Sandi's MindSay Blog

It all started in a dream

sandyquill — 2006-07-01T05:07:14-05:00

I was on a boat, sailing with some other people. It was a beautiful day. Postcard perfect. No waves, a light wind. The boat was a mini-yacht, I believe. Dark, polished wood, a red canopy. It should have been an ideal dream, right? There was even a young man at my side, I kid you not.

No, this does not devolve into a Romance Novel fantasy, I promise.

The mood on board this sailing vessel was not idyllic by any means. We were disturbed, upset, but determined.

Why? Good question.

In this dream, I knew something of great significance had happened. I knew the world had changed. And I knew...I knew with everything that I was and am...that my job was to tell people what had happened. I was to teach them what I knew.

This dream stayed with me, over the past twenty years. God let it work in me, as he prepared me to do what he wanted me to do. Never are we sent into a God-ordained job without adequate preparation! So I learned much over the last twenty years, not even really aware of why I was learning. My imagination was worked on in a positive way, and my mind moved around, arranging things for what I truly believed would be my great work of fiction to share with the world. Oh, how the ambitious can be humbled, no? :)

When I turned forty, the huge pressure that had been building in my soul and gut and heart wouldn't let up. Period. I blogged about it here, once. And I prayed continuously. Heard people talking. Read bits here and there and remembered all that I have ever learned.

Was it me? I kept asking myself.

Yes, was the answer.

I was asked recently why I was doing a series on the Book of Revelation. The answer is this: It's my job. The heroine of my Great Work...turns out to be me.

Twenty years ago I was given a dream, because the Lord God Almighty can use that form of communication when it is deemed necessary. Not all dreams are divine memos, don't get me wrong. But there are many accounts when they have been. I believe my boat dream was.

Except for this: God said my job was to tell everyone what had just happened, in that dream. Over the decades from then 'til today, I have become convinced that it doesn't have to be past tense. It cannot be past tense. Not now.

Why? Because I believe that we are reaching a time of change. A time where amazing, mind-blowing, terrifying things are going to happen. And part of my job is to share what will happen, as the Bible has spoken of it.

It is necessary to be prepared. I would urge you, if you are interested in a deep instruction as to why this is needful, to please read this outstanding post by a dynamic Bible scholar.

I will repeat what I said yesterday. I am not a prophet. I am just a teacher, trying to do my job.

The Mark

sandyquill — 2006-08-02T09:08:42-05:00

Cows get them. Pets get them. People get them. Some of us even give them to our possessions.

Brands. Tattoos. Serial numbers.

Marks.

Now, you may think that tattoos are just body decoration, but they are also used as identifying marks. You can recognize someone, sometimes, merely by a picture of an image inked into their skin. If a corpse is found, tattoos can be used to help identify the person. So, yes, tattoos can be marks of identification.

People have used marks for eons, for many reasons, to show belonging to many things. But I do not believe any mark of identification has come under such thought, scrutiny, study, contempt, or even irate denial as "the mark of the beast."

Revelation 13:11-18
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb, but he sounded like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth before people. 14 He deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that he is permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who had the sword wound yet lived. 15 He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he requires everyone--small and great, rich and poor, free and slave--to be given a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast's name or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom: The one who has understanding must calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

The "beast from the sea" was introduced already in this book. I believe he will be the antichrist, prophesied long ago. In the verses above, we meet his priest, prophet, top promoter. Call him what you will, this person will be the one who will be given power to promote the worship of the antichrist as well as show displays of "miracles."

That stuff will be minor, compared to his true impact on the world.

He is going to execute economic boycott on all who will not take a mark of identification. A specific mark that shows that an individual belongs to the beast.

Now, this mark has been speculated about for a very long time. In first century Rome, numbers and names were interlinked, so that someone's name and number could be calculated by arcane formulae. Nero has been one of those identified in such a way. Domitian, remember, was emperor at the time of this writing; Nero had been killed long since.

Another name that can calculate to 666 is Latienos. Latin would pertain to Rome, so if the antichrist or his promoter/prophet were closely associated with Rome, that would be reasonable, in light of this prophecy. Another name that could equate to this number is the Hebrew letters of Balaam. Balaam is associated with the worship of false gods and/or Satanic rituals.

Other people see the number 666 as it relates to God's number of perfection and completion: 7. Or 777. In this reasoning, the number 666 falls short of God's perfection and is seen as the world's number.

There are many interpretations. The only one that will matter, though, is the one that ascribes the chooser of this mark to be aligned with the antichrist and his prophet.

Scripture is very clear, here. If one does not accept this mark, one will not be allowed to buy and sell. I imagine this will extend to taxes and property ownership, as well. Those who choose the mark will be able to live freely; those who do not, will not.

If you choose not to take the mark, you will have to make provision for your life. Live off the grid. Be entirely self-sufficient or work with others who have not been marked in order to eat. It will not be easy.

"This calls for wisdom," the Bible says. It does. John says this number is "man's number." It is the number for those who think of their earthbound selves before they think of their eternal selves. It is a self-serving number. It is a mark of identification that will not ever be removed. It is a permanent choice.

When the time comes, choose wisely. Do not allow yourself to be identified as belonging to a nightmare. Temporary inconvenience will be amply recompensed if you ally yourself to the true lamb of God, who is Jesus. His mark will be on the soul and for some, on their foreheads. His mark of identification will bring life. The other will bring death, eventually. The choice will be yours.

Choose wisely.

Did you check your oil?

sandyquill — 2006-09-15T12:09:20-05:00

For storm season, we make preparations, here. Year after year. Stock up on the water. Canned food is purchased and stored. Batteries of all sizes. Crank-powered storm radioes. A generator. Fill up the five-gallon gas cans. (We have a few.) Check the plywood for the windows to make sure it's still sound. Restock the first aid boxes. In addition, when a storm is threatening, the important papers plus a utility bill and phone numbers go in a plastic bag.

This very last thing is just in case we have to evacuate. If you've been reading this blog for more than a year or so, you will notice we've not yet had to evacuate.

We made all the preparations this year, too. We still have things near to hand should they be needed. Thankfully, we have not yet had need of any of these preparations. The latest hurricanes, Florence and Gordon, have been out in the middle of the Atlantic, followed by Chase-their-tails Helene. Still, we remain prepared.

But that's not all we're preparing for, as part of God's family.

1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn't take oil with them. 4 But the sensible ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. 5 Since the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 "In the middle of the night there was a shout: 'Here's the groom! Come out to meet him.' 7 "Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.' 9 "The sensible ones answered, 'No, there won't be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy oil for yourselves.' 10 "When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived. Then those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. 11 "Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, 'Master, master, open up for us!' 12 "But he replied, ' I assure you: I do not know you!' 13 "Therefore be alert, because you don't know either the day or the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13 HCSB)

Virgins. Let's start there. These were not young women who were planning on marrying the bridegroom. They were bridesmaids. Part of the celebration, but not getting married. The whole wedding waited upon the arrival of the bridegroom, who may have been coming in a caravan from some other town. Some scholars have debated about whether this parable was taking place before the wedding or after it, but that isn't really germane to the lesson.

The lesson Jesus was telling his friends was: Be prepared! Are you seeing a theme, here? The disciples asked about when the time was for the End of the Age. What Jesus is emphasizing, though, is that they have to be ready for it. Don't just mark it on your calendar. Make preparations.

The virgins above had certainly all filled their lamps earlier in the day. The didn't know if they would need them, but they had them. They waited and waited, far beyond what they thought they might need to do, but still they waited. (After all, aside from their duty of being an attendant, they'd get to join the feasting!) In the middle of the night, they heard that the groom was on the way. Though they had been sleeping, they woke, fluffed out their garments, checked their lamps...

And found they needed oil.

Half of these virgins had been wise -- they had brought extra oil. Just in case the wait would be long. The other half were foolish. Oh, they were the bridesmaids, the acknowledged virgins. They were. They had adorned themselves appropriately. They had brought their lamps, too. But...they hadn't been prepared adequately. They hadn't been wise, as the others were. They had been foolish to think that the groom would come within their own timeframe as delineated by the lamp oil they had available.

So they tried to bum some off of virgins who had been much more wisely prepared. They were refused. After all, the light only went so far, and if they shared, it was very possible none of them would be able to go to the wedding feast. They'd all be left in the dark, alone. The unprepared virgins went off to buy more oil. From whom? We do not know. But they were gone too long.

When they had finished their errand, they went to the feast, but were too late. The bridegroom declared he didn't know them. They hadn't been with the others, why should they be in the feast? They were not allowed into the feast.

Again, the point of Jesus' parable here is that they are to be prepared, the disciples are. They don't know how long they'll have to wait. Neither do we.

Look at the timing as Christ explains it in this parable. The virgins -- representing those who want to enter the kingdom of Heaven -- have a general idea of when this wedding will take place, so they are where they are supposed to be. Jesus implies, then, that people will have a general idea that the end is coming. Many signs are prophesied to show this, if you have been reading along with us or have studied the prophets of the Old Testament. This is reasonable.

They wait longer than expected and fall asleep waiting. We do that too, don't we? Wait longer than we think we should have to and get tired. There is no judgment here in this parable for doing so. No sense that the virgins should have been up partying and staying all fresh and excited. It was all right that they had taken a nap. But when they heard the bridegroom was coming, they got up, trimmed their lamps, and waited eagerly.

Yet still he didn't show up. For us, this means that the waiting isn't over just because we hear he's coming or a messenger that we trust has said he's coming. The bridegroom -- Christ -- will not come before there are signs of his coming; he teaches that himself. But they won't necessarily be in a time that we expect!

So the virgins waited, some running off for last-minute shopping. And they missed out when the bridegroom came.

You will notice they were excluded from the feast for their tardiness. They were not allowed to celebrate a the wedding of the Bridegroom and his Bride. In the book of Revelation, that is a time when Jerusalem will be presented as a Bride to her Bridegroom. It will be a special time. A time long-awaited. Those who are ready will get to party, too.

There is no further punishment, we notice in this parable. No "weeping and gnashing of teeth," no "eternal flame." Simply -- with a door shut in their face -- the virgins are excluded from the wedding banquet.

From the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus says the bridegroom will not know these women. They were not especially favored. They would be treated as anyone else in the village...not as honored guests. They have to bear the consequences of their own folly, their own ill-preparedness. No last-minute reprieve.

Be prepared. Do not expect to be let into the kingdom "just because" or "because you really are a good person." This parable -- this teaching story says otherwise.

Here, we prepare in advance of the storms of summer. If they come, we are ready. If they do not come, we are still prepared. Over the year, we can use the supplies we have gathered, if we do not during hurricane season. Next spring, we prepare again. We do not know how the storms will travel. We do not dictate the weather patterns.

And we do not dictate the terms of entering the wedding feast.

Remember: You do not make the rules for God's Kingdom. He does.

(For a deeper study on this parable, I refer you here. Bring your Bible. ;) )

Tear your hearts, not just your clothes!

sandyquill — 2006-10-05T10:10:51-05:00

Blow the horn in Zion;
sound the alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the Day of the Lord is coming;
in fact, it is near –
(Joel 2:1 HCSB)

The prophet Joel is a rather enigmatic fellow. It is believed that his book could have been written as early as the ninth century B.C.. The prophets Ezekiel, Amos, Jeremiah, Zephaniah and Micah use many similar phrases, so it is possible that though he was not otherwise mentioned in the Old Testament, his prophecies were known and heeded by those who came after him.

His overall message in his book is one of judgment and punishment. He does not voice the popular notion that the judgment will be only for those outside of God's family, with only blessings for those who claim the Lord. Instead, he – along with other prophets – hold to the theology that the punishment will be universal, with restoration and blessing coming after judgment and repentance.

On the subject of the Day of the Lord, Joel holds forth. He speaks of locusts as actual locusts, he calls it as he sees it. There isn't a lot of pretty allegory in his work; he's a straightforward prophet.

His prophecies speak of darkness, fire, destruction. A time when the light of sun and stars is dimmed if not obliterated.

The Lord raises His voice in the presence of His army.
His camp is very large;
Those who carry out His command are powerful.
Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful - who can endure it? (v. 11)

God himself is involved in all of this, you see. It is that important. He is in the presence of his army, as a good leader of war. Joel is clear that the Lord is not detached from the judgment enacted on the people.

God is not just a God of war, though! He loves his people and Joel is sure to tell them so.

Even now-[this is] the Lord's declaration-turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger, rich in faithful love,and He relents from sending disaster. (v. 12 & 13)

Wait! Does this mean God can change his mind???

God's perspective is beyond our comprehension. Completely and utterly beyond what we can possibly grasp. He sees all possible outcomes, all possible decisions, all possible permutations resulting from everything. He is omniscient. But! He lets people choose where they will go. All paths have been seen, but the choice is ours.

Our repentance can bring about a change in the path of anger, yes. "Tear your hearts, not just your clothes," we are told. Repentence isn't about saying, "I'm sorry." It's about change. It's about turning from the way you were going and going in a better direction. It's about making a conscious effort to do what is right, not just sit there and feel sorry.

Today, what we need to do is heed this. The Day of the Lord is coming. It will be terrible. Only those with a contrite heart, a heart that has turned to the will of the Almighty God, will be blessed when it is over.

Will you seek to return to the Lord? He truly is compassionate and he will heal your wounds and soothe even the most troubled spirit of the person that has yielded to him. And he's waiting. Just for you.

Sleep in heavenly peace...

sandyquill — 2008-12-24T07:12:48-05:00

The family is here. Safe and sound, if not 100% healthy. (My sister-in-law, AvonLady, apparently has the 'flu!) The cousins have rough-housed and made noise ("I need quiet time, Mommy," Builder informed me) and now they are back down the street in the rental house owned by The Dynamo. It is quiet, here.

At last, I am smiling. For real. :) I'm exhausted after a very truncated night's sleep, but I am listening to the Miser Brother's Christmas on the television, listening to Builder play with his new laptop computer (a toy one from Target that he's wanted for months) and smelling the cookies The Dynamo brought down for all of us to enjoy over the holiday.

I am not in general a big proponent of the King James Bible, I confess. But to my lyrical ear, some verses just sound better in Elizabethan English than in my own, 21st Century version. I am reminded of the verse in the book of Isaiah the Prophet, chapter nine, verse six:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
KJV

To me, a child has come. To me, he was given. The government -- the authority of the world and of my own governing activities -- is under his eye and a burden he is willing to bear. He is indeed provoking wonder in me. He does indeed counsel me in my days. He is GOD, the great and almighty. He is my heavenly father.

And he is the prince...the great flower and heir and promise...of PEACE.
Sandi Layne's Expansion
;-)

Tonight, after the ups and downs of the last few days, I am reminded of all these things, and I give thanks. My Christmas, after all, is indeed a merry one.

I hope that you and your family, wherever you are, may enjoy peace of spirit if not of circumstances.

Merry Christmas.

I know, it's been a while...

sandyquill — 2009-01-03T10:01:16-05:00

The year was 2003. It was December, just before Christmas. I had tried blogging at another location and found it vastly unsatisfying. I found MindSay...a blogging site only a few months old, really, and started blogging here.

I was 37 at the time and lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Never figured to leave. I loved my desert (and do so still!) and thought I'd always be there.

God, though, had other ideas. He brought us thousands of miles away to South Florida. He had many reasons for so doing, I'm sure, but one of them I know was to isolate his daughter, yours truly. "You're the only person I know who has to go to a tropical paradise to have a desert experience," my mother told me.

She's undoubtedly right.

I found here in MindSay the very best in blogging communities. I maintain that to this day. MindSay has grown, changed, shifted, spread... But still, it's a great community. I hope it always will be.

But it will have to be a community without my usual participation.

As God tugged me away from my home in Arizona, he has indicated it is time for me to change blogging venues and goals. So, I went through my blog here, all 2500 + entries, and copied into a document all the posts I wanted to keep. Hundreds of pages, let me tell you! And then I spent the rest of the day deleting them. All the way down to a final count of eight, which I'm leaving here.

Why am I going? Because I feel I have said what I was supposed to say here, for one thing. And another, I am tired, frankly, of hiding pages and Top Blogs or what have you because Builder likes to sit on my lap while I am at the computer. He reads everything. He reads it well. And, honestly, there are words around here we don't use in the House O'Quill. Not even on our worst days. So it will be less troublesome to both of us if we are not here every day.

Where will I be? Not far. Just a click away. :) http://www.sandyquill.net

Not too unusual a name, surely. At the above site, I have tucked away many of my pages on Autism Awareness, my Bible studies, short stories, novels, and other items of interest.

I welcome you to come see me, if you wish. :) Or, if you wish to drop me a line, please do so at sandi AT sandyquill DOT net.

I'll still be about. I still adore MindSay as the best community anywhere. I just have to clean out my house here, is all, and move along a bit. Just down the road, really.

I'll keep a light on for you.

Can you hear me now?

sandyquill — 2009-11-02T08:11:24-05:00

Wow, this ^toolbar^ is looking different...

*crickets*

I am here at the behest of tootboy, who is celebrating his twelfth wedding anniversary today.

He's one of my Very Best Friends in the Whole World, so I am here on the reunion tour. For a brief one-shot of a moment. Probably.

I'm trying to think of what to say that might be of interest. Things that might freak you out, maybe? Things that would make you cheer for my kids? A Pride and Prejudice fan fiction? Other fan fiction?

Hmmm?

I can say that it's been a weird year without blogging. I relocated to Facebook where I hung out for a few months. I'm still there...I'm just not THERE there. Not as much as I was. I found myself disappearing for extensive periods of time, taking surveys and quizzes and so forth...

So I slipped out to disconnect for a while. My brain sort of needed to go all tortoise (as any passersby may remember) during the summer and it sorta...stuck.

MindSay has huge memories for me. I've met some of the COOLEST people and some AMAZING friends, here. Generous hearts and souls that I still talk to, some I look for in other places online, and sometimes I even find y'all...

Scary, no?

It's been weird, not blogging. I have finally stopped saying, "I've gotta blog about that." It took more eight months for that to stop being the first impulse in my brain whenever something cool happened. On the other hand, Cyclone (numbah one son) is relieved. ;-)

***Waves madly at everyone.***

~Sandi
aka
The Quill

aka... If you know my other alter-egos, please let me know you know... ;)

Before I start my day for reals

sandyquill — 2009-11-03T07:11:49-05:00

So! What's going on, in case you're interested?

Hm. Put out a new book in June, according to Amazon.com. It was fun to write, I was helped along amazingly by the Spousal Unit, and it involved a hurricane and tornado and an associate pastor and a strong woman with great shoulders. :) I'm going to be working on its sequel just as soon as Spousal Unit takes me to Captiva and/or Sanibel. I auctioned off my complete "collection" and a cameo at the last family reunion, so I have to write the sequel. I've already got guests in the book.

Been writing a great deal of other things, too.

Spousal Unit has been working a great deal, which is a blessing in this economy.

Cyclone has eight classes in his sophomore year at high school. Four of them are honors courses. He's got seven A's and one B+ on his report card for the quarter. I am enormously proud of him even if I don't have a clue what he's learning in Honors Chemistry.

Builder is in second grade, but is spending a month in the third grade and enjoying it. His behavior has improved. I am not sure if they would consider bumping him up for the rest of the year, there and just promoting him... But even if not, he's doing well there right now and I'm grateful. His current passions are still designing floorplans and dreaming of moving to some acreage somewhere, where we'll have no near neighbors and lots of space. And chickens. We want chickens.

Someone didn't close the freezer all the way last night so we woke up to snow in South Florida. Okay. Snow in my freezer, anyway. It was cool. Cold. Fun. :)

I am currently typing decaffeinatedly (nope not a word but I bet you know what it means) so I should probably fix that.

Here on the MindSay Reunion Tour, courtesy of Smurfy, CallMeRoger and Tootboy...

The Quill. :)

P.S. "family unit" and "great book" were tags suggested by the tag-suggester. lol I thought I'd toss 'em in.