A place to find Hope

Category: discouragement (Page 1 of 3)

When You Love Someone You Hope You Get Loved Back.

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Does it sometimes seem like things are one-sided? Do you love someone, but don’t feel their love back to you?

There is one person who loves you forever. That is God.

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We have this minds set that we need to love this world and what it has for us. If we do there is no room for God.

What are the loves of the world?

  1. Desires of the flesh.
  2. Desires of the eyes.
  3. Pride of our lives.

How do we block out wrong desires?

  1. Spend time thinking about God.
  2. Be willing to part with your stuff.
  3. Be satisfied with what you have.
  4. Serve more than consume.

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I John 2: 15-17 says…. 15 Do not love the world. If anyone love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For the all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh, and of the eyes and pride of life- is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

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That says it like it is, and should be.

Always serve the Lord, God, and your days will be bountiful with much joy.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Worry is The Dark Room Where Negatives Develop in Our Lives

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I promised you an excerpt from my first book, which won a national award from the Reader’s Choice Awards. It is called, Signs of Hope: Ways to survive in a Unfriendly World.

Here it is…

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Chapter 12

Worry Is the Dark Room Where Negatives Develop

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12

I had a real dream the other night, and it was a western. It had me tossing and turning until the outcome unfolded.

The wonderful thing about dreams is that no matter how terrifying they are in the beginning, they almost always turn out for the good in the end. You notice that you never quite get caught by the monster that is chasing you. Isn’t it fun when you are flying and you can see everyone below you? I just flap my arms, and I fly. (OK, I know you’re thinking, This guy is crazy!)

How about the fact that you are the hero and you always save the day? Everything is wonderful. That is how life can be if you follow God. It doesn’t pay to worry, have anxiety and be full of fear. It doesn’t pay to be full of shame. It doesn’t pay one cent to be gossiping all the time. My dream is an example of that.

The characters:

The good guys: Matthew, Mark, John

Stranger on a white horse

The bad guys: Anxiety, Gossip, Shame, Death

Matthew, Mark, John and the Stranger—the four good guys—were riding on their horses through Sin City towards the Not OK Corral. Hiding from them were Anxiety, Gossip, Shame and Death—the four bad guys. They didn’t want the good guys to find them and stop the harm they were doing. They had control of all the people in the city and they wanted to keep control. Matthew, Mark and John were riding on brown horses because that was what they rode in those days. The Stranger was riding on a white horse.

The good guys were not gunslingers; they were Bible-slingers. The good guys got down off their horses and went searching for Anxiety, Gossip, Shame and Death.

Matthew found Anxiety leering around a corner trying to see where everyone was. Anxiety had a worried look on his face. He kept looking everywhere in fear—in back of him and in front of him. He didn’t know what to do.

Anxiety (aka worry) can be caused by a doctor’s appointment that holds the results of a blood test. It can be wondering if you can pay this month’s bills. It could be from a dispute you had with your wife. Whatever the case, from stage left comes Matthew, who says to Anxiety: “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for what He has done” (taken from Philippians 4:6).

Anxiety felt like a ton of weight had been taken off his shoulders, and he left the Not OK Corral much happier. Anxiety was gone.

Mark was looking for Gossip. When he found him, Gossip was talking so fast Mark couldn’t understand him. Gossip said, “Did you see Clem at the Horse’s Breath Saloon? He said he would never take another drink, and I just saw him walk in there!”

Gossip can ruin a person’s life. Talking about someone behind their back can only spread hurt and can cause unwanted hardship.

Mark put his hand over Gossip’s mouth and said: “As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts” (Proverbs 26:21–22).

Gossip was dumbfounded and was unable to speak further. He went away with a swollen tongue and was gone. There was no more gossip.

John found Shame hiding in a closet because he was so ashamed of what he had done all his life. He didn’t want anyone to see him this way.

Shame is often the last fatal nail in the heart of a person who is hurting from something they did in the past. Turn anything you are ashamed of over to God, and He will wipe it out of His books.

John felt pity for him and said, “If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Peter 4:16).

Shame rose and came out of the closet. He was a different man. He felt self-worth. He felt he was loved. He wanted to learn more about God. After this, Shame was gone. There was no more shame.

Then the Stranger went right to where Death was, for He knew where everyone was, and what they were doing every second of the day.

Death was a hideous creature. He was caring a sword and had a look on his face that would melt anyone who looked into his eyes. He really was the leader of this gang. There was fire coming out of his ears, and he laughed a chilling laugh. (This is the part where I was tossing, and turning!) He said, “You may have calmed the rest of my gang, but you have no power over me. Everyone has to die, and I will wait until they come to me.”

Yes, death will happen to all of us, but if we are under God’s protective wing, we do not have to fear death. It is just a stepping stone to be with our heavenly Father. You can be assured that the angels are waiting for the moment you are ready to be with the Lord. It is like a parent anticipating a newborn. The angels will say, “Cool, here comes another one to be with us in heaven.”

The Stranger took off His cloak, and uncovered his head. It was Jesus. Jesus walked up to Death and said, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Death spun around in pain and, weaker but still standing, turned back toward Jesus.

Jesus said, talking to God: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (from Psalm 23:4).

Death began to wither and fell to the ground. He had no more power over people any longer.

So there was no more anxiety, no more gossip, no more being ashamed, and most importantly, no more death.

God is the final power. He controls all things. We can stop worrying about anything. Worrying and fear does not gain us one more minute in a day—and it saps our strength. Turn your anxiety, gossiping, shame and the fear of death over to Him, and He will send them on their way.

The four horsemen got on their horses and headed to the next town to see what gangs might have settled there. As they rode into the sunset, they all sang praises to God and worshipped Him.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory,

honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Romans 2:7

Further Adventures

Have you had one of those bad guys come into your life? Have you been faced with anxiety? Has someone said something about you to someone else that wasn’t true? Do you live in shame for past sins that you cannot get out of your mind? Have you lost a loved one? Always remember that God is always there. He knows what your anxiety is. He knows about the gossip that has been spread about you. He wants you to throw away your shame, like it was a broken toy.

And remember that death has no power if your loved one was a Christian. God is the final Word. He controls everything. Lean on Him through whatever trial you are going through. You will have some storms come into your life, but God is there to help calm them for you.

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says?

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There will more in the future. Keep coming back to check them out. Better yet… God to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Top Five Ways to Survive in a Not so Friendly World

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I had my usual Physical therapy today. Went pretty smoothly. Getting stronger each visit.

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The governor of my state of Oregon announced today that we are going back to mandating masks for indoor events. The new Delta virus is causing havoc everywhere. We are back to where we were over a year ago.

Here are some scary statistics. Two of the biggest cities in our nation have had a tremendous increase of deaths from the virus. In one of the cities 95% of the deaths were not vaccinated. In the other city it was 94%. Pretty clear facts that shows everyone needs to get their shots now.

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I don’t know about you, but I am struggling with all the turmoil that is going on all around us. Fake news, rioting, racism, lying by politicians, bad decisions by congress, and a president that doesn’t even know how many people live in our country.

I sat down and tried to figure out how I could face all of this mess. Here is what I came up with:

  1. Time to wear blinders like horses do. Only look straight ahead to the future.
  2. Only believe facts. not fairy tales.
  3. Do not blame people around you for problems, look in the mirror.
  4. Reach out to help those who are confused and depressed.
  5. Rely on your family and friends to see you through the storms.

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If you are overcome with all the turmoil. Make you own list of survival ideas. Live by them every day.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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We All Face Grueling Times. Let God Help You

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I had another physical therapy appointment today. Very grueling. I keep at it because in the end I will have much more energy, and stamina.

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I have shared with you that I am almost done with my second book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I just have two more interviews to do and clean up the table of contents. I have a publisher who is waiting patiently. They are called, Book Baby. Funky name, but I am very impressed with them.

I will start keeping you posted as to its progress here. I may even have some excerpts. So be sure to come back often to keep caught up.

Better yet… Go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

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So, have you had some real grueling moments lately? Did the world try to overcome you? I hear you! I have been there many times.

It is hard, at best, to face the world sometimes. So what are we to do?

  1. Be strong, fight back, persevere!
  2. Let God handle the hard stuff. He is there for you 24/7.
  3. Reach out to those you love and ask them to give you some support. I heard from a neighbor today that said she was helped, “Anbuntedly,” without even asking. Her family and friends came and helped her move into a new home since her husband died suddenly. Brought tears of joy to my eyes.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Don’t be a Father Doing Drugs and Alcohol. Monkey See Monkey Do

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I heard the story about King David from the Bible and his son, Asbolum. It is a story about a father not paying attention to his son, and the son plotting against him to try to be the king.

Where was David was the question. Why didn’t he see what was going on and correct his son?

This made me think that our lives as fathers. Since Father’s Day is coming up a good discussion would be, where are we with our children?

Satan can be a huge detriment when it comes to being fathers. He will say, you can stay and have beers with the guys after a round of gold, instead of being home and playing with the kids.

He lets people hear what they want to hear. “It’s OK to forget your family and have fun.”

What I came up with is a guide for father s as to how they can be a good father:

  1. Love the mother of your children.
  2. Let your children hear you pray for them.
  3. Bring your children to church.
  4. Get home from work on time to be with family.
  5. Do not work when off work.
  6. Spend the majority of your free time with family.
  7. Play with your kids often.
  8. Say, “I love you,” every day.
  9. Put yourself on “time out,” when you are angry.
  10. Quickly admit to your mistakes and say, “I’m sorry.”

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Here are some shocking results of a survey held recently:

  1. 22% of adults stopped going to church since the pandemic started.
  2. 50% of millennials have stopped going to church.
  3. Podcasts and Tik Tok, lead people away from the church.

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How do we guard our hearts from Satan?

  1. A serious pursuit of holiness.
  2. A serious pursuit of worship.

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So where do you stand in all of this? Do you go to the bar and forget about your family? Remember…Monkey see and monkey do. Your children will end up bars too.

Do you do drugs and alcohol too much? Monkey see monkey do.

Do you play golf every chance you can to get away your family? Monkey see monkey do.

Don’t be that kind of father. Put your family first, and love them with all your heart.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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The Storms Come, But God is There to end Them

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Notes from my online church service:

Our motives are always mixed.

God is here, and He is on the throne.

God is in the U.S.

God is in your home state.

God is in your home town.

God is in your home church.

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It has been beautiful here for several days.

In the low 80’s and no clouds. Clear signs of spring in the air, and flowers starting to bloom.

This always reminds me of a fresh start in our own lives. We need to refresh. We need to regroup.

Now is a wonderful time to take inventory as to what direction you are going and see if it is the right direction.

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I have another blog that is called, www.dougbolton.com. Pretty creative right?

On that site I talk to veterans, and share my stories of when I was in the military. It is also promoting my new book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.

I am hoping to have the book published this coming fall.

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How is your world doing?

Spinning too fast? Are there far too many problems coming your way? Have you fallen into the muck and mire?

Fear Not!!

I mentioned in my church notes that God is with you. He will guide you on your path. He will help protect you when the storms come. He loves you.

There are no barriers that God can not break. He can get you over the highest mountain. Just pray and ask for Him to be your fortress.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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We Need God to Protect us During the Turmoil We Face.

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President Biden has decided to pull the troops out of Afghanistan on September 11th, 2021. That would be the 20th anniversary of the Twin Towers attack.

Now the people are in an uproar. They wanted the troops brought home, but now they fear the Taliban will take over the country quickly.

HELLO!

I am a spot in my life where I am not sure if we should send troops to every country that is having problems.

Biden is in a lose, lose situation, and I feel for him on this situation.

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The Air Force just let in a white supremacist that a Google search could have caught, I wrote in an article on Tuesday. Airman 1st Class Shawn Michael McCaffrey has a long history with white supremacist groups, and he even ran a podcast where he and his racist, homophobic pals pilloried Jews, people of color, Muslims and many other groups, including the military. The Air Force is now investigating the case.

OOOOPS!

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“I want to get back to doing normal things” was the main reason Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Johnson flipped from COVID-19 vaccine skeptic to vaccine recipient, writes Army reporter Haley Britzky. Like many other soldiers, seeing his commander take the shot helped Johnson change his mind. Learning more statistics about the vaccine, wanting to protect their loved ones and believing the Army wouldn’t provide a harmful vaccine to its troops also helped, Haley found out after chatting with soldiers.

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Up date on my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military:In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

Going through the book one more time for typo’s, and then I will be contacting the publisher. Getting exciting for me and I hope you are getting excited as well.

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How are you holding up in this world of turmoil? Is the world spinning too fast?

Yes, we often allow turmoil in our life. It is because we feel weak and cant fight back.

Always remember that God is on your side. With him there who can be against you. No one!

Be strong and cling to God’s robe. He knows who you are and He knows what He needs to do to protect you.

Never, ever give in to the dark side. Keep fighting back with God helping you.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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We Often Get Angry and say Something we Regret

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Just got home from an all day trip to the Oregon Coast. It is a trip that wears me down quickly. Two hours riding in a car each way. Then we went shopping at Costco. and that did me in pretty good. Could hardly walk when I got home and unloaded the car. I also took out the garbage.

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Enough whining from me. I have been sporadic on doing my posts, because of still recuperating from my surgery. It has taken forever to get even close to 100%

Hey wait…I am whining again…sorry!!

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My church service online from last Sunday was excellent. I am going to share some thoughts from that service.

The theme was “Don’t get caught up in the moment.”

We sometimes are easily upset and even angry with someone, and say things we later wish we hadn’t said.

I know I have been there. However, I am a guy that realizes my mistake and goes back to the person and apologize. There have been some of those times when they wouldn’t accept my apology,

At that point we need to move on and not dwell on the problem. If we do the other person has won.

We need to realize that we can get swept up in the currents of anger, jealousy, envy, hatred, etc. All those will lead to us drowning in the current.

Don’t drown in your own self pity. I used to have some great pity parties, but no one ever came.

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Often because of the misunderstandings and hurts, we feel powerless, we lose hope. God gives hope to the hopeless. He makes the impossible possible. He brings power to the powerless, and life to that which was dead.

So face each day with hope, and don’t get caught up in the moment.

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Another thing learned from church lasy Sunday:

  1. Let God take the glory. I have really concentrated on saying God did this and that for me. It wasn’t me it was His graciousness.
  2. Never add of subtract from God’s word. So many so called Christians take out of context what they want from a verse in the Bible to fit their own personal beliefs and not Gods.

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How is the world flowing for you? Is it a little overwhelming? Do the days drag on, because you are lost and in mental pain?

Turn to God. He has the world’s biggest shoulders. I can’t imagine trying to face this planet without Him in my life.

Pray to Him about your hurts, and pains. Ask Him to relieve your guilt. Ask Him to give you peace, and love.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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Don’t Let Doomsday Thoughts Overcome you

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What a rare mood I’m in…..It’s almost like I have been trampled, disappointed, lost, and in mental pain.

How’s that for a lead in sentence?

It is hard, at best, to find very many positive things in our world these days.

I feel like I have bring run through the wringer a few times.

That reminds me of the old washing machine my mother had in her basement. There was a wringer on it to help squeezer the water out of your clothes. I always feared I would get my arm stuck in it.

I am sounding pretty negative here, when I am suppose to be sharing hope. I love the word hope, It is my favorite four letter word.

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Where can we find hope?

  1. There is hope when the sun comes up each day.
  2. There is hope when your child takes their first steps.
  3. There is hope when you get that job you wanted.
  4. There is hope when you accomplish something people thought you couldn’t.
  5. There is hope in our grandchildren.

I could gone on for several pages with hope. Hope is the key word in our lives.

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Now that I have picked myself up off the floor of despair, I feel like all the negativity is gone.

This is what I need to do every day. I need to think of the positive things in my life. My wife. My children. All my friends.

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I suggest you try this approach yourself. Every day sit down and think about all the great things that are happening in your life. You don’t need to write them down. Just sit and clear your mind of negative things for the day.

God is with you every step of your day, and while you sleep at night. He loves you and will protect you through all the turmoil we are seeing.

Never give in the the darkness of fear, and panic. There is a light ahead, and is our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…Never, ever, give up!

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Stop the World Let me Off I’m tired of Going round and round.

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. I want to reach out to as many veterans as possible+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. I want to reach out to as many veterans as possible.

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What a ride we have been having lately. The pandemic is having its way, rioting still continues, and the election is still up in the air as to who really won the presidency fair and square.

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The election is a mess. I was watching the news tonight and they claim to have hundreds of affidavits signed saying there was much wrong doing going on during counting. There were those who even tapped a guy that was taking ballots out of an envelope and everyone that was for Trump he tore in half and threw it in the garbage. He laughed when he did it.

So much of this kind of thing is going on in several crucial states. There has to be a reckoning to straighten all this mess out. We want who is suppose to be the president, not by cheating.

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The pandemic is just growing by each day. When will it end? When we be back to “normal?”

The county where I live in Oregon is getting especially getting hit hard. We had 75 new cases just today. I am on complete lock down, because of my health issues.

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The rioting’s are spreading. In Portland, Oregon near me, it is starting up again with even more force. The city council voted to not to defund the police, and the rioters went crazy. They even attacked the homes of the city council.

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What are we to do? How can we help stop this madness?

The word is prayer, and lots of it. I pray every single day for our government both national and local to come to their senses and end all of this turmoil. It shouldn’t be allowed to continue.

We need to become Christian soldiers. We need to stand strong and support the right causes. We need to say NO to evil and be alert to the works of Satan. He is having a field day right now. Turn your back on him and tell him to hit the road. We have God on our side so we win in the end. Just stay strong.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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