KNOWLEDGE

“We do not believe the report of men; we believe the report of the Lord” … THAT belief – and the voicing of it aloud – resulted in chaos at the doctor’s office and chaos at home when both the Monday doctor and my sister got a little pissy with us and started praising the benefits of doctors and medical hypothesis according to textbook ‘knowledge”. Mind you, my sister says she is {a Believer} and {rests on God’s promises}; yet she allows medical fears to get the best of her. We expected the blowouts because we understand that they are basing their beliefs in science and not in Elohei. We understand that it is one thing for a person to SAY they believe in the healing of Yeshua … and to actually BELIEVE in the healing of Yeshua: we believe; and EXPECT a good report and a miraculous outcome following all these follow-up appointments, which thankfully, are coming to a close.

The doctors do not – they preach fear and push surgeries, IV’s, and pills.

And my sister and her husband do not – they easily fall into the snare of fear with every single medical guess at what could possibly go wrong, and she believes in {healing} surgeries, refreshing Iv’s, and the magical proprieties of one pill prescription after another.

But they will believe ;-) Because what BOTH are witnessing what Hubs has been going through with the “help of medical ‘men of knowledge’” these past 6-1/2 weeks. There has been a whole LOT of guessing, and not a LOT of medical ‘knowledge’ going on with Hub’s situation! We can do WITHOUT that!! And Hubs fully intends to … Elohei has been showing Himself strong, faithful, and very much real with positive and praiseworthy results. And we are giving HIM – not the medical field, which Hubs is rejecting and untangling himself from asap – ALL the praise and glory.

Aside from the miraculous turn-around while he was dying in ICU a few weeks ago, Elohim, on Friday, honored us with a good report concerning the EKG readings – the reading also was nothing short of miraculous: Hubs has had a “heart flutter” for at least 3 decades, so the big concern the doctors had about the arrhythmia didn’t concern us at all – we KNEW it was there and we were not concerned. We were TRUSTING Elohim’s favor and mercy. And we got it in spades with the EKG readout which led to praising Him before the medical staff :-D There was a loud and contentious show-down between the doc and Hubs, but in the end the EKG results could NOT be denied, and 2 prescriptions were ended; with the other being drastically reduced/weaning to the completion of remaining pills: that will come to a halt in 17 days.

Science is a pagan practice based on guess work that totally leaves Elohei OUT of the equation. Why on earth would WE put our hope and trust in something that relies on nothing more than {higher education} guesswork having shamanistic (aka witch doctor) background? It makes more sense to us, as Christians, to put our trust in F.A.C.T. rather than letting {educated} doctors speak fear and questionable assumptions into our lives/or make place in our lives for labs to “work their magic”/or to live our lives filling our bodies with toxic pharmaceutical garbage. Like Hubs told Friday’s doctor: “Being here goes against everything I believe in – my wife brought me to ER against my wishes (I did ... I gave in to fear when I saw the vomit 6-1/2 weeks ago; I WON'T do it again!), and you guys held me here for days against my will nearly killing me with all your unwanted help. I already know what your advice and prescriptions DID to me while I was in the hospital – I am STILL suffering the fallout of all that ‘help’. Why would I want to continue that?”

The explosions voiced by both the doctor at the hospital appointment … and later voiced at home by my sister, was expected; and Hubs weathered them both well. My sister even asked my husband … while I was in the back bedroom making the bed … “is this decision YOUR decision – or are you making your decision because of Val’s input?” Hubs assured her that any decision he makes about his life are HIS decisions. If she knew him as well as I do, she wouldn’t have asked the question: Hubs does what HE wants to do … he is NOT a pushover or easily persuaded to do ANYTHING. He gathers information from every possible source, thinks on EVERYTHING for at least 2 weeks be for making a final decision, and when he has made his decision – it’s made – like cast in stone. Even my opinions and/or suggestions do not move him once he makes up his mind While it is true that Hubs and I are a team and work as one, it is also true that we make our decisions for our lives separately and the other supportively stands by: sometimes we are in total unity, and sometimes we are in opposition. BUT we are ALWAYS a TEAM. We are one … as Biblical marriage is supposed to be. And we also understand that Lucifer will USE one or the other to undermine Elohei’s Will. So, when facing life altering decisions, we take into account the other’s concerns and opinions when we need to make joint decisions; BUT after everything is said and done, we stand alone in our personal decisions when it comes down to Elohei’s Will concerning our spiritual, physical, and emotional health and well-being … and the other stands alongside offering moral/prayer/and physical support; whether or not they agree: we are a team and we stand in unity. That is also as it is to be Biblically.

And Hubs reminded her that we are supposed to speak to each other in psalm and words of Gospel encouragement as I have been doing when Hubs and I discuss things that affect our life together – not to sway one or the other to a specific opinion, but more to strengthen and bring to mind the Words of Life so necessary to stand firm in the promises of God in fearful circumstances (she should KNOW this!). Though we were expecting my sister’s objections because we know how she thinks and feels about medical intervention (all for it; preaches it like it’s gospel), we were a little taken aback by her objections to consulting the Scriptures for encouragement and wisdom! THAT is WHAT Christians are TOLD TO DO! Not only by Elohim, but plainly said BY Yeshua. If today’s Christians do not want to take the Old Covenant into consideration, there are PLENTY OF INSTANCCES in the New Covenant where the Disciples were TOLD BY Yeshua to look to the Word of God for inspiration, faith, and wisdom. And the Apostles TAUGHT that the Word coupled with faith in Yeshua was SUFFICIENT unto health and well-being. The Early Church LIVED by the Gospel grounded IN the Holy Scriptures, and they put the Word of God INTO PRACTICE.

As we said to my sister, “If you can SHOW us IN the Scriptures … ANYWHERE in the Scriptures … WHERE it SAYS that we, as Believers, are encouraged or flat out told to run to a doctor and put our faith in a doctor, then we will change our way of thinking. But UNTIL you can DO that … we do not rely on men, but rather on Elohei.”

We do not believe that the {men of knowledge} she is referring to are doctors or hospital staff; we believe she and her husband are misrepresenting the Scriptures with that assertation.

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7)

“The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feeds on folly” (Proverbs 15:14)

“Teach me knowledge and good judgement, for I trust Your commands” (Psalm 119:66)

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him; the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge …” (Isaiah 11:2)

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. As the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

“… that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself …” (Colossians 2:2-3)

CLEARLY Scripture speaks of the knowledge OF ELOHEI … not of men … that we, as believers are to adhere to. We do not believe the report of men; we believe the report of the Lord. And on that we rest our case and expect a good outcome when the dust from this ordeal settles. Amen

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ACTS ~ Chapters 17

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO Acts ~ Chapter 17

Now Saul (Paul) and Silas journeyed through Amphipolis and Appollonia until they came to Thessalonica.

Here there was a Jewish synagogue. According to custom, Paul went in among them, and on three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures. He opened up the Scriptures, trying to show that it was necessary for the Mashiach (Christ) to suffer and to rise up again from the dead, and he said, “The Yeshua (Jesus), Whom I preach to you, is the Mashiach!” Some of them became believers and joined Saul and Silas. There were many Greeks among the worshippers, and several prominent women.

Now the Jews who refused to believe, stirred by jealousy, got some wicked rowdies to join them, then gathered a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked the house of Jason, hoping to find Saul and Silas there and bring them out to the people. When they did not find them there, they dragged Jason and some other brethren before the city magistrates and shouted, ‘These fellows who are creating confusion all over the world have come here, too! And they have been at Jason’s. They say that there is another King – Yeshua – and they are thus acting contrary to the orders of the emperor.’ When the mob and the city fathers heard this, they were troubled. As to Jason, and the others, they put them under bonds to keep the peace, and then let them go.

The brethren at once sent Saul and Silas away by night to Berea, and on reaching there they went to the Jewish synagogue. The people there were more noble-minded than those at Thessalonica, for they were more eager to hear the Word and searched the Scriptures to see if these things were so. In fact, many of them therefore became believers, including some very respectable Greek women as well as men. But when the Jews at Thessalonica heard that the Word of Elohei (God) was being preached by Saul in Berea, they also came there to stir up the crowds against him. The brethren then at once sent Saul away towards the coast, but both Silas and Timothy remained there.

Those who accompanied Saul brought him as far as Athens, then went back, taking along orders from him that Silas and Timothy should come to him as soon as possible.

Then, while Saul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit within him was painfully provoked as he saw that the city was given to idol worship. He discussed the matter with the Jews and their fellow worshippers in the synagogue, and likewise daily in the marketplace with people whom he met there. Then he ran up against some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Some of them said, ‘What do you suppose this chatterbox has to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be preaching some strange gods.’ They noted that he was preaching to them the Gospel of Yeshua and the resurrection.

They then took him and brought him up to the Areopagus (Mars Hill), and said, ‘may we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming? For you are surely bringing some strange things to our ears. So we want to know just what these things may mean.’ The Athenians and visitors from abroad likewise spent their leisure time in nothing more than telling something new or hearing about it. Then Saul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, spoke to them: “Men of Athens, I see that you are in every way very religious. For as I was walking about and taking note of the things you worship, I came across an altar with this inscription [To an Unknown God]; though you do not know Him, still you hold Him in reverence, and it is he Whom I no proclaim to you. The God Who created the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth and does not dwell in temples made of human hands. Nor is He served by the hands of man as though He needed anything, for He has Himself given all life, breath, and every good thing. From one blood He made all the races now living on the whole face of the earth, after having beforehand determined when and where they should live. They were to seek Adonai. Though He is never far from any of us, yet they might perhaps be groping for Him, hoping they might find Him. Yes, it is in Him that we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘for also we are His offspring’. Now since we are Elohei’s offspring, we ought not to think of the Deity as being like gold or silver or stone, shaped by man’s artistry and imagination. Elohei has indeed overlooked such times of ignorance, but now He calls on all men everywhere to repent. Now He has set a day on which He will judge the people of the world with justice, through a Man Whom He has appointed, and to all He has furnished proof of this by raising Him from the dead.”

Some scoffed when they heard him mention the resurrection of the dead, but others said, ‘We shall hear you again about that.’ And with that, Saul went away from the meeting.

There were some, too, who became believers and joined him, among whom were Dionysius – a member of the Areopagus Council; and a woman by the name of Damaris, and also some others.

**ACTS 16: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-gospel-according-to-acts-chapters-16.html

MOD TOM TURKEY HOLIDAY KITCHEN TOWEL SET

I am loving MOD knitted cotton kitchen towels; they soak up the spills, thoroughly dry wet hands, and look great after numerous washings ;-) Store bought towels are made of plastic materials that just smear spills without soaking anything up at all; and the stamped design fades after the first washing and disappears totally after a few months.

This over-sized kitchen towel framework is my own concept, designed and crafted to fit my husband’s large hands, as he also uses the towel to wipe up with; it was worked up using cotton yarn, my craft-minded brain (LOL), and a needlework graph I found while scrolling Pinterest.

The 2-tone dishcloth was worked using the public domain ‘granny’s dishcloth’ pattern.

I think it is a colorful holiday addition to the kitchen … and reasonably priced too considering the hours put in and the materials tallied ;-)

Tom Turkey Holiday Kitchen Towel Set. $10/set

BEEF STROGANOFF Recipe

This dish is made with hamburger and rice instead of the traditional steak and noodles; but it is every bit as tasty!

                                       

And leaner … and if you use homemade beef stock instead of the canned bullion, you will cut your sodium intake as well.

We are watching Hub’s sodium intake, so he is eating smaller meals with fruits or vegies spread out through the day; here he ate a juicy red pear with the beef stroganoff. It doesn’t look like much, but it really is all he can manage at this time.

BEEF STROGANOFF ~ serves 6, about 2/3 cup beef mixture and ½ cup rice for each person

1-pound Beef hamburger * 1 Tablespoon calorie-reduced Margarine * ½ cup chopped Onion * 1 clove Garlic, minced * 3 cups sliced Mushrooms (about 8 ounces) * ¼ cup dry Red Wine * 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch * 1 cup Beef Broth * ¼ teaspoon ground Black Pepper * ¾ cup nonfat Yogurt * 2 cups hot COOKED Rice * 2 Tablespoons chopped, fresh Parsley

Heat margarine in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened. Stir in beef and mushrooms – cook about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is no longer pink. Stir in wine. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Mix cornstarch and broth; stir into beef mixture. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened; remove from heat. Stir in pepper and yogurt – reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley.

Serve over rice.

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Altogether Hubs has lost 45 pounds during this ordeal.

And with careful menu monitoring and change of lifestyle habits, he is coming along. He is not happy with the slow progress, BUT it IS progress. And considering the fact that he was literally dying a few weeks ago ... ANY progress is a plus, as far as I am concerned :-D

A GOOD DAY!

This is a GOOD day!

A huge load has been lifted off us today :-D

We had to submit some more financial papers to the hospital financial administration office this morning; and when we did, the financial administration aide ((((cleared us 100%!!!)))) While she was talking to us, she was also deleting every single bill from the hospital docket. I just burst out into joyful tears and praising Elohim, I was so relieved; Hubs has been so worried – I watched him shake the heavy burden off his shoulders and every muscle in his body physically relaxed before my eyes. I know that as Christians we are not supposed to be anxious for anything, but as humans it is not that easy when you are sitting under a dark cloud that is raining on your parade. Now his heart is lighter and we can breathe easy again.

((((PRAISE ELOHIM AND THANK YOU YESHUA!))))

We did a little shopping in town too before coming back home. We stopped at Lowe’s to grab 2 dozen packing boxes which I will start loading sometime this week with things we aren’t using on a daily basis so we can pack and go when we get the green light and won’t get tripped up with frenzied last minute packing when the day arrives; the call to "come join us!" could be next week, it could be months down the road: but whenever the call comes, we will be ready to load and boogie …

Our next stop was Safeway, where we bought some protein drinks for Hubs to rebuild his strength since his bland diet is putting him off and his appetite has fallen by the wayside. He does seem to enjoy fresh fruit though, so … we grabbed some black grapes, cantaloupe, fruit mixes to be blended into tasty fruit drinks, and a strange and weird looking Korean Melon too – never had it before, so we’re curious ;-)

And while we were in town … loading the car with cases of bottled water at Wal*Mart – where one expects to see strange things – I was amused to see what was parked in the parking space next to our car; only in a small town trying to pass itself off as a small city, would something like this even happen:

Back home, I drained my full rain barrels – that was hard to do (200 gallons of water wasted!), but it had to be done: can’t load and unload full barrels at our age. And Heron Pointe manager has been formally informed (Bylaw requirement) that we would be selling, and moving, as soon as Hubs is able to safely travel; if we find a new home that allows it, we will take the rain barrels and the 6 new & empty planter boxes to our new locale – the patio Apple trees, Blueberry bushes, and Strawberry jar will go with us regardless; but the 6 boxes full of soil will stay behind.

And a surprise awaited us in our phone message: we’ve have another ‘shared-living’ arrangement floated our way from an unexpected couple. We are going to have to pray long and hard about both offers. Both offers are workable, but we want to be in Elohei’s Will no matter what happens: prayer is definitely the only way to assure that we will be ;-)

But for today, I am happy to see my husband relaxed and in a happy mood again.

Today is a GOOD day :-D

FINE FISH CHOWDER Recipe

This is a hearty soup that is both easy to make and delicious to eat :-D

The recipe comes from my ‘Jane Brody’s Good Food Book – Living the High-Carbohydrate Way’ cookbook because my husband needs a high-carb, low-salt diet at the moment.

I did not use salt or wine, since those 2 things are taboo at the moment, and the soup was very good without those ingredients.

FINE FISH CHOWDER ~Serves 6 to 8

1 Tablespoon Butter or margarine * 2 cups peeled, cubed Potatoes (2 medium) * 2 cups sliced carrots (3 medium) * 2 cups sliced Onion (2 large) * Salt, if desired, to taste * 2 whole Cloves * 1 teaspoon dried Dillweed or 1 Tablespoon fresh snipped dillweed * 1 Bay Leaf * 2 Tablespoon Flour * 2 cups boiling Water * 1 pound thick Fish fillets (halibut, cod, Pollock, rockfish, ect) * ½ cup dry White Wine * 1 cup skim Milk * Freshly ground Black Pepper * 2 Tablespoons minced Parsley

In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter or margarine, and add the potatoes, carrots, onion, salt, cloves, dill, and bay leaf; saute, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add the flour, and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the boiling water, and cover the pot tightly. Simmer the chowder over very low heat for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the fish and wine. Cover the pot, and simmer the chowder for another 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Discard the bay leaf.

Add the milk to the soup, and cook the soup, stirring, until it is hot.

Season the chowder with pepper, and serve sprinkled with parsley.

TURKEY BALLS Recipe

Still sticking to a diet, but adding a few spices here and there to make the bland menu a bit more tolerable for Hubs; not too heavy on the spices, but just enough dash of flavor to make the dishes palatable.

Tonight we had Turkey Balls with a light sauce to finish up the leftover rice and veggies from previous meals. With just the 2 of us, even “small’ recipes become 2 or 3 meals. I froze half the Turkey Balls for future meals.

This recipe comes from my “Eat Right, Eat Well – The Italian Way” Cookbook. I like this cookbook and it is well dog-eared and many of the pages are marked with margin notations noted over the past 25 years; LOL

While the recipes are easy, simple, light, and have nutritional information tacked to the end of each one, what I really like is that none of the recipes are seasoned with an excess of salt – in fact, many do not even use salt as a staple ingredient. A definite plus!

TURKEY BALLS ~serves 4

1 pound ground Turkey * 1 Egg White, lightly beaten * 1 teaspoon grated Lemon Peel * 1 Tablespoon finely chopped Italian Parsley or fresh coriander * 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh Ginger * ½ teaspoon minced Garlic * freshly ground Black Pepper to taste * Truffled Sauce (recipe follows)

In a medium size bowl, mix all ingredients together; form 12 count golf-ball sized balls.

Bowl water in a steamer. Steam balls in covered container for 2 to 4 minutes – do not overcook.

Serve with Truffled Sauce.

Per Serving: calories – 588; cholesterol – 321.0 mg; protein – 116.3 gm; carbohydrate – 3.2 gm; total fat – 9.2 gm; saturated fat – 2.9 gm; mono triglyceride – 3.4 gm; poly triglyceride – 1.9 gm

TRUFFLED SAUCE ~Serves 4

My husband is  on a strict diet following the hospital ordeal, so when I made this sauce I used butter flavored cooking spray, omitted the olive oil, used scallions, halved the Marsala cooking wine and replaced the other half with water, replaced the broth with water, and replaced the truffles with fresh white mushrooms … and it was quite tasty. Definitely a repeat recipe ;-)

1 Tablespoon Butter * 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil * 4 Tablespoons finely chopped Onion * 1 teaspoon minced Garlic * 1 Tablespoon minced Italian Parsley * 4 Tablespoons imported sweet Marsala or port * 1 teaspoon Flour * 2 Tablespoons chicken or beef broth * freshly ground Black Pepper to taste * 2 Tablespoons thinly sliced white Truffles

Heat the butter and oil in small saucepan, then add onion. When onion begins to brown, add garlic & parsley and cook about 10 seconds. Add marsala and flour, stir well; add broth and pepper. Cook about 1 minute, stirring often. Turn off heat and add truffles.

Per Serving: calories – 265; cholesterol – 31.0 mg; protein – 1.1 gm; carbohydrate – 10.5 gm; total fat – 25.0 gm; saturated fat – 8.1 gm; mono triglyceride – 13.7 gm; poly triglyceride – 1.4 gm

To understand what triglycerides are and why they matter, follow this link: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/triglycerides/art-20048186