and self-serving actions.  If they failed to listen, He allowed them to suffer the consequences.

America is heading in the same direction – and is some cases probably have surpassed many of these countries in our sinful behavior.  God has been allowing more and more things to happen within our borders and the mindset of those countries that used to count on us for leadership are now looking at our enemies for support.

As Christians we need to pray for and remind those that are in denial, that there is a cost for rejecting God, His Son, His Word and His Holy Spirit.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again