Poetry Sunday ~ My Country Tis of Thee...

Isa.24:5 “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.”

My Country, Tis of Thee…

My country tis of thee

No land of liberty

Of thee I plead.

Land where my father died

Land where all children cried

Where man will always burn inside

For once, let FREEDOM reign.

My country tis of thee

No peace I ever see

Of thee I bleed.

Land never filled with pride

Land with arms open wide

Where man cannot safely hide

Why is FREEDOM pain?

My country tis of thee

No truth will set me free

Of thee is greed.

Land lost to all that chide

Land where no man abide

Where loyalty is put aside

My FREEDOM’s slain!

My country tis of thee

I long to trust in thee

Of thee great seed.

Land where the ground has dried

Land where no fruit complied

Where others all deride

Let FREEDOM not be vain.

Hos. 4:7 “As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.”

The Earth

Gen. 1:10 “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

The Earth 

Agriculture and its destruction. 

We live in a toxic world. The earth itself has cancer as you look around and see things wilting over, they are not playing dead, they ARE dead. Trees are succumbing, sea life is dying, the air is stagnated and that doesn’t leave the earth much to live on to flourish. I live in a state that thrives on everything farming. Agriculture is their specialty and with the link above about the agriculture basically helping to kill off the land and slowly the people, as you can imagine posting any such thing as that link is met with angry faces.

I have lived here in Nebraska for eight years now and have always enjoyed watching the crop dusters fly overhead after spraying a field. I never gave a second thought to the toxins they were putting on the field and the air that I breathed in daily as the surrounding farms all placed pesticides and other chemicals on the farmland to make their crops successful. And to think all of those chemicals are running right into the water I drink. (or used to drink)

I saw the beauty in everything until this year when met with a deadly diagnosis that opened my eyes to every single thing surrounding me from water, food, and of course the toxic land. The first year here I adored the amount of Crane that blackened the skies to come here as the stopover before they further migrated. The numbers were staggering in the beginning but with each passing year, they’ve dwindled by an impressive number. 

Granted I still seek out the beauty in everything, I now see the farmers out to make a buck at any cost. That is what the world has come to, everyone out to make the almighty dollar never thinking of the repercussions as their blindness grows and the world becomes darker and darker.

I have families here that think GMO’s are not harmful, that forty vaccinations for a small child are not the reason we have an epidemic of autism, ADHD, and other disorders. The people who claim otherwise are all wacky as the government stands firmly behind a toxic world and gives false statistics to keep the farming industry happy.

I lived thirty-seven years in a toxic city, a city that was industrialized. Factories where the breathing smoke stacks filled the air with toxins that were being released to unsuspecting humans. My dad worked at the Bethlehem Steel shipbuilding plant and later acquired mesothelioma from the toxins he breathed in for twenty years at a close range. Although in the beginning he was told no harm would come to him.

I then lived in Dallas, Texas for six years and that place wasn’t as industrialized as Baltimore, it was more commercialized. But this was my first taste of how agriculture worked as the ‘Cowboy’ ranchers raised cattle to slaughter for your eating. Living in the city, the food was already processed so I never really gave a care about where it came from.
Another thing I didn’t know is how the cows were injected with growth hormones and who knows what other stuff they were injected with. Steroids and other toxic ingredients come to mind. These toxins go into the living animal, then the animal gets slaughtered and the meat gets injected once more with chemicals to keep the food fresh on the shelves. The food is wrapped in plastic and more chemicals are surrounding the food to again, keep it fresh on the shelf. 

Here is a link, it is broad and not a specific link because there are political aficionados that will point out ‘That’s not a trusted site’, so I give you a broad range for your search of how millions and millions of dollars of food is wasted as we still have homeless people and a starving nation.

The disease cancer is just like the food industry when you think about it; millions of people are being led to slaughter via chemotherapy. Like cattle, we’re being herded into the gates of oncologists across the nation and any real cure that surfaces from homeopaths and naturopaths is thrown in the trash, or better yet, voices speaking out are killed.

To be fair, I will hand you a link from the blind. Please know, I am not of the gullible blind who read this ‘scientific’ meaning government approved, mumbo jumbo! But please, be fair and read the comments also!

In the above link, THIS is exactly the fear-mongering and disagreement I’m being met with.

Words from the link. “If you swallow snake venom, you'll be fine. But, if you get bit by a snake - you're dead. And, the fact that naturopaths can't understand the difference between these two means that they are not qualified to put a band aid on someone, let alone treat people for the disease.”

But being a governmental force is allowed to put toxic chemicals in my body? In the air? In the water? Approves of toxins in the food we eat? And *I’M* the one in the wrong? I’m also Christian, is the government going to allow me to worship my God? I shutter to think of the future we are headed into.

When people by the millions turn a blind eye to something ie: agriculture, medical practices, ingested toxins, etcetera, we all become sheep being led through the gates to slaughter in record numbers.

There ARE people out there fighting back and you can see it in the force of organic food being placed on the shelves. Someone, many someones, have seen the destruction caused by man and sees the opportunity to heal a nation. Instead of being angry farmers of all that has gone wrong in the toxic dollar, why not make it right to the human race just trying to survive?

Humans are a very gullible species. If it looks good to the eye we buy into what we’re being sold. If it is cheap we grab it for the price. If a doctor tells us we need a drug to stay alive, we believe everything he says, if the government tells you that genetically modified food is not harmful, you agree. Tell it to the billions who have succumbed to a deadly disease or the millions still fighting a deadly disease. Tell THEM that there is nothing wrong with the earth, the waters, its plants and animals, the human race. 

Some people actually woke up! Some are more aware and need to tell others of another route to go by. Some people need to tell you the TRUTH in a field of lies. Those people are not your government. The earth doesn’t lie! It’s speaking directly to you in the wind, the air, the rain, the oceans, fields, streams and forests’, if only you’d wake up and listen. 

Luke 15:14 “And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.”

Lent: Day forty-four ~ Salt & Light

Matt. 5: 13-16 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Have you ever eaten a softened boiled potato, plain? How does that taste? I prefer a little salt on my food; seasoned up nicely otherwise it is very bland. Your life as a Christian should be making an impact on those around you just as the salt does to the potato, by adding seasoning to their life. Not a bold chili-pepper type of seasoning, just a tad bit of salt.

God is calling us to be the salt and Light of the earth.

Salt as a preservative ~ In ancient time salt was used to keep meat from spoiling. Salt in those days was as important as a refrigerator is to us today. If we faithfully represent Jesus, we can leave a positive effect on those around us.

Salt adds flavor ~ Just as salt can add a welcome flavor to your potato. Even if we’re not the brightest bulb in the world, we can allow the Holy-Spirit to shine through us thus adding a nice touch of flavor to those around you.

Salt penetrates ~ It doesn’t take too much salt on that potato to make the entire meal have extra flavor. A godly person has that penetrating capability to those around them.

Salt makes you thirsty ~ When you walk in a godly fashion through pain and strife and overcome obstacles that others struggle with, people want to know where you get that peace and strength from; they thirst for the same tranquility in their lives. We are called to be salt of the earth to show them that through God, they too can find the inner peace.

Salt spreads nicely ~ It doesn’t take an enormous amount of shaking of the salt-shaker to season the whole plate of food. Think of it this way, thousands of years ago, Jesus seasoned just a small batch of potatoes. Me sharing what Jesus has done in my life is the most effective form of spreading the Gospel.

Salt can lose its flavor ~ Matt. 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

This is what happens to believers who allow sin to rule their lives, they lose the impact they could have had on people when delivering the message of Christ.

Salt in excess can backfire ~ I remember my mother used to make chicken-noodle soup and share it with me, it always had way too much salt so I got the recipe and made my own, sharing it with her. She told me that mine tasted better than hers! Why? Because I used less salt.Too much salt is not a good thing.

One can spread too much gospel and actually deter people from Christ. Spreading the Gospel should be lightly seasoning lives not overpowering them to where they flee from Christ.

We are called to be the Light of the world. The Light within you comes from Christ. It can be a beacon for all to see. Just as a lighthouse is a guide, you can be a guide for others who are struggling in their belief. You don’t even need to be a lighthouse; just a simple candle in a darkened room can give just the right amount of Light.

But remember even a candle can lose its brightness. When we allow sin to permeate the environment the candle becomes dim. You need to keep the fire stoked by trimming off the excess wick so the flame burns brighter and brighter.  This is how obedience to Christ keeps us shining for all to see.

If you are being salt and light, you are impacting the world! Through your actions, behavior and treatment of others all lends to your Christian character. You can either guide the ships into a safe harbor, or drive them further out to sea. The Lord calls us to purify our souls and allow people to SEE the PURITY in you; you then become salt and Light to the world.

I hope by the end of reading this post I made you hungry, and not for potatoes and chicken noodle soup either, hungry for CHRIST! Now go on out into the world and add a little salt and Light.

Praise be to God!