Thorny Rose: My Bittersweet Walk with Jesus // guest post

I gave my life to the Lord as a young child, around the age of 6. I went through challenging teen years and a childhood that left me feeling empty and lonely. When I neared the age of 19, God brought me out of some very difficult circumstances and called me to serve Him with my everything, providing just the right environment for me to grow, which I have been doing for several years now.

The title I chose for this reflects my walk with Jesus since that time: Bittersweet.

Some may expect a young woman who loves the Lord with all her heart to be cheerful all the time, to burst with happiness, smiles, laughter. Perhaps be filled up to the brim and overflowing with joy from sunrise to sundown. I would love to say that this has been true with me, but I am a true realist and to say otherwise would be dishonest which isn't in my character so I will share on both sides of the coin and know someone out there can relate, if not many of us. :)

A rose is a beautiful thing. Delicate, sweet, fragrant, bringing joy, passion, and love to life all the while, hidden among its beauty are thorns that prick, create pain, tear, and dig deep into flesh. Such is my walk with Jesus.

In the past several years, I have developed an intimacy with Christ the more I have grown to know Him. He has been a place where I can bury my deepest secrets and my most intimate thoughts. I love worship music so much because when I sing words like, "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain. Holy holy is He.", I imagine myself in His throne room, praising Him along with the angels and the multiple eyed creatures of Revelation surrounding his Throne in reverence. (I am a visual thinker). It is a sweet picture that brings me joy and fills me with love for my Savior and all He has done for me. 

Jesus is my rock and foundation. His Words love me, rebuke me, teach and instruct me, discipline me, guide me, and ultimately fill me. When I am not in His word daily, I struggle, I tend to give up, I am weakened, my spirit feels low on energy, I starve, but I crave. Over the years I find it gets more intense the deeper I go with God. A fresh refill of His presence is like water to parched land.

I did not grow up with an earthly father who was attentive as a father is supposed to be. This is something that even now at times surfaces, but my Father in heaven has been more than an earthly father ever could be. His unconditional love reminds me daily that His love does not depend on my performance in this life, what I do, how much I do, or how I act, but that it is a gift, freely given. This realization has given me more over the years an appreciation for His bountiful mercy and grace and the desire to serve Him and love Him more.

I am a perfectionist at heart. I know that I am. When I don't reach a goal that I am striving towards I am the first to cry out "failure" and shoot myself with arrows of self criticism. Yet, Christ's grace permeates through the calloused skin of my heart that builds with every disappointment and reminds me of how I am my worse critic while He looks at me and sees white. That astounds me and leaves me in a place of utter dependence and surrender when I truly think about it.

God has been good to me. He has given me more blessings than I deserve and guides my steps through hard decisions I have had to make so far and there will be more the older I get. Being my age, in between 20 and 30 and working full time, I have noticed more activity developing. Time speeds up. Demands in life grow. I find myself having to fight every day in a culture of increased momentum and time consumption for quiet time with Jesus. I have had to give up some things that I enjoyed doing just to have that time. I know that not all women my age work. If God has chosen your lot in life to be able to stay home and develop skills to equip you for His glory and purpose, I would plead that you'd relish those years of growth. I did have a couple years like that where I worked part time, but when you work full time it is much harder to stretch yourself and not be isolated all the awhile. 

I cherish the fellowship with other believers. God has used participating into several deep, challenging, and thought provoking Bible studies to heal my heart in areas over the last few years. One of my favorite days of the week is Sunday morning gathering. The faces of fellow believers brings joy to my heart and like I said earlier, I just love to worship. 

Prayer has been a challenge for me. I grew up in a home where I was taught that good prayers that were received by the Lord were those of eloquence and length. I can say I'm not the best speaker. I'd rather write what's on my mind than say it unless I know you very very well! haha! This has discouraged me to pray for years, but someone recently reminded me in the last couple years of the simple prayer of Jesus as the example to his disciples on how to pray. That has offered confidence in my communication with God which is crucial to my relationship with Him. He does hear and answer prayers. He has proven that to me over and over!

Remember my rose? The fascinating thing about such an icon of beauty is that God has chosen to clothe it in those nasty thorns. I have seen this in my life too. We have our highs in the spirit and are living atop a mountain, feeling invincible, joyous, strong, but where there is a mountain there is always a valley and there I have experienced my lows. Surrender and sacrifice are two words that echo familiarity. Many times God has clearly spoken to my heart to give up what I most would hold dear, only to develop a sense of need within me for Him. I have heard several times in my spirit, "I'm sorry, but this wouldn't be good for you right now. You can choose to ignore me, but it's not the best I have in mind for you." 

It's a crushing feeling when you have your hopes and sights and maybe even dreams set on something. Perhaps longer than just a season. I haven't always listened. I have ignored that soft still voice before, but then I regret it. I have found obedience is so much more important than what I want even when being obedient can bring pain and loss. Being stretched hurts and just like a thorn pricks flesh, my own flesh could use some pricking in order to stay on track. Can I get an amen? :P My flesh and spirit like Paul said are constantly in a wrestling match. 

"For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want." Galatians 5:17

God has used this method to get my attention and still does when I am headed in the wrong direction. He has also used dreams recently to speak peace, cautions, and encouragement to me in times of distress and confusion. It's only been in the first few weeks of January this year thats happened. I am thankful for when God uses this way to speak to me. He always knows the best way to reach us, individually. :)

You know that word, wait? That is probably one of the most challenging words for me. Perhaps cause I'm not very patient. :P I'm so used to an instant result lifestyle. Computers and technology have been the greatest toys to me and with my hobbies they do well in assisting me, but God doesn't work in our time frame. He works on a clock that we don't even understand and may never understand in this life. I work with children, two yr olds as a preschool teacher and if you know how they can behave, I think its ironic or rather divine that God placed me in such a place of work to constantly be reminded to be patient. Two yr olds are learning patience as well as other lessons of character. I often feel like a child myself under the watch and care of my own Father. Trusting Him through pain, through loss, through trials which have been many for me, is what its all about. We truly are running a race. One that has an end though we may never see it in our lifetime. Not till Jesus returns. Perseverance is what God stresses to me when I am going through seasons like this. When I remember that in this life I'm only passing through to something more glorious than my mind can comprehend, then my faith grows stronger while my doubts and fears weaken. Its not an easy road all the time when walking with Christ, but it sure is worth it. :)

Rebekah is--a Christian, a follower and disciple of Jesus. Christ first and foremost. She has always been a writer at heart and over the years has struggled to express that part of herself.  She blogs at Rebekah's Quirky Contemplation's.

days come alive//a guest post by bree

I'm sure you've come to this blog, expecting a lovely post from Michaela, and instead are seeing that some stranger named "Bree Holloway" is writing instead. I'm sure I won't do her random-ness justice, but I'll try at any rate. :)

(click to enlarge)

We all have those days when we don't know what to do. Those days when, even the most exciting thing just isn't exciting enough, unless, of course, it's a trip to Paris. :) Which, let's face it, never seems to happen. Outside your window, tiny drops or water are sprinkling the ground, like teardrops from heaven.

So what do you do? If you're like me, you wait around for something to happen, and waste too much time on ye olde internet. (a.k.a. pinterest.)

But instead of wasting valuable time, I'm going to write up some inspiration & ideas for you, next time you one of those days come up. :)

1. Make something.
Whether it's a sewing project, writing, photographing, blog designing, painting, sketching, make it new. Sew something you've never sewn before. Write from a different angle than usual. Photograph something you usually wouldn't. Design a blog with colors you usually don't use. Paint something strange, or from your imagination.

2. Do a photoshoot.
I'm serious. Use your siblings. Or, if you don't have a subject, use a pet, or a particularly interesting object. :) Even if you can't go outside, find the best-lit room in the house, and snap away. Try to pose your subject in different ways. Not only is this a fun way to spend time productively, it's also great practice. :)

via pinterest

3.  DIY
You know all those DIY's you pin on pinterest, but never get around to doing? Yeah, now would be a great time to try them. :)

4. Cook
A new recipe. A tried and true recipe that you haven't made in forever. Doesn't matter what it is - cooking is proven (by me. yep.) to be therapeudic. So there, is that reason enough? ;D

via pinterest

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you don't already know me, my name is Bree Rosalie Holloway, which is a bit of a mouthful. I much prefer being called Bree, or, if you are a particularly ami, (yes, I do put random French words in my sentances. That's what French class does to you. ;D) you might call me bree-hee-hinny-brinny-hooey-hah. (get the The Horse and His Boy referance?) But only on special occasions. *wink*

And to sum me up in a couple of words, I am...I chocolate-a-holic. A dancer. A wanna-be photographer. A girly-girl if there ever was one. An over-grown dwarf. (I'm 5'2'') A girl who screeches Les Miserables around the house, singing her favorite tunes at least three times a day, sometimes more, despite her lack of singing abilities. But most importantly, I'm a sinner, saved by the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. And that's the best part of all. :) you can find me here: blog//pinterest//blog design

How to Make a Ho-Hum Day Brighter- Guest Post by Tory

Hi there ya'll!!! My name is Tory and I blog over at A Splash of Red. I mostly blog about life and how I strive to be that "splash of red" in my sometimes rather ordinary life. :)

I want to give Michaela a huge THANK YOU for asking me to guest post on her blog!!! I feel very honored and special... ;)

So how DO you make a ho-hum day brighter??? I confess, I had a hard time coming up with an answer... Some things that I do may sound boring to others... Like buying school supplies (one of my favorite things to do ;D)... And I am certainly not going to go sit on a horse in 100 degree weather like my sisters love doing...   But I think I finally managed to get three good generalized points... ;)

1. Change Your Appearance

Change your clothes... Change into something that makes you feel comfortable with yourself... This could be a trendy outfirt, a pretty dress complete with heels and lipstick, or yoga pants and a tank top... Whatever fits your present mood. I have a favorite pair of shorts and a favorite t-shirt that I change into pretty much immediately after work... Then I throw my hair into a messy bun and I am perfectly comfortable ;).

2. Change Your Atmosphere

Clean your house... Turn some music on... Light some smelly candles... Do something to change your surroundings. My absolute favorite thing to do to liven up the house is to blast up-beat music from my favorite Pandora station (which right now is the Surf Rock channel ;D)... Dishes and laundry are just so much more fun when you can cha-cha or swing while doing them... ;)

3. Change Your Attitude

Did you know that you can choose to be happy even if it is raining outside??? Egad!!!!!!!!! What a novel thought, right??? When it comes down to it, it is our choice whether to find joy in our day or not. So chin up!!! Thank the Lord for the circumstances you are in RIGHT NOW!!! Choose to be happy in the little moments and you will find that your life is a lot brighter... ;)

Thanks much for reading my little post... Be sure to stop by my blog!!! :)

~About Me~

I am 20 year-old home school graduate. Right now I live at home with my family and work part time at a library as a Page. This fall I am going to start attending the local community college with hopes of one day transferring to a four-year college in the area to get a bachelors in history. I enjoy reading Clive Cussler novels, petting my cat, watching super hero movies, shopping in Old Town Alexandria, and eating chocolate frozen yogurt topped with fruit and nuts. :)

making a ho-hum day brighter || guest post by Mikailah

Hey there, friends! I was super excited when Michaela asked me to do a guest post for her while she was 'away'. So here I am! :) And my name (get ready) is Mikailah. ;) I blog over at Maid For Him where I share my life in words and photographs.

So, my subject is "how to make a ho-hum day brighter". And if you are anything like me that can be hard to do. We all have those days when all we want to do is sit around, be mad at the world, and talk to yourself, muttering under your breath. *cough* But we can't right? Life must go on. So here are a few tips on how to make a bad day a little brighter. :)

1. Breathe--and laugh.
Now that sounds rather funny. But it seriously works. When you feel like exploding with frustration, STOP. See an imaginary STOP sign before you. {that shouldn't be too hard.} Calm down. Relax. Take a few deep breaths. Find something to laugh at. Your cat chasing a butterfly. A little brother or sister 'acting' out a familiar scene in a movie. Or just laugh for the fun of it. It will make you feel so much better, believe me. (my sisters and I make a habit of it.)

2. Find new scenery.
It is the 'thing' you are doing that is making you frustrated (and believe me folks, sometimes it is. We just like to blame the day. "It's a bad day...") just step away for a minute! Go do a different task; something that doesn't require much though. Cleaning is a great distraction. Sometimes something like mopping... where you can take your frustration out on a dirty floor. *grin*

3. Take time for nature.
When my day isn't going well, something that always helps me is getting outside. Take a walk. Smell the flowers. Rake the yard. Mow grass. Water the herbs. Play tug-of-war with the dog. Being cooped up inside for too long makes me jumpy. So, that is easily remedied, thankfully! Step out the door...

4. Relax--enjoy it! 
Some people are work-a-holics. No kidding. They don't feel profitable unless they are working hard--just doing SOMETHING! But that definitely isn't good. Just relax a bit, people! Sit on the porch! Read a book. Play some music. Take some pictures. Work on your technique. Draw a picture. Sit and think. You only have one life; so enjoy it. Be cheerful in the little things, and honor God in everything. :)

                                

5. Count your blessings!
There was a quote I heard a while ago; it was "What is you woke up today with the things you thanked God for yesterday?" Ouch. You think your day is going bad? Look around. Think of how many people would be happy to have the house you're grouching about cleaning. It is sobering, isn't it?

6. Say a prayer. 
Now this is the most important. Ask the Lord to help you be cheerful in all circumstances... and to please Him in everything you do. :) It isn't easy (and definitely not possible--we would have to be perfect!) but it is always worth it to struggle towards the goal. I heard a young lady say once that she didn't think God cared about the little things. He does! He wants us to go to Him in everything--every time we are having a "oh man, I have to clean the house" kind of day. He will help us. If we ask. 

Anyway! That pretty much wraps it up! :) I hope you enjoyed this post, and y'all have a cheery day. ;) And thank you again, Michaela for asking me to guest post for you! It has been an honor. <3

{All images via Pinterest}

xo,
Mikailah

{A B O U T   T H E    W R I T E R}

Mikailah blogs over at Maid For Him where she writes about life, photography, simple pleasures, girls's struggles, and strives to be a light for Christ. She plays music, writes stories/poems/songs, loves horses and tea, reads too many books and laughs often. 

Gone to see the world. 3 hours away.

So a week-long sewing spree isn't exactly (ok, far from) seeing the world, but I WILL be living out of my suitcase for awhile. I have no idea how this came so suddenly, because I've known for ages that "the trip" would surface eventually. It was supposed to be last week. Then we canceled. Which was good, since no one was ready and our employers weren't going out of town (yet. had the dates mixed up.) But here it officially is. o.O Something tells me that with several good friends together in one house for a decently-long period of time. . .very little sewing will happen. I foresee long nights up, large amounts of ultimate Frisbee (that I will demurely decline,) hymn-singing around the piano. . .and possibly a few snitches of costume making here and there. Possibly. Now tell me. . .how does one finish two entire 18th century Ball gowns and ALL the accessories in one week on ONE sewing machine? My sentiments exactly. It can't be done. ;) 

Sooo. . .I am trying with all my little heart to recruit three guest posters to fill the gap; you may or may not be treated to their beautiful selves within the next week. We shall see. In the meantime--au revoir. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm away. 

'words' part 7 // Les Miserables Movie Cast {guest post by Ally}

Hello, everyone! I’m Alexandra, and Michaela (known to me as Flip) very kindly asked if I would guest post this week!

She asked me to post my opinion on the cast of the upcoming film version of the musical Les Miserables, which I’m sure you’re all pretty familiar with (or at least by now! J). Now, she and I have discussed this topic many times over email, and we do have some differing opinions (now comes the time for those scrolling credits you see before a documentary about “how the opinions expressed here are not necessarily the views of So-and-So who made the movie…”), but she oh-so-graciously allowed me to put my opinions here on her blog. What a nice thing to do.

Anyway. After twenty-five years, it seems that Les Miserables is finally coming to the big screen as a musical. There are multiple film adaptations of the actual story, but none so far of the blockbuster musical, and the 10^th and 25^th anniversary concert versions are to this point all we have. However, keeping in mind the recent film adaptations of big-name musicals that frankly were flops of their stage predecessors (everyone has a different point of view but since this is my blog post…hehehe), many people are rather leery of a film adaptation, and we’ve all been watching for the cast as the rumors and confirmations come trickling in. We’ve seen before what happens – talent gets tossed aside for big-name actors, resulting in mediocre music…which kind of ruins the whole thing, especially in the case of Les Miserables where the whole thing is sung. Anyway. 

So without further ado, here are the so-far-casting and my opinions…(and I’m not going to into the plot/who the characters are…I’m assuming everyone’s familiar with it…)

Hugh Jackman as Valjean – this is one of those that Flip and I disagree on. J Ok, so his voice isn’t incredible, but at least he can singperiod…more than I can say for other big-name actors that have been cast in musical leads in recent films. You can find clips of his singing inOklahoma on YouTube…and what’s more, he looks rugged enough (IMO) to play the convict. I am wondering how they’ll do on aging him…Valjean does age…what, thirty years or so?...over the course of the story. The one thing I am worry about is if they’ll transpose some of his songs down…which will be the death right there. It’s just admitting that he’s not good enough for the role. But a high B flat isn’t something that anyone can just pick up and do…soooooo we’ll see! But I’m hopeful for this role.

I can’t say the same for Russell Crowe, who’s been cast as Javert. (I wanted Paul Bettany, who was rumored to have been in contention for the role before Crowe was cast, so Crowe’s all ready got bad points going for him.) Apparently he was in a rock band or something early in his life, which instantly sends red flags flying for me, as another lead in another musical-turned-to-film was a rock singer…and ruined the role he was cast in. I was reading through comments when he was cast and one person asked, “Can he sing??” Another commenter replied, “Well, he can always talk-sing, like Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady.” To which the other replied, “You can’t talk-sing Javert’s role.” Honestly…both ideas are noooooot good. Belting out Stars won’t work, and neither will talk-singing. Can you imagine Rex Harrison talk-singing the song? “You are the sentinels! Silent…and sure!” Nooooope, not working for me. Of course, he may turn around and do great. But this is one of the roles I’m really freaked out about. And not in a good way. 

Anne Hathaway as Fantine,
on the other hand, is one that I am rather looking forward to. I’ve really enjoyed the work I’ve seen Hathaway in…she’s a really good dramatic actress, which is of course what’s most important for this role. And apparently she can sing…she was originally a contestant for the role of Christine in Phantom of the Opera…and if you’ve heard any songs from POTO, you know that you have to be a decent singer to be able to manage Christine’s part. I’ve never actually heard her sing anything, but I am looking forward to seeing her interpretation of my favorite character in the musical. I do wonder if they’re going to make her a blonde?

Amanda Seyfried as Cosette is an iffy one. I’ve never actually seen her in anything or heard her sing…she supposedly studied with an operatic group, which hopefully means she’ll at least be able to manage Cosette’s part, the one soprano role in the musical. I’ve seen her all over the place though…magazine covers and the “latest release” films at the store…and honestly, I’m wondering how well she’s going to translate to a period film…she just doesn’t quite have the look. Plus she looks nothing like Anne Hathaway, which isn’t a big deal, I guess, but since she’s her daughter…minor quibble there. And she looks too old for the part, which could of course depend on the way they make her up. (My personal dream was to see Emmy Rossum in this role…sigh, oh well…). Soooo we’ll see with this one.

Samantha Barks as Eponine – Samantha appeared as Eponine in the 25^th anniversary concert, and though I wasn’t crazy about her performance (but then, who can beat Lea Salonga, the best Eponine IMO?), she is ten million times better than the rumored Taylor Swift! I’ll take Samantha any day. So I was soooo relieved to hear that Taylor wasn’t cast after all. J Of course (and I may be stepping on some toes here), a lot of my dissatisfaction with Samantha was her scenes with Nick Jonas as Marius…the Little Fall of Rain number (one of my favorite songs in the musical) was flat as anything. But I recently found a clip of her singing it with Gareth Gates in an actual production on stage, and I was favorably impressed in that. Soooo there’s hope for Samantha. Barely there, but hope anyway. 

 I have to say that I know nothing about Eddie Redmayne (Marius), Sacha Baron Cohen (Monsieur Thenardier),  or Aaron Tveit (Enjo) other than the latter has done a lot of Broadway shows. But other than that…nothing. So I cannot give my informed opinion other than Marius looks scary. And that’s about it.

On the other hand, I’m thrilled to death about the casting of Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier. Helena Bonham Carter is one of my top favorite actresses period, and she’s incredible. Soooo looking forward to seeing what she does with the character. Yes, yes, yes.

And I have to give a shout-out to my beloved Colm Wilkinson, the Valjean forever and ever...who's been given the bit part of the Bishop in the beginning of the story. It’s so lovely to see them giving a bit of homage to his part…and since even this huge Colm/Valjean fan has to admit that he is just a tad too old to actually play Valjean…I’m happy that he at least gets to be in the film. Hoorah!

I have to say I’m soooo excited to see how it looks on film…while I’m sure there’ll be a lot of content in the film (thankfully we have a filter!), it’ll be neat to see the interpretation of the story onto a film setting…I can’t wait to see what they do with One Day More. And I Dreamed a Dream. And Do You Hear the People Sing. And Come to Me/Confrontation. And Who am I. And…ok, yikes. I’m getting just the teeeeeeeniest tiniest bit excited. Just a teeniest. This is not good.   

And that concludes this very biased, rather nonsensical little mini-commentary on the upcoming film. I am interested in seeing how it progresses as more casting comes to light and production starts! I suppose we shall see! Soooo…what’s your opinion on the film? The cast?

Thanks again for letting me post, Flip! Hope you have a great time and can’t wait to see you on here again!    

                

Alexandra is  twenty-two years old and passionate about everything in life! She is a Christian, a daughter, sister, and piano teacher, and her obsessions include reading voraciously (classics are my specialty), singing, playing the piano, anything and everything British, The Scarlet Pimpernel, great films (especially costume dramas…the more romantic, the better), talking, costume reproduction, musical theatre and historical stuff in general. She blog's about costume dramas, musicals, costume reproduction, classic literature and everything historical related at Of Trims and Frills and Furbelows. She also contribute to The Day Dream, the most awesome Scarlet Pimpernel blog around, and blog about everything else in her life (yes, I do have one) at The Value of One.

'words' part 6 // A Crisis. . .{guest post by Nathaniel}

. . .of Contextual Consensus

How long were the children of Israel in Egypt?  I always was taught, based on Genesis 15:13, that it was 400 years. However if you look elsewhere, scripture says the bondage of Israel was 430 years, (Exo 12:40, Gal 3:17) yet, when I started digging deeper, using the genealogies in Genesis, I found it couldn’t possibly be more than 350 years.  Why does the Bible seem to have different time periods? This apparent contradiction can be fairly confusing, and is generally ignored by pastors and theologians all over the globe. They take what appears to be an open and shut case (Gen 15:13) and ignore other passages that contradict it.  There are a couple of problems with this; first, they are taking verses out of context, or completely ignoring the context.  Secondly, they refuse to dig a little deeper for something that isn’t even hidden; a simple surface reading of the context is required.

My purpose is to show that just because you’ve been taught something, it doesn’t make it true. And more importantly, we should always follow the truth, no matter where it takes us. 

I’ll start by laying down some ground rules:   
                  

•   First, truth rules over all
•   Second, God’s word IS truth.
•   Third, God’s word CANNOT contradict itself.
•   Fourth, if something does appear to contradict, we simply do not understand it properly.

Now, how can we solve this apparent problem?  We’ll look up what the genealogies the Bible gives us and see what the maximum possible time of bondage would be:  Kohath, Levi’s son, lived 133 years (Exo 6:18) His son, Amram lived 137 years. (Exodus 6:20)And Moses, Amram’s son, was 80 years old when the Exodus started. (Exo 7:7) 133+137+80 = 350

If you were to look at the genealogies given in Genesis 5:3-29; 7:6; 11:10-26, and add up all the dates, you’d find that Abraham was born in the year 1948 AM (Anno Mundi - Year of the Earth’s creation.)

Abraham's Birth	1948 AM
Isaac's Birth (Gen 21:5)	2048 AM
Jacob's Birth (Gen 25:26)	2108 AM
Jacob was 130 years old when they entered Egypt (Gen 47:9)	2238 AM

Ok, now we can start uncovering some truths:

Galatians 3:16   Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.  17  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

What was Paul trying to say? Well, from the time of Abraham’s covenant with God to the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai was 430 years. My opinion is the “His Seed-but as of One” is talking about Isaac. Here’s the verse about that covenant,

GENESIS 12:1  Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (NKJV)

Ok, you might be thinking, ‘Oh! Abram was 75 when the covenant was established.’  But that’d be wrong. The verse says; Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Not, “He was seventy five when he received the covenant.”  So, how old was he? Well, in other places in scripture, (Genensis 11:13, 15:7, Nehemiah   9:7) it tells us that God brought Abram out of Ur before he brought him out of Haran.  This fact wasn’t lost on the earliest members of the early church. Stephen said,

ACTS 7:2 And he said, "Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, BEFORE he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.'"                                                                                                                      

Ok, that’s all well and good, but does the Bible tell us how long Abram’s stay in Haran lasted? Thankfully, Genesis 15 helps us understand the answer,

GENESIS 15:13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

Now, you’re probably thinking, ‘But wait, where’d those thirty years go to?’   Who was Abraham’s heir to the covenant? Isaac was,(Gen 17:19) he was the child by whom God continued the covenant. So, the starting period of the phrase, “Your descendants will be strangers in a land not theirs”, starts with Isaac’s birth. Not the enslavement of Israel. If Isaac was born 2048 AM, and Abraham was 100 years old when he was born, then the thirty “missing years” aren’t missing at all, God gave the covenant when Abram was about seventy, and then reaffirmed it thirty years later, but He was still talking about the same point in the future, when he would give the law on mount Sinai.

So, let’s count 400 years from Isaac’s birth to Mount Sinai that gives us the year 2448 AM.  So, that takes care of the “400 Vs. 430” problem.  But we’re left with another problem; how long were the children of Israel actually in Egypt?  As we saw above Jacob and his family entered Egypt in 2238 AM.  So subtracting 2238 AM from 2448 AM, and that gives us 210 years!  This reconciles all the “apparent” contradictions.

Sadly, a lot of Christians don’t take the time to dig deeper into God’s scriptures, instead they rely on Pastors or Priests to tell them what God “really said” or what he actually “meant.”  It’s like we’re in a Revived “Dark Age”, except we have enough information and technology to where we no longer have an excuse.

Now, more than ever, the church has truly become a conglomeration of sheep. We follow every wind of doctrine, We go by what feels right and what will cause the least amount of controversy. We need to grow past this spiritual funk we’re in; we’ve forgotten what really matters, and who really is in charge. We get so hung up on manmade traditions and doctrines; we’ve become a dysfunctional family.  All that matters is what God says about his word, not what your pastor thinks, not what the Televangelist preaches, not what your Friends feel, not what your parents say,  not  even what you believe.  God said it that settles it. Do we really want to go against The Almighty creator? Are we that stupid? Well, I once was, I don’t want to go back. Will you wise up, or stay stupid?

Nathaniel is what might be called "An Odd Sort", and he wears that title as a badge of honor. He's a hyper-conservative; basically, he's three shades shy of crazy old mountain hermit man. He prefers the company of his close friends rather than a crowded party. He lives in a little mansion, surrounded by mountains and guarded by highly trained, flying, fire breathing turduckens that live in caves of-
Oh, you meant in real life...That's a closely guarded secret... ;)
In truth, he wants nothing more than to be a novelist; which would be why he could be called "Slightly Insane", He prefers the term. "Highly creative, original personality".