ONION MAGNETS

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor who visited many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their families had contracted the flu and many had died. The doctor came upon this one farmer and, to his surprise, all were very healthy. When the doctor asked the farmer what he was doing that was different, the wife replied she placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home.  The doctor couldn't believe what he heard.  The doc examined the onions under the microscope.  The doctor found the flu virus in the onion.  It obviously had absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.  ANOTHER ONION experience:  Several years ago, many employees  and customers of a beauty salon were coming down with the flu. The shop owner placed several bowls,

containing onions, around in her shop.  To her surprise, none of her staff got sick.  Many have proven that setting a bowl of onions our during flu season actually kept them from getting sick. Simply cut off both ends of a white onion and place it in an empty jar, at night place the jar in the room of a sick person.  The onion will be black in the morning from absorbing the germs.  The onion will be a mess, but the patient with the flu, a cold, pneumonia will feel better. Families that placed onions and garlic  around the house saved many lives during the black plague years ago. Both onion and garlic have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.  Many times when a person has tummy upsets, or rumblings

down in the GI, people consider all that they have eaten and don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that cause the rumble!  The reason onions are so good  at preventing us from getting colds, and flu, is that onions absorb bacteria.  This is also the reason we should not eat an onion that has sat for a time after it's been cut open.  How about those onions in the salad at your local buffet?  How long have they been sitting out?  LEFT  OVER  ONIONS  ARE  POISONOUS.   A tour through Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise, revealed much about food poisoning. A chemist named Ed was the wiz kid who demonstrated various dangers with regard to exposed foods. Most people worry that mayonnaise will spoil.  Ed said all commercially made mayo is completely safe.  Mayo does NOT have to be refrigerated.  No cause for alarm or harm by refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary.  The pH in mayo is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment.  The summer picnic bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, did not cause upset tummys!   ONIONS were in the potato salad!  Onions are a magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. Never eat a portion of a sliced leftover onion.  Putting onions in a zip-lock bag in the fridge does not protect you from the sliced contamination of the onion that magnetized bacteria.  Onions on hotdogs at the baseball park or at Costco can cause you tummy rumbling. Leftover onions that are cooked like crazy are okay. Dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.  It is dangerous to cut an onion and plan to cook it the next day.  The onion becomes highly poisonous, even after a single night, and creates toxic bacteria.  The bacteria may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

STOP WORRYING

SPEAK THE TRUTH in love.  This is a command, a word from God that gives us peace, only if we obey.  Withholding frustrations, not speaking the truth will fester and cause distance in our relationship to God, our mate, our kids, or with the person whose behavior is the cause of our inability to love, forgive or rest in peace. The dis-ease, the guilt, the shame, the anger, needs to be vocalized in a way that honors the feeling nature that God gave each of us. Taking responsibility for the way we choose to feel is to honor God.  Thanking God for the difficulty and rejoicing in the opportunity to connect more deeply with His purpose, ushers in the Holy Spirit Who is ever ready to help us, to commune in us, His wisdom, His understanding, His peace, and give us the words to speak.  Taking the time to be alone with God, to write a memo, to outline exactly what is robbing us of our joy, peace and ability to forgive, this exercise is how David worked through his various struggles which turned into Psalms, his praise to God for the grace, restoration and His mercy. Prayer is crying out to God, and God wants us to be honest. To speak the truth to Him, we first must be honest with ourself. The people He places in our lives is His will and way of propsering us. God grows us into the person He created us to be by removing all people or ways we rely upon besides Him.  His holy perfect purpose is that we become more like Jesus, and less like who we were before we met Jesus.

Do you quietly lie awake at night contemplating how you would feel; IF ONLY THEY would…..?  Do your thoughts include whispers from the Lord, or the enemy?  How can you tell what voice you are listening to?  IF the impulse is to give up, to walk out or to blame someone for how you feel…then that voice is not from God.  Being honest takes courage and in our weakness is when the Holy Spirit shows up strong!  Having second thoughts, is a gift from God.  It is His tug on our heart to face the truth of how we feel and consider God’s word, His ways, His will above our own.  God’s word encourages us to confess our sin of unbelief in His power to change us. Remaining in denial and to say "Everything is fine" when it is NOT, is a LIE. Our obedience to fess up to what is bothering us, brings us closer to God, and He heals us. Getting out of denial is the first step to recovery, and the return of God’s peace.  Group support is available in every church. Talking to others who have the same issue, or a similar situation gives us the opportunity to air out our frustrations, and thereby begin to understand that you are not alone, that your feelings are valued, validated and worthy of opening up to God and others for a healing, for a solution.

A new father was distraught with thoughts of abandoning his wife and 2-year-old with Down syndrome. But after voicing his truth with others who had kids with disabilities, he found the strength to go home and face another day. IF you truly want peace, then do something, take positive steps towards God, admit your struggle, be honest, pour out your heart and then LISTEN while you read the Psalms. Following Jesus, means doing what He did.  He removed Himself from the crowds, He got alone with His Father and poured out His heart, then He walked courageously, not blaming anyone for the rejection, ridicule and trials He faced. Gain as much knowledge as you can about the saints that have journeyed before you. Next, begin to speak honest words of thanksgiving for all the good in your life. Discipline your thoughts, and force yourself to make eye contact and interact with the person who does not behave in the manner in which you desire. People are desperate to be loved “as they are” not as we would like them to be.  Jesus loves all of us “as we are”. The greatest commandment, not suggestion from God, but holy instruction is that we LOVE ourselves as we are loved, unconditionally.  Then with His love overflowing in us, we can love and forgive others as we love and forgive ourselves. Accept others, appreciate their God given differences, disabilities, and difficulties. God is the One who changes people, He will take our hardened hearts and make them soft.  He will soften our hearts towards those who are not like us.  He will

increase our faith in Him to do all things through Christ Jesus, as we call on Him to change us by filling us with the desire to be more like Jesus. The only thing keeping us from loving others as we are loved is our ignorance or resistance to accept all the love God has for us. Once we overcome our own selfish expectations for others to behave in acceptable manners, only then will we see the beauty in them that Jesus sees. Talk to God just like He is sitting in a chair beside you. Be honest with God throughout the entire process of finding His peace in the midst of any chaos, frustration or undesired outcome. Healing is a process and a journey. Experience the life-changing transformation  that comes by speaking the truth in love. The truth is life is hard, but without Jesus, it is impossible to possess joy, even when times are tough.  He never changes, but we must in order to rest in peace.  Let us settle the fact that GOD IS GOOD and that

you trust Him with your life, your situation, your frustrations. We all makes mistakes, we all fall short, and we all struggle to accept our own imperfections. All people grow and develop character by the trials that life brings so praise God for all your character building days!  God's amazing grace is a GIFT.  From God to you through Jesus.  Jesus marvels at two things.  Great faith and a lack of faith.  Even those who walked with Jesus daily had bad days, moments of doubt, and many frustrations.  Fishing all night and catching nothing, is to work all day and not get paid. On one famous journey out to sea, a wild storm arose and the followers of Jesus woke up a sleeping Jesus and asked Him "Don't You care?"  There is NO human being  in this world that cares more than Jesus.  The disciples had personally witnessed Jesus give a blind man sight because He cared deeply. Our self-relainace, or our ways of toiling on our own without Jesus is disobedience.  Jesus tells us "Do not worrry" In other words STOP worrying.  If we remain sleepless, toiling in worry, we are

sinning. James, the brother of Jesus, doubted Jesus and his letter to us all reminds us "Confess your sin (of disbelief, lack of trust) to one another and be healed." Admit the time you spent worrying did not add a single inch to your character,or stature. REPENT, turn around, face Jesus and ask Him to forgive your unbelief, your doubt, your pride, that you "got this".  Let us make our Father happy and trust Him with all our concerns, consternatins, frustrations.  Let us lean on Him and not our understanding.  Our Father cared enough to send His son, to deliver us from the fear of death, and the disappointments that challenge our human capacity to live life on our own.  The content of our mind and heart are known by He who stilled the storm. His grace is sufficient, His grace caught the fish, and His grace provides for all our spiritual, physical and financial needs.  Everyday take up the habit of praising God for all things, the good, the bad, the hard and the easy! Thank You Jesus for Your mercy, Your patience.  Your ways are perfect and I thank you for each trial, for every lesson, and for the change of heart You accomplished in me!

WHIMSICAL TUNES

“COUNT ON ME” by Bruno Mars
"IF you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the Sea, I’ll sail the world to find you. IF you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can’t see, I’ll be the Light to guide you. IF you’re tossin and you’re turnin and you just can’t fall asleep – I’ll sing a psalm beside you…and IF you ever forget how much you really mean to me, I’ll remind you. “You can count on Me, like 123, I’ll be there”…..

“SAY WHAT YOU NEED TO SAY” by John Mayers  "Even if hands are shaking, and faith is broken…even as your eyes are closing, DO it with a heart WIDE OPEN. Have NO FEAR for givin in….Have NO FEAR for givin over. You’d better know that in the end…it’s better to say too much, then NEVER say what you need to be sayin. Walkin like a one man army, fighting with the shadows in your head…living the same old moment…knowing you’d be better off instead…IF you could only say what you need to say, say what you need to say, say what you need to say."

“I'M YOURS” by Straight No Chaser
"Well You done, done me and You bet I felt it…I tried to chill but you’re too hot, I melted, I fell right through the cracks, and now I’m tryin to get back….before the cool run out, I’ll be doin my bestest and nothing goin to stop me but divine intervention! I reckon it’s again my turn to win some, or learn some. But I won’t hesitate no more, no more --- It cannot wait--- I’m yours, I’m yours, I’m yours…Lord Jesus! Hey, Hey best believe I’m yours, I’m yours. “NOW open up your mind and see like Me --- open up your plans and goodness, you’re FREE! Look into your heart and you’ll find love, love, love…Listen to the music of the moment…people dance and sing..We’re just ONE BIG FAMILY…and it’s our God-blessed right to be loved, loved, loved. So I won’t hesitate, no more, no more…it cannot wait I’m sure there’s no need to complicate…our time is short, this is my fate…”I’m yours, I’m yours….”

Meryl Streep Voices

Too many Meryl Favorites to mention, however, here are my top choices: Momma Mia, Out of Africa,Julie & Julia, Postcards, Plenty, House of Spirits, 2014 Into the Woods, Bridge of Madison County, French Leiutenants Woman, It's Complicated, Music of the Heart, Before & After, Hope Springs, The Iron Lady. Her acting is remarkable and her films engage and endure the soul. Yes I am a fan of moving pictures, of great messages that stir the heart. Listen and be AMAZED as Meryl voices her parts. Meryl is the supreme lady, and in "Plenty" when she has had enough empty talk, she retorts as boldly as she was scolded. She becomes more than the character, she voices the culture of each country superbly. Danish, French, Italian, Irish, German, the American country singer, the sister, mother, friend, wife, and Margaret Thatcher. Clips from Out of Africa with Robert Redford listening intently to Meryl telling her stories. It is wonderful to be enjoyed.

Do You Doubt Me?

Thomas doubted and he saw Jesus

Do you EVER doubt God, or think that Jesus never existed? Do you doubt that God could forgive you? The GOOD NEWS is that GRACE makes doubt OKAY! LUKE 22:34 "But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Between now and tomorrow morning when the rooster crows, you will deny me three times, declaring that you don’t even know me.” When Jesus emerged alive from the tomb...Peter had gone fishing...When Jesus approached him, Peter recognized Him.  Peter was too ashamed to look up, he was too busy counting fish...Jesus asks Peter "Do you love Me?" ...Are you even my friend? Peter responded "You know my heart, why ask me that?"  Peter was afraid to make a commitment for fear he would fail again! How about you? If you have ever doubted Christ...DO NOT QUIT...just ASK GOD to increase your faith. Go back to church and PRAISE JESUS...for the invisible wind, the indescribable beauty that surrounds you, and for the .... HOPE of being restored.  ....IF you grew up in church and then walked away, IF you suffered an illness, IF you have lost a loved one, or have waited on the Lord, and heard no small voice. IF you have prayed for healing or restoration and NO apparent answer comes...IF you have denied Jesus more than three times,  because you have never believed that the BIBLE was anything more than a collection of moral stories..watch this and FEEL hope while you RENEW your mind and build your faith in God's eternal presence and in His living Word. Be cheered and pass it on.

Romans 5:1-3 "So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in His promises, we can have real peace with Him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  For because of our faith, He has brought us into this place of highest

privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.  We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient." 

The Living Bible Romans 4:25 = "He died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God, filling us with God’s goodness." (rose again to make us right with God, literally means, “was raised for our justification") 

WORTHY by Sandi Patty

Like the woman at the well, Somehow You knew the way I fell,
into a place I did not want to be...and You reached for me,
Like the woman once condemned, You see what I have been...
and cast away the stones, I so deserved, with gentle words...
You know the secrets that I keep, The darkness underneath...
But still it is Light and Love You choose to see....

HELP me to believe...
that I am worthy,
Worthy of this mercy...
And as You breathed me into being, You knew my life would need redeeming,
LOVE was all You were believing, and heaven was singing, singing...
I am Worthy...I am worthy...I am worthy...
Worthy that You love me...
Worthy to be loved,
Worthy of this mercy,
Worthy of the cross You carried for me,
The way that you adore me, I am worthy,
Worthy that You love me,
in the eyes that speak ONLY what is GOOD in me....

Jesus came to serve man, to wash us from sin. When He encountered the woman at the well, the woman who had slept with many men, who hid in shame...their encounter encourages us that we can all be forgiven IF we just ask.  JOHN 4:" the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”  She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”  Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” Obediently I responded to a personal request that I sing in the church choir on Sunday July 28, 2014. Surprised to be asked because I am absolutely tone deaf, I sang out confidently with gusto to my Lord.  I was also the reader of scripture that day, and even though my voice trembled, the Holy Spirit delivered the worthy Word to all hearts thirsty hearts attending.

Treasure Found

Have you ever been on a treasure hunt? As part of a birthday party game, kids in the 1950's were dispatched into the neighborhood to locate a list of every day items such as; a bobby pin, a matchbook, a QTIP, safety pin, pencil, a dash of salt etc. Each child would be assigned one block to canvas. The kids were required to ASK for what they were searching for from strangers.  A time limit was set and the child who returned with the most items got the prize. Kids today gladly seek eggs hidden as treasures in the garden, or in the home. The custom of inciting the thrill of seeking a hidden treasure was practiced by Martin Luther. Easter eggs were adored for their color and surprise. The egg symbolized the tomb in which the wrapped body of Jesus Christ was laid. Men hid the eggs and the women and children went out seeking where their Savior was. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus became the delight of each child who found the egg. Jesus was NOT inside the egg, but He was inside the child who believed. The child found the

egg, and rejoiced in the truth, that Christ had risen and took up residence in them!  "The women, deep in wonder and FULL of JOY, lost no time in leaving the tomb.  They ran to tell the disciples.  Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks.  "Good morning!" He said. They fell to their knees, embraced His feet, and worshiped Him." Matthew 28:8 The Message. Each day when we awake, is it not a recurring JOY to be greeted by Jesus with a personal word?  Is Jesus a stranger to you?  He knows you, He created you, and He loves you. Have you been on a treasure hunt to find more meaning in this life? Listen to what the Spirit is saying personally to you while reading this treasured Word of God. "We continually ASK GOD to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that

you may have great endurance and patience, and giving JOYFUL thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light....The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him ALL things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; ALL things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before ALL things, and in Him all things hold together.....For God was pleased to have ALL His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross...but now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation --- IF you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do NOT move from the HOPE held out in the gospel...I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness -- the MYSTERY that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people...My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may KNOW the MYSTERY of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.  For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and DELIGHT to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is." What has God told us about Himself in this inspired word found in the holy book of Colossians chapter 1 and 2 ?

1) That Jesus is the image of the invisible God
2) That Jesus is the first to be born
3) That Jesus is over ALL creation
4) In Jesus, ALL things were created
5) Jesus created ALL things invisible and visible
6) Jesus holds ALL things together (the stars, the sun, the ocean)
7) God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Jesus
8) God reconciled His created people to Himself through the blood Jesus shed on the cross
9) God did this to present you holy, without blemish, free from accusation to Himself
10) God presents to you the word of God in its fullness
11) The mystery of who God is, and why He sent Jesus is disclosed to you
12) God's goal is to encourage your heart with complete understanding of His purpose
13) That you may KNOW the mystery of God, namely Christ
14) All wisdom and knowledge is contained in Jesus
15) Jesus is absent in body, but present with you in spirit
16) God delights in your firm faith in Christ

Worship God in song.  ASK God to overtake your soul with courage and confidence in who you are in Him....precious in His sight. Sing these words..."Christ alone holds all things together, Jesus is always before me, on this glorious journey. His words of life and majesty, teach me truth and duty.  Holy Bible, book of love, inspired by God, it is above, all my thoughts, all my ways.  It helps me grow, and it humbles me to know...His grace never runs out, even though I raise my fist or pout! I ask God to break up the hard soil of my heart, to change my habits, Lord give me a fresh start."  Lord Jesus I thank You for all that You have done for me.  You died that I can approach Thy throne wearing a robe of righteousness. There is nothing I must do to earn your love.  There is nothing I can do, say or pay that could compare to the immeasurable love you lavish on my soul. Thank You for revealing the truth, the way and the light.  Help me to honor God with the NEW soft heart that replaced my heart of stone.  I am astounded by Your mercy, extended by Your grace, and blessed by Your endless flow of forgiveness, love and perfect sufficiency for all my needs.  I love you Lord Jesus.  AMEN