The Alt-Righteous and the Waiting Time: A Christian Advent in the Year of Elections

This year in particular, we are in a curious holding pattern while we wait for President Trump's Inauguration. The Globalist Left is telling us daily about their plans to undo the legal election, trying to undermine our confidence, reacting like the abusers they are.   It is ESSENTIAL that we stand firm and be unyielding in our FAITH that God's purpose is unfolding toward His ends, whatever we may think we see or hear. In other words, don't let doubt enter in.  President Trump WON.  And as this great meme from The Last Refuge reminds us, Donald Trump stood up when the Lord God called. Can we do less than to stand firm?

 The entire force of all the media, Dems, & GOP that hated Trump before the election, now hate him and us even more, and are pulling out all stops to try to cause doubt and fear and to undermine our confidence in everyone on our side. They attempt to isolate each of us.

Remember: everything they say is a LIE. In their minds the election is not over - just like Gore's election was never over. Remember that and laugh at them every time they pedal their duplicitous mantra of fear and loathing.

President Trump WON. YOU won. God told us "Fear Not! The Lord Himself will fight for you. All you have to do is stand!" God did not raise up a new Cyrus to free his people to rebuild our land, in order to abandon us now.   Now, our work begins to accomplish the tasks God gives us.

Those tasks involve physical work, political work, social work, and spiritual work. During the "waiting time" that is Advent, we've  spiritual work to do to continue restoring our faith and the Christian faith in America.

Many of us fasted before and up to the election. Fasting, usually understood as going without food for a period of time or of forgoing particular foods for a period of time, is an old discipline that has been neglected in the modern Christian world. Not everyone is called to it, and a wise Christian woman once told me that we need God's help to fast, so not to worry if I weren't able to.  Here's a good article with the basics of fasting to get started (not endorsing the website, just this article). And here is an outline of guidelines for an Orthodox Advent fast.  From the latter, the Antiochan Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, comes also this advice:

• *Fasting in itself is not a means of pleasing God. Fasting is not a punishment for our sins. Nor is fasting a means of suffering and pain to be undertaken as some kind of atonement. Christ already redeemed us on His Cross. Salvation is a gift from God that is not bought by our hunger or thirst.

• *We fast to be delivered from carnal passions so that God’s gift of Salvation may bear fruit in us.

• *We fast and turn our eyes toward God in His Holy Church. Fasting and prayer go together.

• *Fasting is not irrelevant. Fasting is not obsolete, and it is not something for someone else. Fasting is from God, for us, right here and right now.

For me, at 21 days it was the longest fast I have ever undertaken, and I was able to do it without telling anyone but Paul.  I allowed myself to drink anything I wanted, including milk and broth, and I had one small meal every second or third day (that is what enabled me to avoid telling others about my fast. I scheduled meals within gatherings) .  While not as rigid as some may have done. it helped me remain focused on the value of my quiet relationship with God in effecting His work.  For the three days leading up to the election, I did not eat, finally enjoying a meal only after the polls had closed on the West Coast. I have not yet come to see whether or how I should fast for Advent - and for the preservation of President Donald Trump's election and full inauguration.

The themes of King Cyrus continue to crop up. Today, a passage on the particular kind of fasting that our Father God approves of, starts by reminding us we as individuals must look after our own, and ends with a strong statement about rebuilding the ruins and restoring the walls. It also adds a pointed reminded about keeping the Sabbath - the day of rest every week:

6 “The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. 7 Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.

8 “Then my favor will shine on you like the morning sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. 9 When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond.

“If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word; 10 if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. 11 And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.

12 Your people will rebuild what has long been in ruins, building again on the old foundations. You will be known as the people who rebuilt the walls, who restored the ruined houses.”

The Reward for Keeping the Sabbath:

13 The Lord says, “If you treat the Sabbath as sacred and do not pursue your own interests on that day; if you value my holy day and honor it by not traveling, working, or talking idly on that day, 14 then you will find the joy that comes from serving me. I will make you honored all over the world, and you will enjoy the land I gave to your ancestor, Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

                                                                                         Isaiah 58: 6-14 (Good News Version)

This does NOT mean we are supposed to "be nice". Nice does not equal Good.  We remove oppression when we speak the truth, even when it is not politically correct. We free the oppressed when we stand up against persecuting people for speaking out against Progressive and Globalist distortion. The forced "migration" is unjust to all concerned, criminal governments pushing people out of their homes and sending them into indentured servitude. We help the homeless, needy, and poor in our own communities, not by allowing Open Borders to push people from other lands out of their original homes to fulfill evil Elitist agendas of increasing "migrants" and "remittances" and "majority minority voters". We remove oppression when we build and maintain good boundaries and strong borders. When we allow people to earn a living in their own land, trading with their own neighbors.

Our pastor suggested before the election: What if the prayer and supplication of our little cowboy church really could affect the outcome of the election and could make a difference for all eternity?  What if my private actions and worship really do make a singular difference?

Whether or not we fast for Advent, or perhaps give something up, it can only help our cause to refocus our minds on taking a good look at ourselves and listen for the words God is speaking to us as direction for the coming months.  A new course of study, a simple daily meditation, some new discipline to focus our minds and our will toward whatever unknown we will be called to very soon.

As expectant families do, we pray for the safety and easy birth of our new government led by President Trump. We pray for the washing of that government, scrubbing it clean of corruption and guile, restoring to all positions mighty men and women of honor who will conduct their affairs in Godly ways.

We also pray for guidance and focus for our own roles in rebuilding our ruined cities, in reconstructing our walls, in looking after our own families and the *individuals* we see right in front of us, in our own towns in our own states, instead of continuing to follow the globalists orders to ignore our American family's pleas and look over their familiar heads toward more exotic or interesting strangers over the far horizon.  There are many who are called to serve those in foreign lands, and we pray for bold new proclamation of the Living Gospel to be the central purpose of their work, not some watered down globalist project that forbids the mention of Jesus' Name in the doing.

The work of Christians in this time is to be done, as it was of old, with Jesus Christ paramount. For as CS Lewis noted, " Jesus Christ did not say, ‘Go into all the world and tell the world that it is quite right.’ The Gospel is something completely different. In fact, it is directly opposed to the world."

Instead, the only true Commandment and single imperative that Jesus Christ gave us after his resurrection is to preach the Gospel to every creature :

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  Matthew 28:19

Thanksgiving: Boundless Blessing

My husband never lets me say the blessing over meals, because I pray like a little kid: there are sooooooo many wonderful things to appreciate and tell God about that my prayers just keep going and going.  Paul points out that our Preacher friends don't even pray long over meals because they want to eat while the food it hot! LOL!

Once I start thinking about it, though,  I become more aware that we are immersed constantly in blessings and grace God has given us. His blessings are thicker than the air we breathe - and we breathe them in with every rich breath, which itself comes from Him.

God's grace pours out continually, the stuff that holds the universe together right here within and surrounding and flowing through us.

The smallest particles of matter explode like popcorn unable to hold the vastness of God's blessing within them.

Counting our blessings is about the future. Every blessing looks forward into a Light that Shines, and has Shone, and will Shine continuously for ever and ever and ever.  Counting our blessings is one of the ways we see this beautiful future, and know how very Good it shall be, thanks to the First blessing: God's gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, Who gave us all a way to step into this wide-open universe made wholly of blessing. Even better: Who lets us share all of this blessing, Who gave us a way to bring others along, to show them the door that is built just for them.

So on this Thanksgiving Day, one of the best in my life, even in looking back, I look forward, remembering God's absolute promises to hold covenant with the descendants of those who love Him "down to a thousand generations", and ultimately, that unto Him "every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear", so that none are left behind.

Counting my blessings, in an endless list that wanders from the Oklahoma prairie through the Trump White House to tiny house churches in China, from a Georgia cotton field to the big beautiful cities of Texas, across the vast expanse of the internet to the light of shooting stars, along an ancient path with a prayer cast forward, from my great great grandparents' graves to my parents' tables to my grandbabies' cribs, an endless sphere of goodness and wonder that starts and ends at home.  

Home!

Thank you Jesus, Thank you Father God.

No Tools Required! Make A Firewood Holder In Five Minutes

At last, I found an easy, inexpensive, tidy way to store a few days' worth of firewood, just in time for cold weather. And I didn't even need to use any tools to make it, because the lumberyard made the cuts for me.

Our wood burning stove is our primary heat source, and I love it! I'm warmer in winter in this house than I've ever been in any home we've lived in. An old-fashioned box-type stove with no fans or windows or gadgets, needing no special kinds of fuel, it works perfectly to radiate warmth at an even temperature through our main living areas without drafts or cold/hot spots.

We store the cordwood we buy (or that my dad cuts for us) in the alley behind the fence, and I bring up enough for a few days at a time. This is where the problem has been - I've never found a good way to stack the wood I need near the carport door, to keep it off the ground, dry... and tidy.  The log holders sold in stores are either expensive, too small or else way too long for my space, or frankly, most look awfully flimsy.

Then I found this clever idea on Pinterest. Unlike so many of the elaborate projects on there, this looked like something I could actually make (LOL!).

I bought a couple of 8 foot long two by fours (they are actually about 1 1/2" by 3 1/2" because the mill measures before they are planed smooth), and two concrete cinder blocks. The ones I used are about 8"x8"x15".  Two by fours are stronger than one by fours, so they are best for this project.

The nice folks at Home Depot cut the lumber in half for me, so it fit into my Jeep Cherokee easily.

Stand the cinder block on their sides with the holes up, right against each other. They need to be touching in order to keep them stable. You'll need about 48" clearance width at the top.

Drop one four foot 2x4 into each hole and lean it out.  That's it!  Less than 5 minutes, not counting shopping time.  Total cost for everything - $13 and change.

I loaded several sizes of logs into it. You could also make two of them, and have one for large logs and one for smaller pieces and kindling.

Another new thing this year is twig bundles (see them on top?), which I made to see if they are more effective/efficient than just breaking small dead-falls as needed. With 3 full-grown pecan trees and one bur oak in our yard, we have a LOT of small limbs to dispose of over the course of a year. I just wrapped them up with twine. I've used them for my first fire and it certainly was simpler "at the time". My hope is that the twig bundles will work well for those warm Texas winter days we don't need an all-day fire but just need to knock the chill off.  

This little project is already getting our colder season off to a good start.  Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you stay toasty warm this winter! :-)

Open Letter to the Cast of Hamilton

A theater company is not responsible for what the audience does, but the persons on stage are responsible for how they react to audiences. Twice this week, Nuclear Hillary Clinton's supporters have reacted with unprofessional cowardice to audience disapproval. In both cases, they have abused the power of the stage and microphone to lash out politically at people who only came and paid to see them give a recreational performance. These supporters of Hillary the WarMonger reacted to their own paranoid imaginings and beat up on people who did nothing to them.

Earlier in the week, comedienne Wanda Sykes cursed her audience with obscene language after some of them booed her inappropriate and unfunny political attacks on President Trump and Americans who voted for him. They came to see a comedy show to support a good non-partisan cause, but she wasn't willing to let them do that.

And now, after some audience members at the Broadway play "Hamilton" were so obtuse as to boo  Vice-President-Elect Mike Pence who was in the audience to see the play, the cast ignored their job, teamed up with the mob (power in deranged numbers) and lectured Mr Pence from the stage about how they are "diverse" and have "feelings" and want "protection".

The same kind of "protection" apparently, that they won't offer to people in their audiences who haven't done anything to harm them. The same kind of "feelings" that they ignore when it isn't someone they see in their dressing room mirrors.

We all have feelings. Adulthood is understanding that we are responsible for controlling our feelings, and maturity includes being self reliant enough to no longer need protectors,  nor group-membership for our self esteem. After witnessing the irrational mental breakdown and destruction and riots and violence against President Trump's supporters, perpetrated by deluded abusive bullies who didn't get their globalist way, my own feelings have developed with remarkable clarity:


Dear Cast of Hamilton,


We are Les Deplorables.  We. Don’t. Care.


Signed,

A sole member of the smallest minority on earth, for whom the Constitution was written to defend me against the fashionably violent tyranny of your diverse elitist bullying mob.




11/20/16 Update: "Little Steven" Van Zandt has rightly named this bullying, and used Twitter to call on the cast of Hamilton to apologize, saying, in part:

"Completely inappropriate. Theater should be a safe haven for Art to speak. Not the actors. He needs to apologize to Mike Pence"

"There has never been a more outspoken politically active artist than me. He was their guest. You protect your guests. Don't embarrass them."

"When artists perform the venue becomes your home. The audience are your guests. It is nothing short of the same bullying tactic we rightly> >have criticized Trump for in the past. It's taking unfair advantage of someone who thought they were a protected guest in your home."

"Nobody on this planet disagrees more with everything Pence represents. But I don't tolerate bullying in any form. Even the respectful kind."

"A guy comes to a Broadway show for a relaxing night out. Instead he gets a lecture from the stage! Not a level playing field. It's bullying."

"You don't single out an audience member and embarrass him from the stage. A terrible precedent to set."

"So because he's a public figure we should be rude to him and bully him at public events? I'm not the one who couldn't be more wrong on this."

I first heard of  "Little Steven" Van Zandt when he stood up against South Africa's legal segregation of races called Apartheid, recording the song "I Ain't Gonna Play Sun City". He is not exaggerating when he says he was politically active before most of the Hamilton actors were born.

Thanks to Steven for modelling professional, adult behavior to a group that apparently never learned the basics of their craft, or of how to live in the wide world.  It's obvious they need an elder statesman to guide them into genuine adult self-control.



.

An Open Letter To President Obama, On His Slander Against Americans

President Obama visited bankrupt Greece, apparently because Greece's government is tired of the "austerity measures" required to pay its debts and wants the EU Reich to write off the billions Greece owes.  While he was there, the has-been race-obsessed President took the opportunity to call Americans "racists" one more time, as reported by White House Correspondent Keith Koffler on White House Dossier, this time because we elected President Donald John Trump:

                 " In our globalized world, with the migration of people and the rapid movement of ideas and cultures and traditions, we see increasingly this blend of forces mixing together in ways that often enrich our societies but also cause tensions . . . Faced with this new reality where cultures clash, it’s inevitable that some will seek a comfort in nationalism or tribe or ethnicity or sect."

Since "open letters to" seem to be in vogue, here's my reply to President Obama, and all who slander anyone for rejecting the false song of globalism :

Dear President Obama,

We are Les Deplorables. We. Don’t. Care.

Signed,

A Natural Born Native Indigenous American Citizen, Daughter of God through Jesus Christ, whose ancestors have been here longer than most Indian Tribes, descended from old European Kings and Serfs, Indentured Servants and Oddlings, all the way back to Adam and Eve.

.

No Truce With Quislings: NeverTrump Still Trying To Poison The Truth

The guy who writes at "Posse Incitatus" blog is, for all the rebellious name of his blog, normally level headed - as in "a normal person" along with "usually".

But he has HAD IT with those who've set themselves in opposition to President Trump.

In a post titled "This Stupid Business About Bannon Is Why Never Trump Must Be Destroyed", he writes:

"There is nothing new here, just the usual "people are saying" crap mixed in with the "have you stopped beating your wife?" style questions being thrown at the Trump camp.

"What's new is that Conservatism Inc. has decided to join the witch hunt.

"I'm old enough to remember Jonah Goldberg angrily denouncing this game, but now he's down with it.  The reason is of course that National Review hates Breitbart.

"Breitbart has been an oasis during this election season, a source of constant inspiration and amusement.  Naturally the left wants it dead.

"So does Official Conservatism.  You see, unlike National Review, Breitbart is actually gaining readers rather than losing them.

"This is why Never Trump needs to be disposed of immediately.  They have shown that in addition to being traitors during the election, they are happy to serve as Quislings after it. "

Bingo.  President Trump knows this better than anyone. To accomplish his goals, he will have to use every bit of cunning that God has given him for this job.  Expect him to keep his every plan close to the vest until after the ink has dried on his bold John Henry and the action has already been accomplished. 

And in the mean time, we can't believe a single word written by any person who was not a solid, early champion of President Trump.  Especially the National Review and avowed NeverTrump ilk. If they say the sky is blue, go verify it yourself - and still assume they  have an ulterior motive for telling it. 

The links on my "dynamically updated" sidebar are all to people who supported Trump actively or at least offered truly balanced coverage and can write about him fairly without throwing in lists of perjorative adjectives at the end of every paragraph.   Daily Pundit, The Last Refuge, Don Surber, The Diplomad 2.0,  White House Dossier,  King Jester's Blog,  William M Briggs, Vox Popoli,  Stephan Molyneux, Drudge Report, Sharyl Attkisson,  and Chronicles Magazine are all solid sources of genuine facts and pull-em-up-short rebuttals. The others are reliable as well. 

Our Stand Against The Dark: "That Hideous Strength"

Kristor Lawson writes, at The Orthosphere:

"Who has read and remembers That Hideous Strength –  ...[ novel by CS Lewis],.... – and who has lately followed the news in the alternative media must have noticed a horrible semblance of these last weeks to the gathering storm that novel so masterfully presents, of good and evil human, natural, and supernatural rising to a tremendous pitch of intensity and power as they drive each inexorably to a titanic, shattering battle. I do not mean here to specify all the parallels, but they are almost all there: corrupt government agencies with noble sounding names and ends that work in fact deep evil;  ......

....."....  hubris on a vast scale, pretensions to a Babelonian New World Order and a New Man; nominalist obfuscation, nihilism and relativism; sophistical academics and rotten priests; contempt for all that is good, true and holy, old and homely, right, simple, and sweet, or even simply and honestly rational (all in the name of rationality) – the whole nine yards. And arrayed against these Powers, a pitiful few doughty hapless writers and scholars, talking mostly to each other in a remote corner of the world of what is good and right, true and holy, strait and wise, solid and reliable.  ......

..... "Read the book, by the Lord Jesus, if you have not, and that soon. It is short, almost a novella really; and you shall never forget it, for it shall forever shape your perspective on current events.

"One of our Wanderers, I say, must now be actively at work. How, else, to explain the recent relentless incredulous worry of the alternative media – writers and scholars, autodidacts, enthusiasts, eccentrics, conspiracy theorists, hackers, and all their ilks – over the sickening depredations they suddenly apprehend, of the Predators of Man, against the Common Good? Some One must be stirring us up. Perhaps even it is our mascot and Patron, here at the Orthosphere – may God bless his handiwork.
"Saint Michael and all angels, pray for us.

"On then into the crisis. There is after all no alternative, for any of us. God be with us, all."

Click through to read the rest of the short article.

Father Rutler: "One Candidate Is Evil" For Promoting Abortion and Foreign Policy That Encourages Genocide Against Christians

Father Rutler never names the candidate or the party but he makes it very clear he is talking about Hillary Clinton and the Democrat Party:

"At one party’s convention, the name of God was excluded from its platform and a woman who boasted of having aborted her child was applauded. It is a grave sin, requiring sacramental confession and penance, to become an accomplice in objective evil by voting for anyone who encourages it, for that imperils the nation and destroys the soul."

He also issues a rebuke to Pope Francis's seeming approval of evil through failing to criticize Hillary Clinton at all, while posturing against Donald John Trump and his call to build a wall with controllable gates, much like the one that surrounds the Pope's own nation, Vatican City:

" It is also the duty of the clergy to make this clear and not to shrink, under the pretense of charity, from explaining the Church’s censures. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are dangerous, but worse are wolves in shepherd’s clothing. While the evils foreseen eight years ago were realized, worse would come if those affronts to human dignity were endorsed again."


 Here's the full article, via Rorate Caeli Blog:

 FROM THE PASTOR October 30, 2016 by Fr. George W. Rutler 

 On the Election 

 "Exactly eight years ago I wrote a column titled “The One We Were Waiting For” in which I referred to a book by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson, The Lord of the World. That dystopian novel has been cited by Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis said he has read it several times. The protagonist, if one can apply that term to an Anti-Christ, imposed a new world religion with Man himself as god. His one foe was Christianity, which he thwarted in part by using “compromised Catholics and compliant priests to persuade timid Catholics. 

 "Since then, that program has been realized in our time, to an extent beyond the warnings of the most dire pessimists. Our federal government has intimidated religious orders and churches, challenging religious freedom. The institution of the family has been re-defined, and sexual identity has been Gnosticized to the point of mocking biology. Assisted suicide is spreading, abortions since 1973 have reached a total equal to the population of Italy, and sexually transmitted diseases are at a record high. Objective journalism has died, justice has been corrupted, racial bitterness ruins cities, entertainment is degraded, knowledge of the liberal arts spirals downwards, and authentically Catholic universities have all but vanished. A weak and confused foreign policy has encouraged aggressor nations and terrorism, while metastasized immigration is destroying remnant western cultures, and genocide is slaughtering Christian populations. The cynical promise of economic prosperity is mocked by the lowest rate of labor participation in forty years, an unprecedented number of people on food stamps and welfare assistance, and the largest disparity in wealth in over a century. 

" In his own grim days, Saint Augustine warned against nostalgia: “The past times that you think were good, are good because they are not yours here and now.” The present time, however, might try even his confidence. Sands blow over the ruins of churches he knew in North Africa where the Cross is virtually forbidden. By a blessed irony, a new church is opened every day in formerly Communist Russia, while churches in our own formerly Christian nation are being closed daily. For those who bought into the seductions of politicians’ false hopes, there is the counsel of Walt Kelly’s character Pogo: “It’s always darkest before it goes pitch black.”

"It is incorrect to say that the coming election poses a choice between two evils. For ethical and aesthetic reasons, there may be some bad in certain candidates, but badness consists in doing bad things. Evil is different: it is the deliberate destruction of truth, virtue and holiness. 

 "While one may pragmatically vote for a flawed candidate, one may not vote for anyone who advocates and enables unmitigatedly evil acts, and that includes abortion. “In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it'” (Evangelium Vitae, 73).

"At one party’s convention, the name of God was excluded from its platform and a woman who boasted of having aborted her child was applauded. It is a grave sin, requiring sacramental confession and penance, to become an accomplice in objective evil by voting for anyone who encourages it, for that imperils the nation and destroys the soul. 

" It is also the duty of the clergy to make this clear and not to shrink, under the pretense of charity, from explaining the Church’s censures. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are dangerous, but worse are wolves in shepherd’s clothing. While the evils foreseen eight years ago were realized, worse would come if those affronts to human dignity were endorsed again. In the most adverse prospect, God forbid, there might not be another free election, and soon Catholics would arrive at shuttered churches and vacant altars. The illusion of indifference cannot long be perpetuated by lame jokes and synthetic laughter at banquets, for there is handwriting on the wall. "

 Once again, the connection between Donald John Trump and King Cyrus is made. Father Rutler cautions that "the handwriting is on the wall." The references the night that wicked Babylon fell to King Cyrus in a single night while the population and king were feasting and celebrating. Daniel interpreted the warning for the king.

Both Biblical and historical records concur that following a brief seige, Cyrus's army found a way into the city and captured it in a single day with little bloodshed and without destruction, in 539 BC.

King Cyrus / Donald Trump Prophecies Before Election Day: What Has Already Come To Pass, & Big New Dreams From A Surprising Place

At a tense and frightening midpoint in this election, I needed some encouragement, and God didn't fail me. Perhaps this will help someone else too.

I've said before I believe Donald John Trump to be a "type" of Cyrus, anointed by God for a specific job at this time in history. Whether he becomes President, I do not know... however I have a strong feeling that his work will have the same strength of accomplishment either way, because that strength comes "‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)  

First, let's look at one Cyrus/Trump prophecy that has already partly come true to an amazing degree: that of Pastor Jeremiah Johnson, from July 2015 (I learned of this one after receiving my own in Oct/Nov 2015).  As stated, it is centered on the time before the election, the campaign itself, the period we are now in:

"I was in a time of prayer several weeks ago when God began to speak to me concerning the destiny of Donald Trump in America. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Trump shall become My trumpet to the American people, for he possesses qualities that are even hard to find in My people these days. Trump does not fear man nor will he allow deception and lies to go unnoticed. I am going to use him to expose darkness and perversion in America like never before, but you must understand that he is like a bull in a china closet. Many will want to throw him away because he will disturb their sense of peace and tranquility, but you must listen through the bantering to discover the truth that I will speak through him. I will use the wealth that I have given him to expose and launch investigations searching for the truth. Just as I raised up Cyrus to fulfill My purposes and plans, so have I raised up Trump to fulfill my purposes and plans prior to the 2016 election. You must listen to the trumpet very closely for he will sound the alarm and many will be blessed because of his compassion and mercy. Though many see the outward pride and arrogance, I have given him the tender heart of a father that wants to lend a helping hand to the poor and the needy, to the foreigner and the stranger.”

Pastor Johnson resumes: "As the body of Christ, we must keep our ears and eyes open as we continue to move toward the 2016 elections in the United States. I believe that God is not only going to use the prayers of the saints to bring about His plans and purposes, but He is even going to use those who do not know Him. What a great comfort and source of encouragement we have in the wisdom of God in this hour."

We have seen much of this come true, to degrees none of us would have imagined two years ago. All of these things have given us the hard truth, and we are wiser for knowing where betrayal has taken hold:

 So-called "Conservative" or "Christian" bloggers, websites, magazines, writers, analysts, preachers, and others have shown themselves to be Pharisees and False Prophets, ignoring the 9th Commandment and spreading False Witness against us and Mr Trump, ridiculing and maligning us and the candidate for whom record millions voted. Our government, our media, our political parties and elected officials, our VA, our IRS, our Justice Department, even some branches of law enforcement from DHS to some local police departments, have all been perverted by significant numbers of people/department heads within those groups and agencies against American ideals, against the American citizens, against God, and toward the wicked schemes of those individuals and others seeking power and dominion.

Donald Trump's candidacy has set in motion the exposure of ethical, criminal and spiritual corruption in all those places. We are chilled by the extent and kinds of wickedness drawn out into the light - it is truly a swamp, a cesspool - and we await impending news about what else is still being uncovered. 

We have also been blessed to see genuine heroes in the people who braved mobs to go to his rallies, in those who've been fired or abandoned by friends, in agents of the FBI, the NYPD,  ICE and Border Patrol, whistleblowers, Wikileaks and friends, and we've made new friends and allies among bloggers, writers, commenters, elected officials, pastors, and other influencers who have steadfastly stood beside Mr Trump and shared his mission, without making excuses... full stop.  

We have also seen other elements of Isaiah's original verses apply again, especially in Mr Trump's success despite the predictions of the experts. God has made fools of the pollsters:

"I am Yahweh...who destroys the omens of the false prophets and makes fools of diviners; who confounds the wise and makes their knowledge foolishness; who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers;"  Isaiah 44:24-28

This has been a painful and tragic time for all who support Mr Trump, to see that we have been trusting in people, agencies, institutions, traditions, that have become sham. When this is all over, we will take time to grieve.

For now, let us look ahead, as the the best part of these prophesies have not yet come to pass - and they are good indeed.

Fom Pastor Johnson's prophecy: "... many will be blessed because of his compassion and mercy. Though many see the outward pride and arrogance, I have given him the tender heart of a father that wants to lend a helping hand to the poor and the needy, to the foreigner and the stranger."

This tells us that Mr Trump's leadership will ultimately be remembered, just like the original Cyrus, as a compassionate and honorable administration in which families are strengthened, lives are stabilized, and "the hearts of the fathers are turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6)

My own understanding of those post-election purposes have been vague, and I didn't push for details. But in the past two days, the Lord has sent two elements across my path, elements that give me great comfort, and again I feel compelled to share.

First is just a tidbit to reassure that the immediate tasks may not be as formidable or lengthy as our opponents want us to believe, so do not allow anything ever to discourage you. Hillary Clinton has used violence to try to tempt Donald Trump's supporters, to no avail. Stand firm and patient. The original Cyrus conquered the capital city of Babylon in a single night (following a seige), without damage or bloodshed. I think American tradition will hold firm, and the "new Cyrus" will enter the "Washingtonian Babylon" in a peaceful transition as well.  Just as all of us together have watched and helped Mr Trump patiently overcome the combined opposition of every corrupt power in the country - and do so in one single election cycle -  by simple persistence and determination, so too can the rest of the work be done quickly,with persistence. As Mr Trump said:

"All we have to do is stop believing in our failed politicians and start believing in each other and in our country. 

"There is no challenge too great, no dream outside of our reach.

"Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done -- the future lies with the dreamers, not the cynics and the critics." 

The next one, a news report, has a very unusual connection that caught me off guard. What it points to is a kind of renewal that fits with Isaiah's original prophesy and the historical record of King Cyrus, in which the LORD declared that He has empowered Cyrus not only to free His people and rebuild the temple, but so that the whole world will know the Lord our God. (Isaiah 45).

Remember, when reading, that Iran was named Persia until very recently. This was the heart of King Cyrus's empire.  Breitbart's Adelle Nazarian writes:

"Tens of thousands of Iranians, from various parts of the nation, gathered at the site of the tomb of King Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae Friday morning on the anniversary of his birthday to protest the clerical regime’s policies. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), protesters chanted, “Iran is our country, Cyrus is our father” and “clerical rule is synonymous with only tyranny, only war.” The protesters also reportedly chanted, “freedom of thought cannot take place with beards,” a reference to the theocratic leaders currently in power.

"Many Iranians consider King Cyrus the father of international human rights, citing the discovery of the Cyrus Cylinder around 559 B.C. — the first known charter of human rights. In 1971, the Shah of Iran’s twin sister, the late Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, presented the United Nations with a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder, which is kept at the U.N.’s New York headquarters and is promoted as “an ancient declaration of human rights.”

"Pooya Dayanim, President of the Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee (IJPAC), told Breitbart News that the rally was an indication that “the generation that was born after the revolution of 1979 feels as if their parents made a mistake and destroyed their hope and future.” Dayanim added, 

“They consider themselves a burnt generation, just like the generation in America that has been living in their parents’ garages and basements and are either unemployed or underemployed.”

"Dayanim said that ... “getting in touch with their rich Iranian heritage from the pre-Islamic era is one of the only sources of pride they have. What happened today is a sign of them embracing Iran when it was a strong and powerful and respected State, versus the government that they have now which has turned Iran into a pariah and has destroyed their hopes, dreams, aspirations and future.”

This story points to advances made by now-Christian Russia's influence against Islamic theocracy. It portends well toward Mr Trump's foreign policy plans within that region. 

And essentially, it points ahead into a future of considerable brightness, with  hope for genuine liberty coming out of oppression once again. Not through meddlesome outsiders like Hillary Clinton making war, but through God's action in the world raising up peoples and new generations. 

So whatever happens on Tuesday, take heart.

We can be confident that God is moving within these events, "helping him win his battles" and breaking open gates for this new Cyrus.  In addition, other men of good will have been awakened by the alarm, and God's power comes to them as well. 

God's plans will not be thwarted if we few align our will freely to His. What is His will? God stated it clearly in Isaiah 45 (also read Chapters 43, 44 and 46 while you are there). 

Jesus said: "These things I've told you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. " (John 16:33) 

Why Hillary Clinton's Drinking Is The "Biggest Risk Factor In This Election"

Scott Adams reminds us that candidate alcohol use is the biggest risk factor in this election, pointing out: "Because of nuclear codes and terror attacks and whatnot", that it is *not okay* for a President to drink. He writes:

"Imagine you lived in a world in which no one except one senior citizen ever drank alcoholic beverages. Would you think it is a good idea to choose this one person – the only drinker in the world – to be in charge of the nuclear arsenal? 

 "No, that would be crazy. We know alcohol impairs judgment. And a president is on-call for emergencies 24-hours a day. Alcohol plus life-and-death decisions is a dangerous combination."

He says Americans  overlook candidate drinking because lots of us drink too, but just as we now know that an expectant mother must cease all alcohol intake during her pregnancy, we also need to choose leaders who avoid the dangers of alcohol:

"I would argue that alcohol consumption is the biggest risk differential in this election. We’re just blind to that risk because alcohol is socially acceptable. But even in your own life, you see alcohol being the force behind unwanted pregnancies, drunk driving, bar fights, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and just about every bad decision you’ve ever made. 

If we humans were  even a little bit objective we would never select a leader who is likely to be impaired by alcohol several hours per week, including the workday.  (Allegedly.)"

(Go over and read his whole article - there's an excellent Risk Assessment for both candidates)

Donald Trump does not and has never drank, or smoked anything, or taken any illegal drugs.  He also advises parents that the best way to help their kids avoid substance abuse is to lead a "straight edge lifestyle" themselves:

“If you don’t drink and you don’t do drugs, your children … are going to have a tremendously enhanced chance of really being successful and having a good life,” he said.

“The world is so tough and it is so competitive that you can’t put yourself, as a child, or even as a parent, if you want that child to be successful, at a disadvantage of letting them drink or letting them take drugs because it is not going to work,” Mr. Trump said. “They are going to be at a tremendous disadvantage and ultimately they may not recover.”

Hillary Clinton's drinking, on the other hand,  is "legendary", as reported by her own staff and friendly media, and  she is frequently photographed drinking.

In an schmoozy article last summer promoting her titled "‘President Hillary Clinton?’ She Wants Progress on Immigration and to Drink With G.O.P.". the New York Times says if elected she will be "negotiating over adult beverages", quotes Nera Tanden of the Center for American Progress that Hillary "really loves talking over drinks” and goes on to say:

 "Mrs. Clinton’s ability to use alcohol as a political lubricant came up repeatedly when allies and advisers were asked how she might work with Republicans. Her tale about a drinking contest with Senator John McCain of Arizona is now a Washington legend. "

The UK's Telegraph reported on that incident during her 2008 campaign against Obama, when Hillary's campaign manager went into detail with the BBC about how Hillary Clinton knocked back four shots of vodka to "win" a drinking contest against John McCain:

"...the story was finally confirmed by Mrs Clinton's campaign manager, and by the owner of a restaurant in the Estonian capital of Tallinn. Dimitri Demjanov, proprietor of Gloria's, said the two political heavyweights managed four shots each before Mrs Clinton was declared the winner, though the rules of the contest remain somewhat opaque.

"Was it first past the post? Did Mr McCain demand a recount? Mr Demjanov refused to say, but when asked who was the winner he did not hesitate before answering: 'Hillary won. She stayed correct after four shots. And John McCain too.'"

Do you know how much, and how often, and how long, a little woman has to drink hard liquor in order to still appear sober after four shots of vodka?  That is a classic sign of daily drinking that starts every morning. A sign of going through life in a near-constant alcoholic haze.

The Telegraph continues:

"Mr Demjanov spoke briefly to the BBC after Terry McAuliffe, Mrs Clinton's campaign manager, said in an interview that Mrs Clinton had 'beaten' Mr McCain in the drinking contest.

"He said: 'She loves to sit, throw 'em back. We all hear about the story that she and John McCain actually had a shot contest, I think in the Ukraine or somewhere around the world. And she actually beat John McCain in a shot contest. She's a girl from Illinois who likes to throw 'em down with the rest of us.'

"Mr McCain's 'people' were rather less forthcoming, saying their man had been for a few drinks with Mrs Clinton but denying a contest.

"Quite why Mr McAuliffe chose to reveal the story at such a crucial time in the Democratic campaign is unclear, but tales of hard drinking rarely turn out to be vote winners.

"William Hague famously bragged about how he had been able to drink 14 pints of bitter a day as a teenager, before he lost to a Labour landslide in the 2001 general election.
And Charles Kennedy stepped down as leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2006 under pressure from his own party after admitting to having a drink problem."

CBS News reporter Fernando Suarez reported Hillary Clinton drinking Crown Royal at an Indiana bar in 2008. He was kind, talking about "the glass mug she waved in the air so proudly as
the crowd chanted her name. " But The Spectator called it "an excruciatingly embarrassing scene".

In 2012 while Secretary of State, her barroom antics in Columbia for the "Summit of the Americas" resulted in a New York Post front page headline "Swillary".  "Secretary of PARTYING" was the tagline used by the celebrity news website TMZ.

And Mediate reported:  "Across the pond, a blog post in the London Telegraph asked if Clinton is “becoming an embarrassment” as Secretary of State. As some reports note, Cafe Havana’s about as close to Cuba as Clinton will be getting any time soon."

During the 2015 primary campaign, Hillary's  staff apparently wanted to show of her "fun" side, and used her drinking as proof. One of her former advisors-turned-CNN-commentator, Patti Solis Doyle spent most of 2015 chatting about how much fun Hillary is to drink with, pointing out in her very first article:

"So, do you want to have a beer with Hillary? Having worked for her for more than 17 years, I've had a beer (or two) with her and I can tell you it is a hell of a lot of fun. "

She later repeated her talking points to Bloomberg and Politico reporters in a HuffPo Live round table, noting that Hillary prefers "wine and vodka".

The Free Beacon, bemused by Sollis Doyle's insistence on stating the obvious, noted:

"New York Times reporter Amy Chozick would likely corroborate Solis Doyle’s claims. The journalist, who covers Clinton, told ABC News in a February interview ahead of Clinton’s official campaign launch, 

“She likes to drink. We were on the campaign trail in 2008 and the press thought she was just taking shots to pander to voters in Pennsylvania.”

“Um, no,” Chozick continued."

Esther Goldberg, in the American Spectator article "We Need To Talk About Hillary Clinton - 
A party girl who’s a saloon series all by herself.",  gives a compassionate history of Hillary's drinking, and observes that  Hillary's  "health has manifestly been destroyed by alcohol "  and people who should care about her enough to intervene, instead suggest she "should drink even more."  

Goldberg winds up with a modern parable about the dangers of pretending all is well, and finishes:

" There’s a lot of rationalization, but the matter is never discussed.

"We live in a society where there are things we don’t talk about, important things. We tell ourselves, or we are told, how “capable” and “steady” Hillary Clinton is, though she’s proved herself to be the opposite and getting worse every day.

"Who knows what tragedy a Clinton presidency will bring down upon the world the country and the world?

"We really do need to talk about Hillary Clinton, but not now. Another time."

I've touted Donald Trump's clean life style and freedom from addiction issues  for the entire campaign. So has he, and have others. But the media, the Republican Party, doctrine-absorbed Christians who should find abstinence from alcohol a singular reason to champion him, have all ignored this element of character in Mr Trump, and the critical character flaw that alcohol use represents in Hillary Clinton.

So: if not now... when?  

Whether Hillary Clinton has a drinking problem, or 'just likes to party', it is clear from her own staff and friendly media that she drinks hard liquor, and that she drinks frequently.

Are Americans really willing to risk having a drunk President when "that 3 am phone call comes in"?

"Fate Of The World": Bernie Sanders' Supporters Can Help Save The World From Hillary Clinton's War-Mongering

"President Obama claims "The fate of the world is teetering."

I hope that Bernie Sanders' supporters will consider voting for Mr Donald Trump, or for one of the other genuine candidates such as Jill Stein. This election should have been between Senator Sanders and Mr Trump, but the elites conspired with Hillary against Bernie, just as on the Republican side our own party is still trying to stop Donald. I have friends who voted for Bernie, and I think we have in common the deep understanding that America needs new leadership that will represent people instead of "donors".  While we may disagree on some policies, we come together on others, and we absolutely share the same urgency to stop the corruption in government (in both parties) and extract America from the careless war-adventuring that is causing such anguish.

 Both Bernie and Donald share a goal to get America out of the FIVE foreign wars that Hillary is lurching to expand and escalate. Both also share the goal to take care of Americans (see Donald's position papers on his website - the media ignores them, but he has good positions on all issues facing our nation and people).

 Donald Sensing writes on his blog:

"President Obama claims "The fate of the world is teetering." Well, Green Party candidate Jill Stein would certainly agree. She said a few weeks ago that a President Hillary Clinton will just continue to attack and bomb other countries: " Under Hillary Clinton, we could slide into nuclear war very quickly from her declared policy in Syria."

"Even the UK's The Independent chimed in: "Could Hillary Clinton start a World War? Sure as [snip] she could – and here’s how." 

"And then there is this: "Don't trust Clinton to avoid stupid wars: The world she had a big hand in making as secretary of State doesn't look very peaceful." In 2010, things in Iraq were so peaceful that Joe Biden was bragging that the administration’s Iraq policy would be “one of the great achievements of this administration.” In 2012, with Clinton still serving as secretary of State, President Obama bragged about “ending” the war in Iraq, which would be news to the thousands of U.S. troops fighting there today. 

"Then there’s Libya. According to The New York Times, Clinton played a "critical” role in persuading Obama to topple Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. This led to what The Atlantic''s Conor Friedersdorf calls her ”failed war in Libya.”

"The fate of the world may indeed be teetering, just as Obama says, but it is teetering all the more because of the last eight years of his administration and very much because of Hillary Clinton's role in it."

The disaster that is Syria is almost wholly on Clinton's shoulders.  In 2012, Hillary Clinton turned her wargaming on Syria, angrily "predicting" that "a coup would take down Assad" after she failed to get UN support for the Islamist rebels, and setting out to make it happen with a plan for the US to arm and train them anyway "with help from a neighboring state", and despite a dire warning from Henry Kissinger "that an intervention [in Syria] would imperil the foundation of world order." 

Which, we now see, it has done.

Please vote. There are three other candidates to vote for, and your vote for any one of them is a vote against corruption, against criminals in high places, and against Hillary Clinton's terrifying bad judgment.