Customized Crazy for the New Year

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For some reason this year, it seems we're not hearing as much about the New Year's wish or plans for the New Year, or, what are you going to look back on as being really cool and what not to try again. Remember how big that used to be, and here we are about one day away from the big ball in New York, and the Eiffel Tower getting laser nuts in Paris and all over the planet everybody going "whoo hoo," we made it! Right about now you may be wondering that this really doesn't sound like what a devotional is supposed to sound like? Gee whiz, is it possible that, we're going to climb outside the typical- and here we really don't want to use the word boring, because, devotionals, from the past, are hardly that, are they? But in writing a devotional for the time we're in, do we need to change gears a bit? It's a question that I want to put out there, because some of my online buds, some of whom are pretty powerful network marketers, (note: the some...not all, some...) have told me to "lay off the devotionals"- and that's just bizarre advice, because devotionals have picked me up at times, and really given me so much perspective, but the key seems to be, does anyone read it, and then, does anyone drop a dime (comment) that they've been there?  So Happy New Year, BUT, how about letting folks know some of your ideas about what the years has been like, what you'd like to do next year...mine?  Oh, you wanna hear a few of mine...O.K.  Like the politician say's  "you first..."  ;-) <---smiley face?  Wow old fashioned but still in fashion...wouldn't you say? 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Every year we have the friends over for a little party, about
six of them, think it is, anywho, it's nice to see how they
have changed and how the world has changed, together,
every year; it's a nice measuring stick.  What do you use?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTYIAp0GrLA

The 100th Monkey

See this documentary soon...

What an incredible story from the documentary "Collapse,"
that scientists around 1940 or 1950 tried an above
ground nuclear test on a Pacific island.  Going back
years later, they discovered about 10,000 monkeys
on the island, where, everything seemed to have
grown back, but, the monkeys were eating the
coconuts which had radiation in their shells.
So the scientists took ten monkeys and taught
them to wash the coconuts in a fresh water
stream, cleaning the radiation.

As they monitored the monkeys they found
after a short period of time that twelve monkeys
were washing their coconuts.  Then a few more
as time progressed, some months in, 47 were
washing them.  After about a year or more,
they noticed that nearly a hundred monkeys
were washing  their coconuts, then it happened
when the 100th monkey washed the coconut
the 10,000 began washing theirs!  This is a
phenomenon that had been noticed before,
but it gives us remarkable hope for surviving
the hard times which may be ahead.

Hope this takes root with you, don't give
up on folks learning, just keep looking for
that 100th monkey.

Documented

When we see a film, for some reason, if it's any good at
all, we tend to buy into what it's proposing.  If it's
fiction, we get into the plot and the drama and then

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we either smile and cheer or weep at the finish.  If
it's a documentary, we either feel it's worthwhile
and try to remember what we've seen, or we
doubt what it's saying, and we try to forget it.

This must have been documentary week for me,
as I took in a bunch of them; mostly on the
subject of end times.  There are many ways
to look at end times.  For example, God
who controls my heartbeats might call
me home- that's my end time, but it's not
the end times that the Bible addresses.

The end times that the Bible addresses
appear to be much larger, world wide
in scale, and yet centered in Israel.
But the leading up to events, those are
where the interpretive nature of prophecy
in the Bible and end times comes into
the scene.

So it was that three movie documetaries
came into the focus for me.  "Collapse,"
which is Michael Ruppert's report on

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what his studies have revealed.  My
studies have revealed the same thing,
which seemed a tad creepy to me,
Michael isn't conscious about his
language, however, which is a
shame, but, for the few times that
he does say something instantly
offensive to most, my suggestion is
to overlook it and consider the
message, not the messenger.

"Waiting for Armageddon," on the
other hand, turned out to be good,
my thinking going in was, "oh great
another, Jesus is coming back
documentary, telling me all about
the end times."  Frankly if you are
like me, you've seen a lot of those
and they rarely get the job done.
This documentary, however,
has turned out to be quite good.

One of the things that we know
is going to take place is covered
in "Collapse," that's the economy
of the world going haywire, and
all goods getting to a point where
fair trade isn't happening, and
goods begin to cost 100s if not

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thousands of times more than
they did prior to the advent of
the end times.  Now this isn't
meant as an alarm but if milk
was available for $2.29 last
years, and it now is costing
$4.49 what sort of price increase
is that, in a standard production
market item?

"Well, O.K., Dana, but where is
the third, you said three of them?"
The documentary "The Future of Food,"
should get your attention, what it
points out to me is, the truth, were
it necessary for me to plant a
garden and have some animals
for us to eat, we'd be in trouble,
those skills aren't in me; and my
suspicion is they aren't in a lot of
people, so no matter what the cost
of milk, my two options are, pay
what they ask, or, don't drink it.

Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things,

which were made rich by her, shall stand

afar off for the fear of her torment,

weeping and wailing,

Just the Cost of Doing Business

As a person who has started, ran, watched fail, and

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participated in, small businesses, and large corporate
types of successes; it's my pleasure to tell you, they don't
change.  It's nice that they don't because you need
some solids in your diet, because we all know what
happens if all you get is liquid, right?

Now those of you who are religious types,
your mind automatically goes to that place
called "milk," am I right?  For
those of you who aren't particularly religious but
read this blog for entertainment or to get P.O.'d-
well; suffice it to say, you are what you eat, so it's
good that some types of business paradigms don't
change, because you need solids in your diet! It is
easy to say; that for every ENRON where the corrupt
got busted; there are plenty, that didn't, and won't.

As my heart raced and my mind struggled to get her
message, fully, it occurred to me how amazing it is
that Queen Rania of Jordan points out how costly
it is to let children not get educated.  It is so simple
and yet we just don't get it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1seYnM9izw

How easy is it to get behind this idea?
As easy as it is to walk next door, or
down the hall by one door, knock and

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ask "hey you're my neighbor, and I just
wanted to get to know you." What's
actually happening world wide is a way
of life that includes you and only
those who you feel comfortable knowing.
Because of this, the crimes which in
the past were held in check, are
flourishing behind a lack of community.

Crime, the ultimate declaration that a
person rejects God, crime; and yet, in

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many countries, just being a person who
is Godly, is a crime! Notice I didn't say
Christian, I said, Godly; because there
actually are still some countries which
practice anti-God - period, let alone-
anti-Christian ways. Yes it's hard
for you to believe that, but this evening
as you go to the house, and close the
door, and don't know your neighbors
plight, much; realize, you aren't an
isolated person doing this, the world
is becoming a very cold and distant place.

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall wax cold.

Now for those of you who don't believe Christ
maybe you can explain how he would know this?
There wasn't anything in His agrarian village
based culture to indicate this?

Simple Idea - Tough Reality - A Dear Friend Goes Home

Stay Simple- You Never Cease to Exist!

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We're (all of us) eternal, let's approach it from
the simplest thing that we know; matter is neither
created nor destroyed; except, for the first
singularity - creation. Now that's a physicist
approach, a scientific way of looking at what
we are- we are, always going to be. Now let's
expand that just one step, we will change;
Paul in the New Testament reinforces the
teaching of Christ in that, we will change,
but we will not cease to exist.

Keep It Simple - Eternal Is
______________________ 

Today a friend of mine for over a year of
knowing him and praying for him, changed
from this reality to the next.  His passing is
significant because the testimony of his
life, is significant, because he accomplished
a great deal for the kingdom, and, he
endured endless pain and suffering, and
without complaint; the entire time that I
was blessed to know him.

What does it mean to suffer quietly but
to rejoice both inwardly and outwardly
at every day of life?  It means that we
feel and believe and live knowing that
we can endure and overcome even pain,
if we stay close enough to Christ and
listen attentively enough to Holy Spirit
as He leads us.  The pain does not go
away, that would be Paul the Apostle's
testimony, in fact he suffered to the point
that three times he appealed to God to
lessen the pain, and, was refused?  Yet
at the end of that experience, what he
shares with us is, what he learned.

In following Jesus I think there are some
aspects of the journey which are tough,
forgiving those who aren't easy to forgive,
that's one. Loving yourself, that's another;
and constant pain, such as Arthritis, a
daily reminder that your joints aren't
what they used to be, a third.

 My friend was mastering the latter,
pain, intense and constant pain; when
God finally ended  the endurance trial.
Yet, the wonderfully full of life;
truth is, we're already missing him, and
we grieve. But we also know, he lived,
really lived, and loved, really loved,
and Jesus is his savior, and he is now
home; but his witness shall live on here.

Keep It Simple - And You?

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 What we say now is that we can look

at the life we saw lived before us and 

realize that Christ was his center.

Faith was his power, and that now,

we can know, faith works, pain can be

endured, and in the end, that's a great

story to share with folks. The courage 

of a person who endured, and the

faith that they never surrendered

in Christ as their savior- and you?