Namaste. It's January 7th, 2025

Hello (again?) dear Reader; greetings and salutations on yet another day above ground, for those of us who did, in fact, wake up and find ourselves on this side of the grass again today. We're alive, dear Reader, so gratitude can start there (for anyone who needed/wanted the direction). 

The little turtle spent just about twenty minutes soaking in his first tepid bath of the day and is now back out of it, dried off and handed off to go back to bed with his Daddy. My coffee is hot and fresh and, though I'm struggling to breathe without coughing, God is still good, full-stop, because His goodness is wholly unaffected by my personal circumstances. 

Both of yesterday's blog entries (here) are extremely vitriolic, yes; I have no regrets for being completely honest and transparent. Though in many cases (at work, at family gatherings, et cetera), it's best to keep one's politics 'secret', that's impossible to do when talking about politics. And, HEY, here's an idea! Anytime you see something that you don't like, feel free to stop reading/watching it. Kind of like "just keep scrolling" on social media - it's 'Adulting 101' and more people should try it. 👍

I test well; I'm very well-read and articulate, and none of that means anything (not really) as I find myself back at square one (emotionally/psychologically) today, (gratefully) again at the point of wanting nothing more than to know Christ and Him crucified. 
I feel like the casting of crowns down at His feet  is symbolic of us taking everything in life that we revere the most about ourselves (intellectual prowess, financial gain, power among our peers, our Will in general in regard to all things) and declaring literally everything else worthless compared to Him and His Holy nature.

So, although it feels like it goes against every fiber of human decency that I have in my soul, because of the Commandment, I find myself in the position of being obligated to pray for my enemies (versus doing to them what I really want to do, which I cannot legally articulate). That is, if He IS worthy. That is, if I DO choose to value Christ and Him crucified more than I value my own feelings. And, that is if HE is God in my heart and life, rather than my choosing to be my own 'god' by cleaving to what I want instead of throwing those worthless idols down at His feet in an act of real worship. 
The first Commandment here says it all:

"No other gods before Him" - means that my mind, will, emotions, and behavior come into alignment with what His Word says, point-blank period. Everything else is worthless (at best) or demonic (at worst). 

Therefore, as distasteful as it is, here goes a prayer for my enemies:

Dear Lord, good morning and thank You for waking me up again today for another day of life that I do not deserve and was not promised. Father God, please forgive me for committing murder in my heart by giving full sway to my emotions, which are not supposed to reign supreme on the throne of my heart where only You belong. I love You and am grieved every time that I hurt You, which I know is a lot - much, much more than I even realize, I'm sure. Please forgive me for the sin of idolatry in all forms and please remove it from my heart, God, in Jesus' Name. Lord, please bless my enemies, God. Father, please change the hearts of those who do not yet know You, God. Please revive human hearts across the entire globe, God! Please once again pour out Your Spirit on all flesh, God, even the democrats. Lord, where there is deception, please send Your Truth. Father, where there is pain please send Your compassion. And, dear God, where there is unrelenting evil, please send Your Justice. And we ask all of these things in Jesus' Name, amen.

It's not the most beautiful or articulate prayer ever, but it is from the heart and I mean every word, so hopefully those elements have intrinsic value in His eyes, but that's up to Him to decide.

Here is today's Proverb from the Book of Wisdom:

Proverbs 7 ESV

And in audio format as well:

💜