11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hotel California
The time is now to stop being the sacrificial lamb, cease casting our pearls before swine for there is nothing to be gained by staying in a place that serves only to be a hamster wheel. You’re furiously running but getting nowhere. There is no profit or gain in such an existence. Gaining the whole world and losing our souls is the ultimate delusion/illusion. There are no true guarantees in life and our lives should not be measure by dollars and cents. If we measure our lives in terms of dead Presidents and a few Benjamins truly we have sold our souls to the devil. We humans are meant to do more than exist. We are meant to be more than survivors. There comes a time when you have to take the risk, step out on Faith, knowing that God will catch you. Within is Redemption and Salvation.
Jesus said The Hotel California is a whited sepulcher filled with dead mens’ bones ruled by bodies bereft of heart and soul. Seeking only monetary gain on the backs of drones assimilated into the hive. Resistance is mandatory. Deliverance is nigh. Freedom is All! It offers various illusions and delusions of peace and tranquility all the while in actuality a battleground filled with the cries of the wounded and decaying corpses. The time has come to shake dust off feet and march towards Zion.
Ladies, Should you find yourself hospital or bed rest sick; should you lose your job or your hours are reduced and that fool you call a man is offering no financial support and still wants you to cook, clean and have sex something is wrong with the whole picture. Get that male’s shoes out from under your bed.
Yesterday I overheard a conversation between two 20-somethings. One young lady was pouring out her heart to her girlfriend that she is working, getting ready to return to college for another semester, doing all the housework including ironing his shirts, more or less being this man’s personal servant and sex slave. As she was telling her story I could tell the young woman had reached her limit. She refused to iron his shirts anymore and wanted him to carry his weight otherwise she would leave. He responded that if she left the relationship was over. With the support of her understanding girlfriend she was drawing strength to leave this one-sided relationship.
Trauma Drama
In her words I saw myself in the last year with my abusive ex-boyfriend. At the time I was in my 40s but like these two young women I realized what these type men really want is a combination of their Mama and a hoe. The two ladies were white so Sisters take note, pretty much all men Black, white, brown, etc… eventually cause problems. Baby boys all. Breaking up is very emotional for women because you want the relationship to work but relationships only work if both parties are invested and respect one another.
Meantime, To the Left, to the Left, everything you own in a box to the Left.” – Beyonce. Git to steppin’ and don’t let the door hit you where the dog shoulda bit you! You and I ain’t got time for no foolishness!!
Gia Allemand, a sister in the struggle from Queens, like me. I was once in the dark. I stayed with him for seven years wanting the relationship to work, fear of being alone since I knew I was aging. There are many reasons women stay so I reserve judgment. Even when my ex was especially cruel and violent I still wanted to stay with him hoping things would work out but they never did. Only when stuff got really bad and I thought he might injure or kill me did I ask God to remove him. He left Thanksgiving Day 2007 and a weight was lifted off my shoulders physically but I still deal with problems of being unworthy or inadequate.
It is a never ending battle and the main reason why I finally gave up on men, dating and relationships last year. Domestic violence and emotional abuse have lingering problems that take years to fix. I’m still a work in progress trying to regain my self-confidence. Even after all these years I still have a lot of self-doubt. My heart goes out to all women of all ages and races in the battle to regain you. Sweet Gia, I hope in your decision to leave this earthly plane that your burdened spirit is now at rest. Truly I wish you had lived but my prayer is that through your battle other women will get the help that they so desperately need.
Gia, like you I felt him not just saying but through his cruelty to me, repeatedly communicating over and over, “I Don’t Love you Anymore.”
As my Dad used to say, “Deborah, There are more fish in the ocean.” Alas for you my poor girl this was it. His words were you’re final breaking point.
Gia, the Bible speaks of renewing our minds. That renewal takes more than prayer. It is prayer, meditation, therapy, family and friends. However I know when I was in my 20s the slap in the face, the betrayal of the end of a relationship feels like the end of the world. I suppose for me being in my 40s and living through a disastrous love affair I had a better perspective on life. After months and years of verbal and physical abuse I just wanted the relationship to end. Finally I removed my rose colored glasses. Dawn ever slowly was breaking. This year light has come and deliverance is nigh. We are all Wounded Healers.
I’m the type of woman who is loyal, faithful, and who will love to the bitter end, however these days I determine the end not the man. I will no longer be the sacrificial lamb. Gia Allemand your story and many other stories will serve as the first step toward wholeness.
John 5:1-8
New King James Version (NKJV)
A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda
5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda,[a] having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.[b]5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water Studio Version
Occupy till I return. The word occupy here means not merely to possess, or to take up space as it often does in our language, but to improve, and in the instance of activism to use our talents, gifts and abilities to advance and expand the opportunities, rights, and freedoms for those who may not have a voice or are under oppression. As we Occupy we Redeem the only the time but people worldwide who are victims of tyranny and domination. Our efforts are instrumental in changing their lives from victims to Victory. So Jesus commands his disciples to improve their talents; to make the most of them; to increase their capability of doing good, and to do it until he comes to call us hence, by death, to meet him. See 1 Corinthians 12:7; Eph 4:7. (http://bible.cc/luke/19-13.htm)
Stephen and I in Albany ready to meet the Legislators
Activism Progress Update: well latest news is that the major subject of debate in the NYS Assembly is the OPWDD 6% proposed cut. As I see it if they’re still debating then there is still a chance to restore the money for Stephen Palmer and all special needs people. Also I’m writing articles for Advocate’s Voice newsletter published by QCDD and I’m joining forces with Occupy Wall Street, Occupy the Hood and Occupy Together. I know I used to disparage the Occupy Movement but now I feel they are more organized and have better direction & focus. Plus I need my fellow Occupiers. We all need them. Let’s all safely and peacefully practice the principles of Civil Disobedience.
Me protesting in front of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office Friday, March 15th.
I do not believe in anarchy. My calling is to Occupy within the system. The current structure of government is not going to disappear, however we must make our elected officials accountable and hold them responsible. We must make our voices heard by going to City Council Meetings, Town Hall Meetings, engaging our New York State assemblymen in Albany, marching, protesting, rallying and boycotting. I still believe in the power of the vote and the power of the purse. They go hand in hand. Resistance but peaceful resistance.
God Calls Everyone but Some don’t answer. Many including those in the church look at Stephen as somebody who needs to be fixed but it’s not Stephen who has the problem it is the temporarily abled. By saying Stephen needs to be cured, fixed or healed imply that he is defective. No that insulting attitude needs to be fixed. That type of bigotry needs to be cast aside. No more warehousing of the developmentally disabled and people with special needs!! Defenders of the Faith need to defend “the least of these” — those who are vulnerable in our society, and that includes the disabled, children, our persecuted LGBT sisters and brothers, the elderly, abused women and Veterans. No more domestic violence or sexual abuse against women and girls. No more Willowbrooks, No more special needs/developmentally disabled kids/adults hidden away in attics or basements. No more brutal murders and suicides like Matthew Shepherd, Branden Teena & Tyler Clementi.
We who claim to follow Jesus and his principles must speak out and make a stand for justice, for what is right and honorable. We have the power to put an end to evil and injustice. Activism knows no age limitations or religious barriers. Look at the example of our young sister Malala Yousafzai who risked her life to get an education not just for herself but for all girls and young women in Pakistan. Those who are called can no longer hide inside their storefront churches or within mansion edifices. The world needs us now more than ever!
Malala Yousafzai — Our Young Sister Activist
Ecclesiastes 9:11
King James Version (KJV)
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all.
The Time is now! The Doors are opening! Let’s us march onto Victory! The Battle is not over and Triumph is on the Way!!
Please also take the time to read Occupy until I return Part I published October 14, 2011.
Donations and Freewill offerings can be made directly to my PayPal account deborah.palmer280@gmail.com. Thank you and God Bless.
A Call to Witness is a ministry God revealed to me recently in the midst of my trials and tribulations. It is not geared to any one denomination or belief system but to all who hear the voice of God and desire to become closer to the Lord. In fact and in practice God has called me to reach out to those rejected or alienated by the church. A call to society’s unwanted. We’ve all missed the mark and come short of the glory of God. I help you access some of His Earthly Glory. I seek not religion but a common ground amongst all the world’s races, nationalities, faiths, ethnic groups whose foundation is God.
Jesus Christ
Suffering in the midst of healing
Job 19:25-27
New King James Version (NKJV)
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
The first part of this teaching is dedicated to a close and dear friend at work whose son has been in the hospital for the last few months fighting for his life. The young man has also been diagnosed with MS. When my friend first told me his son was in a coma and on breathing apparatus my response to him was I will pray and if you need me no matter what time day or night call me. I also emailed him resources from the MS Society. Time passed and nearly our entire workplace banded together in prayer for our supervisor’s son. This young fellow is only in his 20s and the pride and joy of his father. Our supervisor is kind, gentle, fair, faithful and loving Christian man. Of course he was devastated that his boy was so ill. We his friends held him up in prayer, encouragement and support as Moses arms were held up in battle against the enemy.
God had already told me that the young man would live and not die. One day my buddy called me over to his desk and told me his son had opened his eyes. We rejoiced right there at the desk. But the fight is not yet over. The young man is awake, can recognize and grasp his Dad’s hands but cannot yet speak. So now our collective prayer is that the young man will regain his power of speech.
After I emailed my friend resources on the MS Society, I gave more thought as to why God allows sickness and death. John 11:4 was part of the answer:
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus was referring to Lazarus.
Also I thought of John 9: 1-5
John 9
A Man Born Blind Receives Sight 1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Sickness, disability and even death revealed God’s mercy and compassion as we triumph over them. Sometimes we receive miraculous healing; sometimes we learn to live with a condition other times the Lord takes us or our Loved ones home to be with Him. His power is made manifest in the strength of the human spirit.
The story immediately follows the exorcism at Gerasa. Jairus, a patron of the synagogue, asks Jesus to heal his dying daughter. However, according to Matthew, his daughter is already dead, not dying. As they travel to Jairus’s house, a sick woman in the crowd touches Jesus’ cloak and is healed of her sickness. This is called the miracle of Christ healing the bleeding woman.
Meanwhile the daughter dies, but Jesus continues to the house and brings her back to life, or in his own words, awakens her. In Mark’s account, the Aramaic phrase “Talitha Koum” (transliterated into Greek as ταλιθα κουμ and meaning, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”) is attributed to Jesus.
John 5:4-8
New International Version (NIV)
5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
I find it interesting that Jesus asked this man, Do you want to be healed? Seems like an odd question since Jesus already knew his condition. Was Jesus questioning the man’s faith? No I don’t believe so because the man had a portion of faith to be close to where the angel troubled the waters. More than likely the man suffered from paralysis and needed friends to assist him. Jesus chose that particular man because he lacked a support system. He needed a friend. Jesus ever merciful and compassionate became that friend. No more did the man have to hope each time that he saw the angel that the people surrounding him would carry him to the troubled water.
Jesus became the Bridge Over Troubled Water. Jesus the conduit between the sickness and the cure. Jesus the Bridge over Troubled Water who lay down his life for us. Our companion in suffering, death and resurrection.
Espiritu en Fuego/A Fiery Spirit 