The days are coming ...

"'Therefore behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, that I will bring judgment..." (Jeremiah 51:52)

The days of greater evil are upon us ...
and those who are mighty and treacherous,
who stand against God
and all His people --- they
will come to see
His judgment fast approaching.

They will run and hide
in the caves
and in the mountains.

The enemy --- how brave, how smart
they think themselves to be,
taunting God's own,
bringing damnation to all who follow
the Lord Jesus.

The enemy --- they bring down themselves
and all they profess to be
and all they follow without any cares
for what is True and Right.

The enemy --- they will fall.

God's judgment upon them
will bring complete destruction.
Emptiness, brokenness
will prevail.
All will be desolate.

All the hidden places
you seek
will not serve you
to any good.

God's wrath is greater
than you.

"And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come and who is able to stand?" (Revelation 6: 15-17)

"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My Son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (which is the second death)." (Revelation 21: 7-8)

If you die an unbeliever,
after Jesus comes again
when you stand, or cower before the throne,
all the deeds ---
the should haves,
the could haves,
the would haves,
the might haves,
only serve to show you,
remind you,
there is no opportunity
for upward advancement
You made your
choices
while you walked
the earth.

Only believers in Jesus Christ,
Only those who accept Him
as personal Lord and Savior,
Only those who are obedient
to His will and His commandments
Only believers advance onward and upward.

Unbelievers drown.

We are, we say

We are called

we are Christian
But who is

We say
we are followers of Jesus Christ
But are we

A Christian
An Iowan
An American

We say
we are
I wonder

Who is Christian
Are you
Am I

Who follows
Who is Jesus Christ
What is He to you
What does He represent to you?
Is He complete
Are you
Are you in Him
Is He in you
Are you one
Do you follow Him

Do you hear
What do you hear
Who do you obey
What is right
What is wrong
What is truth

God is TRUTH
Jesus is TRUTH

What about you
What about me
Where is truth
Where is all there is
What is the meaning

Are you in Christ
Is Christ in you
Are you united as one
Who do you follow
Who is your master
Who is your leader
your teacher
Who do you praise and worship
Who do you say you are
Who does Jesus say you are
Are you His?
Do you know...

Cathy Orrick Luders
9.22.2009

Crafting spin art

Jim's artistic moments come in the form of spin art.

Friday night after work we drove to Waterloo for the National Cattle Congress. We've been going to this for years, but rarely for the midway activities. We have lunch or in this case, supper, at the AMVETS' Noodle Nook, where you can get all-you-can-eat homemade chicken and noodles, potatoes, coleslaw, rolls and butter and choice of milk or coffee. This year the cost was $7.50 per person. We stroll through the various halls and almost always see the bunnies - and of course, there is never one as cute or precious as our very own BeeJay! We also stop at the Spin Art booth, where Jim plies his craft. Sometimes I participate, but mostly not.

Here is his creation:

In playing with Paint Shop Pro, I changed the original work into a kaleidoscope, which I think looks pretty spiffy.
I also made the spin art creations of a month ago into kaleidoscopes. Here they are:

Work and play

Today I was on a mini-roll. I cleared off the kitchen table and scrubbed the kitchen floor and cleared off the bed in the spare bedroom and swept the basement steps. That's what I call a major mini-roll. Must of had a huge adrenalin rush going on. Tomorrow I go back to work for two days, then have Friday off as my Labor Day holiday, followed by two days of vacation, which will be spent at my church - Immanuel Baptist, which is celebrating 50 years in the Lord's service on Sept. 12 and 13. And then I'll have the following two days off, because Monday and Tuesday are my regularly scheduled days off from my paying job.

It's amazing what I found while looking at things and for things, including junk, which made its way to file 13.

Some of the things I found were two spin art creations painted by Jim and I on a visit to Des Moines and the State Fair in August. Mine is the one in red, white and blue. Enjoy!

Jesus is

Jesus is
The Son of the Living God

Jesus is
The Savior of the world

We -- those who belong to Him --
We are
The church of the Living God

Jesus is
The chief cornerstone, the elect, precious

We are
His children, His servants

Jesus is
The Pillar
-- of strength
-- of witness
-- of judgment
-- of power
-- of refuge
-- of rejection
-- of love
-- of temptation
-- of death
-- of promise
-- of comfort
-- of destruction
-- of hatred
-- of revelation
-- of renewal
-- of change
-- of choices
-- of obedience
-- of condemnation
-- of persecution
-- of endurance

We -- those who belong to Him
and those who do not --
We are
partakers of all life holds
and
we stumble along the way

Jesus is
The Foundation
of Truth
of Life Eternal

Jesus is The Stone
The Living Stone
The Chosen Stone

We are but pebbles in the brook.

In Paul's writing to Timothy (1 Timothy 3:15), he says "but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

Cathy Orrick Luders
9.7.2009