A Word to Warriors

Yesterday was a real day for warring in the spiritual realm.  The details are not important.

 

At first I was hurt and upset by what I could see & feel with my human eyes.  But I asked the Lord for guidance and just waited, prayed, and kept my mouth shut, and set my mind to move on.  And I did pray in the Spirit yesterday and night.

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In my Bible reading last night, (I was reading 1 Chronicles 12) I noticed that when the tribes that battled for David were listed, there were interesting “side notes” that to me, were not “side notes” but inserted there for a purpose.  After the the tribe’s name and numbers of warriors, it states:

They were Brave warriors

Men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do

They were experienced warriors prepared for battle

They had every type of weapon

They helped with undivided loyalty

They were ready for battle

They were experienced soldiers

They were armed with every type of weapon. 

Hmmm.  Think the Lord was trying to tell me something?

 

God wants us to be the right kind of warriors, prepared for, and experienced in battle.  He wants us to be equipped with ALL the weapons he makes available to us.  He wants us READY at any given moment.  He wants us to be BRAVE.  He wants us to understand the times and know what we/the church body should do and how we should respond.

 

I realize that in the midst of the battle was not the time when the individual warriors should be going to David to ask him what they should do in the situation.  They didn’t have time for that in the battle.  And so it must be for us as we do war in the spiritual realm.

 

We must not shrink back.  We must not run, but be brave and fight.  We must use the weapons we’ve been provided, ALL of them!

We must be loyal, so that the enemy cannot lure us away from our purpose and task.  God says that we are to have no other gods – because if we do, we then can be “bought” with those gods.  So therefore we must have singleness of heart, singleness of mind, dedicated and not love our lives so much that we shrink back from death.

 

We must fight now and tend to our wounds later.  :O)  There is no time for that when the battle is fierce.  Every moment counts!  We must deny ourselves (our feelings as well) and push ahead.

Cold Soba (Buckwheat Noodle) Salad

I've been wanting to find a good recipe for Cold Soba Salad. Finally today at the market, I recognize that I have all the ingredients (at the same time) for a Soba Salad! I have adjusted the dressing recipe so that next time, it'll be PERFECT!

INGREDIENTS:
1 package soba noodles, cooked as directed
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded in bite-sized pieces
Quickly blanch in boiling water, then shock in ice water:
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 lg handful sugar snap peas OR asparagus, sliced into bite sized pieces
1 bunch green onions (white and green parts) sliced thin, diagonally
1/2 cup salted peanuts
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tblspn roasted/toasted sesame seeds OR use the black variety.

DRESSING:
4 Tblspns soy sauce
3 Tblspns rice wine vinegar
2 Tblspns peanut OR canola oil
1 Tblspn Asian sesame oil
1-1/2 Tblspns creamy peanut butter
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 Tblspn minced fresh ginger
1 Tblspn sugar

Combine all (cooled) ingredients together. Sprinkle peanuts over individual plates just before serving. YUM!

Inside is good; Inside is VERY GOOD!

So, it’s taken me a week to recover. I was alone at home, getting ready for my friend Robin to come over and eat some leftovers with me (she’s a nice friend).

It had begun to snizzle a bit and there was some snow on our front porch. Being in my routine “home uniform” (my comfy knit black nightgown and no socks), I stick my head out the door. Hmmm. Just around 40*F; not bad at all. I don’t need a jacket or shoes.

I step out onto the porch with my broom and begin sweeping the snow off the cold cement. If I stood on the grass coir doormat, I found it wasn’t so cold. So I’m sweeping, . . . and felt/heard something. I turn around and the front door is closed. Must have swung closed.

I grab the doorknob and wiggle it; LOCKED! I tell myself, “No, I can’t be locked outside; I won’t be locked outside!” More intense door knob wiggling; nothing!

Now I’m thinking, I will push/kick in/bust this door down before I am locked outside.

That didn’t work either. I am locked outside. In 40*F weather. With no shoes. In my pjs. Holding a broom. No keys. No phone. Curt is on the road.

I am now running in bare feet to my neighbor’s house. Ring the door bell. Wait. Ring the door bell. Wait. No one home. Pause. Run back home in my bare feet.

Mind you, it just snowed so the grass is frozen and crunchy. And cold. My feet are stinging and I’m asking myself, “Whose idea was this to go outside with no shoes?”

Back on my stoop, I scan my options. Across the street I can see my neighbor Connie is home. Cars in the driveway. Probably a holiday family gathering. I take a breath and run across the yard, across the street, across their yard and up their deck. Their front door opens and her adult son takes a scan of me, from my head to my toes and asks me, “Can I help you?”

In my mind I am thinking, “No, I am not a homeless beggar.” There are not many ways to introduce yourself in a very pathetic situation. I’m your neighbor? From across the street? I was sweeping my porch and got locked out. Can I borrow a phone?

With phone in hand, I am running back to my yard wondering who I call. (The only phone number I’ve memorized is mine and I KNOW that no one is at home!) I see the realtor sign in our yard and tell myself, “Our realtor! I can call our realtor!”

Within ten minutes, I am back in the house. I am “stupid” with happiness. Inside is good. Inside is very very good!

Note to self: Next time I sweep the porch I will unlock the back door, open the garage door, put my keys and cell phone in my jacket pocket AND wear some shoes!!!