FEELINGS NOT FAR FROM REAL
Isn’t it true that we have feelings?
I have feelings and with them ideas
I wish I could arrange to have all the people
I have connected with, if only for a short while,
over the years and exchanged ideas, love, friendship
with and engaged well with, with mutual respect
and admiration get together for a while or forever
and enjoy each-others company with the feeling
that everyone knows each other intimately
and it has always been that way and there is peace
tranquility and excitement that is so great that no one
wants the gathering to end and there is no reason
for it to end and so it goes on and is never boring
and the others bring in those who were and are
special to them and this amazing euphoria expands
to everyone and just sustains itself with no effort
There is food and wine and sunshine with a warm
breeze and everyone is natural with no expectations
Potentially this phenomena could expand to
include every soul who ever existed and it would be
divine with embellishments, such as golden roads,
lovely streams of bubbling water and gardens so
common that it feels like home and those you run into
for the first time are like the lovely people you like
to be with and everyone is thankful without wearing
it on their sleeve and no one wants more than what
they have because happiness is just in being and
then a Being only described as the Light arrives and
says welcome everyone, you are home and everyone
remains calm as they observe Goodness and someone
offers this Light a glass of wine and with a soft wind
flowing through the area, the answer is yes, I would be
very happy with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or
an Oregon Pinot Gris and when asked about a red
mentioned that a Chianti Classico Reserve would be
fine later with our dinner and we can expect to enjoy
the music of Ella, Louis, Frankie, Miles, Grover, Elvis,
Elton and the Beatles and the evening would never end,
but the Light would always shine and the feelings are
real and we know that this is it
Stanski
May 10, 2025 ^
DO NOT BE AFRAID
Jesus Calling: April 20
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Hear Me saying Peace, be still to your restless heart. No matter what happens, I will never leave you or forsake you. Let this assurance soak into your mind and heart, until you overflow with Joy. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, you need not fear!
The media relentlessly proclaim bad news: for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A steady diet of their fare will sicken you. Instead of focusing on fickle, ever-changing news broadcasts, tune in to the living Word–the One who is always the same. Let Scripture saturate your mind and heart, and you will walk steadily along the path of Life. Even though you don’t know what will happen tomorrow, you can be absolutely sure of your ultimate destination. I hold you by your right hand, and afterward I will take you into Glory.
Mark 4:39
New King James Version
Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
Verse Thoughts – This is more than about simply calming a storm. This is about our lives, that we bring before the Lord continually. We come to him and he rescues us from our eventual death, sealing us with Him for all time, giving us the assurance that we will live for eternity with Him (I John 5:11-12). However crazy the storms occur in our lives, He is there. He calms the storms. He rescues us from the perils of life. He brings peace to us. This doesn’t always mean that we win the game. In our sports heavy culture, where we consider the outcome of the game that the winner walks off with complete peace, God does not work in this way. There is peace no matter the outcome, because He is in control of all. We can submit and surrender to Him and then He will give us strength through the outcome.
Deuteronomy 31:6
English Standard Version
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Psalm 46:2
English Standard Version
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
Psalm 73:23-24
English Standard Version
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
A SERIOUS MEDITATION
Luke tells us that Jesus said:
“The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out,
‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger
in water and cool my tongue, for
I am suffering torment in these flames.’”
Is this a consoling parable, or is it a threatening one?
Is it comforting or is it frightening? I do not want to stand
before the Lord and be sent to the place of torment
with flames that burn forever.
I access my life and review the precepts.
Think of others first; give to those in need with love and tenderness;
spend my time and efforts with those on the fringes
until they no longer need me and then move on to the next place of need;
give food to the hungry and water to the thirsty;
give until it feels good. In my evaluation of myself,
I can feel good, in that I have followed these precepts,
sometimes more graciously than at other times,
depending on my state of being at the time, but overall
I feel I am a candidate for a room in the Father’s House which has many rooms.
As I move on along my pathway I will work harder to do the right things
and carry my share of the cross. I want to earn my place in the netherworld,
a place where no torment will exist for me.
Stanski
April 16, 2025^
A SERIOUS MEDITATION
Luke tells us that Jesus said:
“The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out,
‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger
in water and cool my tongue, for
I am suffering torment in these flames.’”
Is this a consoling parable, or is it a threatening one?
Is it comforting or is it frightening? I do not want to stand
before the Lord and be sent to the place of torment
with flames that burn forever.
I access my life and review the precepts.
Think of others first; give to those in need with love and tenderness;
spend my time and efforts with those on the fringes
until they no longer need me and then move on to the next place of need;
give food to the hungry and water to the thirsty;
give until it feels good. In my evaluation of myself,
I can feel good, in that I have followed these precepts,
sometimes more graciously then at other times,
depending on my state of being at the time, but overall
I feel I am a candidate for a room in the Father’s House which has many rooms.
As I move on along my pathway I will work harder to do the right things
and carry my share of the cross. I want to earn my place in the netherworld,
a place where no torment will exist for me.
Stanski
April 15, 2025^
THE HORROR SHOW
We see it in front of our own eyes
So terrible we have to look away
Genocide or mass killings in Ukraine
Buildings ripped apart by explosives
People evacuating in the millions
There are over a million refugees
Why does Russia want Ukraine?
Reclaim some of the former
Soviet Union and of course,
Natural resources and slaves
This is war, not pretty or necessary
Ego and control are come into play
How many millions have died by
The hands of the Russians
This is so difficult to comprehend
And the sad thing is that this will
Not be the end. War never ends.
Unrest exists somewhere in the world
Hunger and thirst will be prevalent
None of this is necessary. Food is
Wasted or distribution interrupted
Someday there will be one flock and
One Shepherd. The angels will sing
The chaff will burn while the good will
Be given a room in the Father’s house
Stanski
April 14, 2025 ^
Steve Haarman 