God ~ Full of Surprises...

The minute I think I have God figured out, He surprises me with new revelations from His Word, and I see Him in a different "light".  Actually, I think He is far outside our scope of understanding, but we will have an eternity to discover His Unique Character and Ways. What an amazing thought... What an Amazing God!!

In His Love,

Autumn's Lament

Autumn's Lament

She moves like a whisper on the breeze, silently she walks the land,

setting fire to the slumbering trees, who shiver 'neath her icy hand.

There's warmth in her eyes, but her breath is cool,

and fair though the skies, Autumn's no fool,

for her heart tells her Winter is not far away,

so swiftly she sets the whole landscape ablaze!

Then she disappears with tears in her eyes,

for she cannot bear to see her leaves die.

And as silently as she came one day,

Autumn walks back into the chilling haze.

© Mid Stutsman 1997

In His Love,

Halloween Dilemma

The mask of innocence that has hidden the truth of Halloween is now badly cracked. The Word of God tells us that, that which is hid in the darkness must come out to light. (Luke 12:3)

For many years the truth about Halloween has been hid in the clouds of tradition. We have called it fun, as we have decorated our homes and dressed up our little munchkins in costumes to wonder around from house to house, knocking on doors and ringing door bells shouting, “Trick or Treat!” I still remember my childhood joy from my harvest of candies, in days when ignorance was bliss. I think my parents allowed me to go only once.

But is Halloween really a trick or treat? And if it is a trick, just how great has the deception been?

EZEKIEL 44:23: AND THEY SHALL TEACH MY PEOPLE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HOLY AND PROFANE, AND CAUSE THEM TO DISCERN BETWEEN THE UNCLEAN AND THE CLEAN.

The very creation of Halloween mixes that which is meant to be holy with that which is profane:

In A.D. 835, Pope Gregory IV designated November 1st as All Saints Day or All Hallow’s Day (the term Hallow refers to saints). The evening before this, October 31st, was known as All Hallow’s Evening.

The condensed term, “Halloween” came about by dropping the word “all” from “All Hallow’s Evening” and by dropping the “v” and “ing” on evening, the result spells Halloween.

But long before the church decided to bless this date and name it "All Saints Day"; which was supposed to be a celebration in remembrance of the special and martyred saints, this day was celebrated by a variety of occult religions, chief of which were the ancient Celts (these were the early ancestors of Europe that delighted in an occult form of religion).

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain (A special festival marking summer’s end), allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through.

The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.

Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of “souling”, when poor folk would go door to door on Hallow-mas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2).

It originated in Ireland and Britain although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy.

EZEKIEL 22:26: 26 HER PRIESTS HAVE VIOLATED MY LAW AND PROFANED MY HOLY THINGS; THEY HAVE NOT DISTINGUISHED BETWEEN THE HOLY AND UNHOLY, NOR HAVE THEY MADE KNOWN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE UNCLEAN AND THE CLEAN; AND THEY HAVE HIDDEN THEIR EYES FROM MY SABBATHS, SO THAT I AM PROFANED AMONG THEM.

God is always angry when the laws and customs of men supersede his commandments and instructions. God is repulsed by our mixing that which is meant to be holy with that which is profane. When we start mixing and distorting certain biblical truths it is not long before we inherit a whole system of error and flawed traditions. I know personally for me, it makes me wonder what else has been twisted or mixed with regards to our religious heritage?

Right now, Halloween has become more than just a one evening event. I believe that we are in a prophetic season of Halloween where that which was meant to be holy has been mixed with the profane.

As the mask of Halloween is now cracking we will be able to see that it is really the trick that has brought us the treat instead of God’s blessings that have brought us increase. My prayer is that the light of truth will reveal what else might be hiding behind the mask.

Shalom,
Pastor Alexis Wallace 
In His Love,

Bursting at the Seams with Praise!

Praise God for His faithfulness to lead me to West Bow...a division of Thomas Nelson publishing! I signed a contract and they are co-publishing Barriers with me, and if all goes well with the edit of my manuscript, it should go to press sometime in November!! Also, I will be writing a column on Israel for Extreme Woman magazine- http://www.extremewomanmagazine.com - beginning in November! Stay tuned for updates!!

Took this picture Sunday, Oct 25, '09 The heavens declare the glory of the Lord... and so do I!!!

In His Love,

The Saga Continues...

Barriers

This story gets me every time I read it...maybe because it is soo close to my heart. I started out wanting to write a romance and ended up with a passionate story that won't let me go. If it never gets published, I will print it out on my own and send it to those who want to read it!! ; ) I've discovered CreateSpace and Thomas Nelson--guess we'll see what lies ahead.

In His Love,

Novel Adoption Underway...

Well, I sent in adoption papers for my baby, Barriers. I am waiting to hear back from the perspective parents, Strang Publications. Please don't fill me in on how long this process takes. I am nervous enough as it is. ; ) But, guess what I'm doing while I'm waiting? Revision, rereading, and, if Creation House is interested, I'll send my baby, along with a blanket, pacifier and extra diapers for them to see in person. Like an anxious parent, I don't want to let go, but I know it is in the best interest for everyone. Pass the bottle and commence burping!!

In His Love,

Down Under...

It never ceases to amaze me how planting a dried up bulb down deep in the dirt will produce a beautiful and oft times fragrant spring flower.
Today I planted over 30 some spring bulbs. Down into the 4 inch hole they went, then they were covered over... Dirt, Dried Bulb, Darkness, Dead of Winter + Warm Spring Sunshine and Rain = Breathtakingly Beautiful Flowers!
This is a poem I wrote about death, both spiritual and physical for a believer:
THE SEED
Falling slowly
into the darkness,

the emptiness
softly covering me~

hidden away
where a transformation,

overtakes
what I can't see.

Within the death
that I succumb to,

a deeper awareness
comes to be~

that which changes
and takes me upward

to a newness of life
awaiting me!
© Mid Stutsman

In His Love,

Salt, Lights, and Ambassadors

While I wait for the go-ahead to share my new endeavors with you, I want to share some things the Lord has laid upon my heart and some words of wisdom from my daughter, Jessica.

There seems to be two views of what's happening in the world right now and what our response is to be as followers of Jesus the Christ-Yeshua HaMashiach.
One camp has a fatalist mentality: we are living in the last days and therefore there is no reason to project into the future as far as our children or possible grandchildren are concerned. In other words, many have simply shut any possibility of a future on this earth for future generations. They spell doom and gloom and watch for the rapture. They have given up on America, seeing that she is under God's judgment.
The other camp, and I hope you are in this group: we are living in the last days and therefore there is great reason to be about the Father's business of saving souls! We need to be genuine salt...preserving the lives of those who need to hear the gospel of Jesus, the Son of God. We need to be lights...showing the way of life everlasting to those who sit in great darkness, under the deceitful lies of Satan. Our prayers for America are vital now, more than ever. There are many faithful believers who are praying fervently for this country to see the Light and trust in God.
One group sees no importance in praying for the future of their families and the other sees the immediacy of praying for their family members to become servants of the Most High God and harvesters for His Kingdom!

I love this land, and while I see God's hand of judgment in many of the calamities happening right now, I know there brothers and sisters in Christ who are standing in the gap with me... I hope you are one of them!!
In His Love,

Opened Doors means Closing some behind...

Writing opportunities are opening up for me, and as they do, the Lord is closing some of my blogs in order for me to concentrate on these amazing new ventures.  As soon as I have specific information to share, I'll close this blog and my novel idea blog down. My website and the Israel Connection will remain. I'm very excited about what's happening and can't wait to share the news!

In His Love,

Morning Splendor...

Psalm 19

¹The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

²Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

³There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Lately, the heavens speak loudly of God's amazing power and glory. This morning, I saw the sliver of the moon just before dawn and directly above it, was the planet Venus. If you look closely at this picture I took at 7 am, (you can click on it to make it bigger), you can see how big Venus is right now in comparison to the moon! Let me share something with you about this:

The New Moon is called Kodesh in Hebrew and represents the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)

Venus is the brightest object in the pre-dawn sky. It means Splendor in Hebrew. It was within the constellation of Leo, the Lion--Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!
The Lord's Splendor was shining above the Holy Spirit this morning and took my breath away!
In His Love,