Month: May 2020

Waking up to an Unseen Presence

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girl in pink shirt and black pants walking on gray concrete pathway
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The other night I had a dream. I don’t even remember what I dreamt about, but what I remember was feeling an unseen presence in the room. It didn’t feel like a dark presence nor a holy presence. It just felt like something was there starring at me, watching me sleep. I didn’t freak out, as I’ve had other dreams where I struggled to wake up, felt chills up and down my spine and some unseen force pushing me down. I could not discern if it were a dream or not, because I saw everything in my room, but I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

The worst was several years back, when I woke up to the word, “demon” coming out of my radio. There were times when I would wake up with a deep scratch underneath my arm and one night when I was having another freaky dream where I struggled to wake up, seeing everything around my room was a small creature beside my bed holding a lamp stand. Whenever I had these dreams I would call on the name of Jesus and the lingering dark presence in my room would go away and I would wake up feeling extremely exhausted.

I remember the night when I slept, after I gave my life to God through water baptism, I had a similar dream. I could see everything in the room, but this time, there were no chills up and down my spine. In my dream, I was laying down in water that went right past my ears and can hear and feel the movement of the water. I felt nothing but peace and God with me and the dreams I had previously of a dark presence trying to stop me from waking up never occurred after that.

Dreams Under Certain Circumstances

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The other night I had a dream. I don’t even remember what I dreamt about, but what I remember was feeling an unseen presence in the room. It didn’t feel like a dark presence nor a holy presence. It just felt like something was there starring at me, watching me sleep. I didn’t freak out, as I’ve had other dreams where I struggled to wake up, felt chills up and down my spine and some unseen force pushing me down. I could not discern if it were a dream or not, because I saw everything in my room, but I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

The worst was several years back, when I woke up to the word, “demon” coming out of my radio. There were times when I would wake up with a deep scratch underneath my arm and one night when I was having another freaky dream where I struggled to wake up, seeing everything around my room was a small creature beside my bed holding a lamp stand. Whenever I had these dreams I would call on the name of Jesus and the lingering dark presence in my room would go away and I would wake up feeling extremely exhausted.

I remember the night when I slept, after I gave my life to God through water baptism, I had a similar dream. I could see everything in the room, but this time, there were no chills up and down my spine. In my dream, I was laying down in water that went right past my ears and can hear and feel the movement of the water. I felt nothing but peace and God with me and the dreams I had previously of a dark presence trying to stop me from waking up never occurred after that.

Unhealthy Vegetarian Ways

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fake meat

Vegetarian sounds healthy and in many ways it is, but when it comes to fake meat, it becomes very unhealthy. I remember looking at the back of package of fake cheese and seeing all the chemicals used to make it taste like cheese. For those that are lactose-intolerant, I get it, but if you’re eating fake cheese to be vegan, your eating unhealthy and better off eating the real thing.

After reading several health related books written by doctors who believe in the science of food and how it heals our body, the worst thing to do it eat food that’s not real food. For example, the package of “beyond meat” typically used on impossible burgers contains ingredients that doesn’t belong in the body. It contains highly processed ingredients with the addition of chemical preservatives or what makes it bind together to act as a patty. Our bodies are created to receive and use nutrients from food. The more processed the food, the less nutrients and the more preservatives, the longer it will store up in our bodies.

When food is closest to its raw form, the more nutrients it contains and if the body is using the nutrients, the less of it gets stored. Eating food with chemicals will damage it in different areas. If you’re vegetarian to be healthy, you might want to stay away from the fake stuff. Not too mention there are nutrients that our body needs that is mainly found in meat, which brings up the importance of feeding the body with natural food from all food groups.

A Treasure for All

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At nineteen years of age I found a priceless treasure. It was different beyond any treasure that anyone can find. This treasure was intangible, ever-lasting, something that no one can steal away. Holding onto this treasure, I was tempted countless times to discount the value of it. The pressures of the world from heartache to disappointment and sometime even distractions left my treasure on the shelf, neglected.

The more I got to know this treasure, the more I realized how much I needed it in my life. It became my strength in times of weakness and hope in times of despair. This treasure came with a manual that contained basic instructions before leaving earth. Reading the manual helped me reset my wrong ways of thinking and healed the broken pieces of my heart.

That treasure is my Lord & Savior Jesus. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” There is no treasure in life like Jesus…free…everlasting & will never leave you, even after death. All it takes is inviting Him into your life, then the treasure comes.

On the Bright side of things

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Still the news is filled with people dying or infected by the virus. Seems the focus is always on someone getting infected or someone dying, almost like we’re supposed to believe that if someone is infected, they will die, but that’s not the case, still most people that get Covid end up recovering and most can recover at home.

Yes, this whole covid thing and people dying is very sorrowful, but sometimes good things come out of bad situations. Families that were too busy to spend quality time together finally had the opportunity. Yes, work is very important, but strip a person of everything and all you’re left with is a companion. In times of forced isolation, it becomes evident how valuable it is to have a companion, weather your spouse, sibling, parent, friend or pet, we need people. This has been a time to slow down from the hustle and bustle of life, to sit, relax, enjoy the company of loved ones and ponder life.

Happy Mother’s Day in Spirit

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Happy Mother’s to my Mom who passed away almost 3 years ago. She was not only my Mom, but my best friend. I loved spending time with her, even if she drove me crazy sometimes.

Her laugh, smile and voice was infectious, most especially, some of the phrases that came out of her mouth. Most of the crazy sayings was when she was mad, but my favorite of all was when a lady came to our house selling carpet stain remover. We had a lot of stains on our carpet so the sales lady kept on going from stain to stain showing how powerful the cleaner was. My Mom wanted her to leave, but instead of just telling her, she gave the lady an explanation of why. It was that time of the month for her. She came out from the family room into the living room hunched over while scratching her behind saying, “Please leave, I’m bleeding.” I’ll never forget the look on the sales lady’s face, but that got her out of the house quickly. Till this day, my sister and cousins continue her legacy of funny sayings. It’s no wonder I enjoyed spending time with her.

She passed away suddenly, weeks after finding out she had stage 4 cancer. It was the most heartbreaking experience in my life. I pleaded with God to spare her, but after wailing and screaming in tears, I came to the end of the road where I had only one healthy choice to make to get through it and that was to fully trust God. Knowing that my Mom loved the Lord and knew Him, my heart can rest in assurance that one day, when I leave my fleshly body and meet Jesus, I will once again see her.

I love you and miss you Mom & I know that you will receive this message from my heart. Until we meet again.

Isolation and Fear or Face Death

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We’ve been sheltering-in-place around the globe and it’s been intended to prevent the spread to those most vulnerable, but even those that may not seem vulnerable have died. I value the precautions and attempt to control the spread, but how long can we hide from a virus that can potentially kill us?

There are people that want to prevent the world from opening because of fear that it will spread further, but not all of us want to live in fear. Some, even much older, maybe in their 70’s are going out to parks and walking around. People should have a choice. Open up society, all the business, offices and parks, etc. and let those that are too afraid to go out, stay at home. For precautions, wear a mask in public places, but live life outside the house.

People need people and I can’t imagine those that live alone. How hard it must be. We need community, a virtual meeting is not enough than being around others. Isolation leads to loneliness and sometime can lead to suicide. Yes, isolation slows down the spread, but we can’t live in fear forever. There may be a second wave so eventually, we will need to face potential death.

Two big questions:

  1. Are you healthy enough to fight covid-19?
  2. Are you ready to die?