Sinner saved by a merciful God; reformed Christian; wife to Steve; homeschooling mama to 3; Palmer chiropractor; martial artist; USAF Veteran (Air Battle Mgr)
NORTHERN LIGHTS are possible tonight due to a possible geomagnetic storm!
This could lead to auroras being visible as far south as Kansas with a camera. If you live in Canada, your odds of seeing Northern Lights are increasing. Severe storms will increase cloud cover across the Northern Plains and Midwest tonight, so this could disrupt viewing.
Three men parked down on the road in front of our property a couple nights ago. They had bolt cutters and a plan to break into our shop. What they didn’t have was respect for brambles.
The first man hit the property line at a jog. He made it four steps. The canes took him like a cat takes a mouse — not quick, but certain. One barb in the jeans, then another in the jacket, then three in the scalp. He yelled. That was mistake one. Sound carries in a holler.
The second man tried to go around. Blackberries don’t “around.” They’d swallowed the old deer path in ’09. He pushed in with his forearm and came back with his sleeve in ribbons and blood running down to his elbow. The thorns are recurved, built to keep prey from backing out. Every time he pulled, they bit deeper.
The third was smarter. He had a machete. He swung once, twice. The canes sprang back. Blackberry is whippy, green wood. Cut one, three more slap you in the face. He got ten feet in and realized he couldn’t see the road anymore. Couldn’t see his feet. Couldn’t see anything but thorns and the dark. That’s when the yellowjackets came up from a nest he’d stepped on. They didn’t care who was trespassing.
Now, I didn’t call the sheriff until sunrise mind you and we all slept just fine. The dogs didn’t even bark — they knew the briars were working.
The Sheriff found them at 6:40 AM, picking their way out to the road looking like they’d lost a fight with fifty cats. One had to cut his own boot off to get his ankle free. The bolt cutters were still in the thicket somewhere. Nobody was going back for them.
The Sheriff walked the edge with me, looked at the scratches on those men, looked at the wall of green and purple.
“You do this on purpose?” the Sheriff asked as
he popped a berry in his mouth. July-sweet, still warm from the night.
“No sir,” I said. “I just quit mowing. The mountain did the rest.”
I offered the Sheriff a hatful to take to the station. He took it. Evidence, he said.
Folks in town started saying those folks up on Big Dog Reserve had the best security system in Smyth County. No wires, no batteries, no subscription. Just pays you back in cobbler.
And if you ask me about it, I'll tell you the same thing my Dad said: “A fence tells a man he’s not wanted. A blackberry patch convinces him.”
That's security.
@TheJollyBrawler My 9th grader just submitted a paper on John Wycliffe whose remains were dug up and cremated then scattered because the Catholic Church deemed him a heretic. The cremation was done purposefully to disrespect his remains. That’s just one example.
12 Points about cremation:
1. There is enough evidence in the Bible, Church History, and God’s creation to be rightfully dogmatic about this. The case can only be made 1 way, and it is not in favor of cremation.
2. Burial is the Christian position. We have an entire sacrament centered on the picture of a burial and the hope of a resurrection.
3. God’s people have always buried their dead. The destruction of the body was only practiced by heathens, and by God’s people against heathen nations when they were being punished.
4. Nothing has changed in the last 6,000 years that has turned the burning of human bodies from a curse, a punishment, and a practice of heathens into an acceptable practice for Christians to perform in the sight of God and for their loved ones.
5. The idea that we are free to do whatever we want with the body because the soul is no longer inhabiting it is gnostic, pagan, and utterly ridiculous. We are not merely a soul. We are a soul and a body. The great Christian hope is the resurrection and glorification of this body. Our practices should reflect that hope.
6. To join with that, there is no limiting principle when you bite off on cremation. I have asked multiple cremation advocates if it would also be ok to simply chop the body up and throw it away. The ones who did answer answered in the affirmative. Why? Because it is the natural conclusion from their theology.
7. This is not an argument about whether God is able to resurrect an incinerated body (of course He is). This is an argument about the proper Christian way to treat the creation of God the bears His image, that He has redeemed, and that He promises to raise again in the future.
8. Yes, the body will decay in the ground. This is not an argument about preserving the body for as long as we can. This is an argument about how Christians should view death.
9. Quoting “ashes to ashes and dust to dust” is a bit ironic. Since that verse is explicitly talking about burials.
10. For those of you who would like a simple verse denouncing cremation. I do think that argument can be made. However,
A. You don’t need a verse to tell you not to destroy human bodies.
B. Simply think about it: Christ was buried. Our sacrament is a picture of burial. All of the biblical language is about burial and hopeful expectation. All of the texts about burning bodies are mentioned negatively. Put it together. You’ll have your case.
11. We need to reform the funeral industry. We need to get the church involved in this again.
12. Finally, if you are planning on being cremated, change your plans. Plan for a Christian burial, with your body planted in the ground awaiting the resurrection. If your loved ones have been cremated, do not take this as a condemnation of their soul. Although they made the mistake of destroying their bodies without the authority to do so, their souls are saved by the One who will not lose them.
The Republican (read: Zionist) party must be metaphorically and politically reduced to ash in order for the phoenix of America First Nationalism to rise from its ashes. So be it.
Ro, I agree with you that we need a strong populist coalition of the right and left that can come together on the most important issues for the future generations of Americans.
This is no easy task given years of deep political divisions between the right and the left on issues both sides are passionate about.
For the sake of my children’s generation, I’m willing to come together, go to the whiteboard, and begin to try to sketch something new.
We both know the powerful political industrial complex of the Democrat and Republican parties will do anything to stop a right/left true America First coalition supported by ordinary Americans and not big money special interests and foreign agents and their donors.
This is likely the only way to break free of the corrupt system from both sides that controls everything, constantly goes to war, and only enriches themselves while average Americans continue to lose.
It’s definitely worth starting the conversation.
@SubRosaMagick https://t.co/c5yUxW4iWF
Yeah, I’ve done my homework which is why I replied. I made a lot of tinctures, oxymels, and syrups. And, I’ve had local friends unknowingly make forsythia syrup and get stomach upset. So, maybe research the advice you dole out.
The Octave of Easter is an eight-day liturgical celebration that prolongs the joy of Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of Christ. It lasts from Easter Sunday through the Second Sunday of Easter, also called Divine Mercy Sunday.
Octave means eight days, including the feast itself, treating each day as a little Easter or solemnity of the Lord. Every day within the octave ranks as a high-level solemnity, with focused Resurrection readings and the repeated Alleluia cry of victory over sin and death. It begins Eastertide, the 50-day Easter season ending at Pentecost, and emphasizes new life in Christ, like a new creation or great Sunday. The octave overrides other feasts, keeping full attention on the Resurrection of Our Lord.
This structure allows the Church to savor the mystery gradually rather than limiting it to one day.
On Easter morning, this is what President Trump posted.
Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness.
I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.
I’m not defending Iran but let’s be honest about all of this.
The Strait is closed because the US and Israel started the unprovoked war against Iran based on the same nuclear lies they’ve been telling for decades, that any moment Iran would develop a nuclear weapon.
You know who has nuclear weapons?
Israel.
They are more than capable of defending themselves without the US having to fight their wars, kill innocent people and children, and pay for it.
Trump threatening to bomb power plants and bridges hurts the Iranian people, the very people Trump claimed he was freeing.
On Easter, of all days, we as Christians should be reminded that the son of God died and rose from the grave so that we can be forgiven once and for all of our sins. Jesus commanded us to love one another and forgive one another. Even our enemies.
Our President is not a Christian and his words and actions should not be supported by Christians.
Christians in the administration should be pursuing peace. Urging the President to make peace.
Not escalating war that is hurting people.
This NOT what we promised the American people when they overwhelmingly voted in 2024, I know, I was there more than most.
This is not making America great again, this is evil.
'At early morn the daylight springeth,
The angels in heaven merry singeth,
The world is blithe and glad.
The fiends of hell are sorrowful and mad,
Now the king, God's son,
The strength of death hath overcome.'
A 14th-century poem for Easter dawn: https://t.co/YAz4LYw9IU
The best of trees began to speak words:
'It was long ago – I remember it yet –
that I was cut down at the edge of a forest,
removed from my root.'
In the Anglo-Saxon poem 'The Dream of the Rood', the Cross recalls the Crucifixion: https://t.co/fbBEwcnTui
State Sec. Rubio: “Imagine if instead of spending billions on weapons, Iran spent that money on its people. They’d have a much different country.”
Follow: @AFpost