In this cute and humorous video Ellie covers some of the wild edible plants you will likely find growing in your backyard. The plants covered includes: Daisy, Greater Plantain, Clover, Wood Sorrel, Wild Leeks, Lamb Quarters, and Dead Nettle.
I saw the movie Uptown Girls over a decade ago yet it still moves me when I think about it. Especially the last scene of the movie when Jesse Spencer comes out and plays the song for Molly that her father, now passed on, wrote for his little girl. “Molly Smiles”.
Here is my remake of the song for my daughters Ellie and Emma:
The original song:
When My Girls Smile
(based on Jesse Spencer song Molly Smiles)
Papa’s little girl paints the world with her magic wand
Papa’s little child breathes new life to the morning time for me
Though we’re apart, her thoughts follow me (When I come home)
Ellie smiles with the dawn
Ellie smiles, and she radiates the glow around her halo
When she plays, Ellie smiles
On a summer day, Ellie smiles
Papa’s little girl ties a ribbon around my heart
Papa’s little child waves goodbye to the ocean tide that sweeps me
Though we’re apart, she’s a part of me
When the days have gone grey,
Nothing’s wrong when my girls smile
Update: Hey guys, I don’t have all the answers. I am a spiritual seeker. A fellow journeyer, NOT a “Teacher”. As Jesus says, we have One Teacher, the Christ. I simply hope to be asking the pertinent and helpful questions that can help in our search for Truth and liberating spirituality.
I am actually interested in having dialogue with those who see themselves as “New Age” and would love to somehow provoke your interest in taking a closer look at Jesus. As a believer in Jesus, I am excited to see that Jesus is bringing us into a “New Age” of Enlightenment where he is the source (the Light) and subject of that Enlightenment. Listen to what the Apostle Paul writes in a prayer for the church:
“…that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…” – Colossians 2:2-3
I desperately never want to not be a religious prick who alienates others of a different perspective. I desperately want you to walk away from reading this blog feeling more loved. I hope you read the following knowing that’s what is in my heart for you… ESPECIALLY if you identify as “New Age”. OK? Because I understand you and I love you!
Here it is:
First of all, the title of this blog reminds me of a question Satan once asked Eve, “Has God really said?” And so he sowed that seed of distrust that caused her to doubt the goodness of God. I never want any of us to ever doubt the goodness of God again!
Again, this reminds me of a very pertinent Scripture from 2 Corinthians 11. Here is the phrase I am remembering:
“But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.” – 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 NLT
Pure and undivided devotion to Christ is the most wonderfully liberated life there is – filled with unconditional love, clarity, and purpose.
So, based on the above Scripture, here is a question that came to mind:
Is the New Age preaching a different Jesus?
In my experience and research of what has been dubbed the New Age movement the person of Jesus is hardly ever mentioned at all. When they do speak of him, he is just one of many of ascended masters who show us the path of enlightenment through meditation, death to ego, and esoteric knowledge (gnosticism).
Note: Am I saying meditation is wrong? No. Jesus often withdrew to solitary places to commune with his Father. There is a Scripture that says, “be still and know that I am God.”
Am I saying that the Bible doesn’t teach “Death to ego”? No. But my understanding of this is that the “ego” is related to the diabolical pride of man and was dealt with at the cross. When Jesus died, we died (see Romans 6) and Paul wrote: “It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, the life that I now live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” Any kind of effort to achieve something that Christ already accomplished at the cross is missing the point of the cross.
So how about esoteric knowledge (and by the way I got this list from a New Age source which doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like there is a “New Age Bible” so you will find all kinds of discrepancies and contradictions and quoting someone who identifies as New Age only reflects the beliefs held by that individual and not the “movement”. Chasing down everything said by a New Age “authority” is a complete waste of time.)
I just read this today from Matthew 11:
At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.26 Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!
27 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
So here we can clearly see that God is evasive toward those trying to figure him out (by esoteric or logical means) but will reveal himself to the humble, the childlike, and the sincere. (see testimony at the end of this blog!!!)
Back to the topic of preaching a different Jesus: Some have even gone so far as to say that Jesus and the apostles were all just a metaphor for a reinvented sun worship religion (one among many past sun deity religions) and that Jesus never really existed at all! (This was the opening arguments of a film called Zeitgeist which I wrote a blog about HERE.) So they were actually saying that Jesus never actually “came in the flesh”… hmm where have I heard that before? Here is the Scripture I just googled:
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.” I John 4:1-3 NLT
I have heard from one popular New Age “teacher” that they are aware that the prevalent spiritual reality in the air (as perceived from their many experiences astral traveling) is the “Christ-Consciousness” which they confessed they were annoyed about, wishing, rather, that it was Buddha.
That is interesting in itself but I have found that the language and understanding many New Agers adopt about Jesus is that he was some sort of enlightened mystic guru much like Buddha. By and large they don’t trust the Scriptures as revealing the truth yet time and again I have come across articles or talks where “they” quote Scripture when convenient when it supports their beliefs. That is proof in itself that not all that someone in the New Age believes is false. Much of it is true, but has all your truth seeking led you to the One who claims to be the Truth?
“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” ~ Jesus (Jn 14:6)
One of the questions I will ask people time and again is:
“Did you come to your conclusions by saturating yourself in the Word of God?”
I feel this is one of the most important questions.
Why? Because Jesus said
“For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” – Matthew 7:14 ESV
I am interested in being someone who consistently points people toward the narrow gate to life. The Word of God is our reliable guide:
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” -Psalm 119:105
God will use His Word in our lives to illuminate the narrow Gate (who is Jesus!) and the path of Life (Who is Jesus!)
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:9 NIV
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 NLT
Let’s talk about why we ought to trust that the Holy Bible is trustworthy, inerrant and fully reliable as it claims!
Why I’ve Come to Trust the Bible!
I trust that the Bible is the Holy inerrant revealed Word of God and is our standard for truth because Jesus verified the whole of Scripture that existed in his day (the Old Testament) first by quoting from them and validating them (even though they were already regarded as Holy Words from God by the Jewish people). He based arguments on the very tense of a word in these sacred writings.
Jesus even verified every “jot and tittle” – which meant the smallest letter and least stroke of the pen in Hebrew alphabet). The rest of the Bible (the New Testament) was authorized and inspired by Jesus Holy Spirit. AND I trust Jesus because I have actually met Him. But he doesn’t just leave us to depend on spiritual experiences and check our brain at the door. The fact is, all the evidence logically point to the truth claimed in Scripture. Most of all, the factual evidence of his resurrection. Bottom line is that Jesus resurrection proved his claims about his nature He is the “I AM” incarnate, He is God in the flesh and informs us that his Word can be trusted – more on this in another blog!
WE ARE IN A WAR
Paul has written about the war we are in. It is by and large a war of words. Arguments to keep you from truly “knowing” God. Take a look at this:
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient. – 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NLT
So I have, in my research, become aware of how the New Age and their ideas of Enlightenment and Awakening are taking the world by storm. They do preach a different Jesus than the one presented to us in the Holy Bible.
So, What is your basis for Truth?
Are you your own standard for truth? Or do you have some teacher or guide or text you depend on to reveal truth to you?
Consider how important this is! If the war we are in is a war of arguments, words, and ideas, then shouldn’t we avail ourselves of the resources to overcome whoever and whatever is warring against our minds as “they” try to keep us from knowing God?
Who are “they”?
As we can see from the following Scripture, the “they” that are warring against our souls are demonic entities.
“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.12 For weare not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT
These entities are of many variety and include what many have called aliens. Multi-dimensional beings who exist all around us. Reptilians, greys, succubus, Satan, etc…
They are not friendly nor do they have any good will toward you. They are God’s enemies. (I’m definitely not suggesting that all “greys” or the whole of any species of entity that God has created are evil and serving Satan – there are the angels as well! And the angels happen to outnumber the demons two to one.)
What makes any entity evil or good solely depends on their loyalty. Who do they serve? Do they bow the knee to Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord (Master) and LORD (I AM)? Or not?
And of course we MUST remember that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light as do his servants. Check this out:
“They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NLT
So we see that Satan’s servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (even in the Christian church?). Of course most obviously, this would describe New Age gurus and “teachers” promoting a teaching that leaves Jesus out. Without Jesus it is impossible to have Truth. He is Truth, remember?
Jesus said that “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” – Luke 11:23 NIV
So is the New Age gathering people to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ?
No, I think not. Instead they offer an endless amount of confusion and yes, even “true things” that (demonicaly) seeks to separate you from the One who made you for Himself. (See Colossians 1!)
I am not about to say that everything that the New Age teaches is false. Not in the least bit. In fact that’s the very nature of the devils game. He imitates the light. He imitates the truth. He copycats. He counterfeits. (By the way this is how he gets so many believers to reject some of the true things that belong to them! Word of knowledge, along with all manner of spiritual gifts and manifestations and mystical experiences of God!) Yes, the devil will give you all kinds of “truth” while ignoring, minimizing, rejecting, and most of all, redefining the Truth Himself – Mr. Truth, Yeshua (Jesus).
Jesus said, “I AM the Way the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6 NIV
The Apostles echo this when Peter says,
“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 NLT
Is this what the New Age teaches? Not in the least bit.
Check out this video put out by Steven Bacarz, someone in the know who is more acquainted with and has researched this topic far more than I:
Please watch Steven Bacarz’s Testimony, From New Age to Jesus!!!:
I asked my wife tonight if it was ever appropriate to say “Happy” Memorial Day? This is a day we honor the fallen right? Well, I have a friend I want to honor. I am happy to know him. I was going to say “have known” but no one in Christ is ever lost and he is now experiencing a much better reality right now probably fighting the Lord’s battles. He loved Jesus! I was thinking about Jim today and our times together as children.
I knew him as “Jimmy” and as a child I really enjoyed spending time with him and his family. I remember making forts in the rocky outcroppings near his house. I remember “ninja-ing” through backyards as we flipped over fences and moved stealthily so as not to be seen.
(“Ninja-ing” was a completely innocent game of dressing up in dark clothing, even facemasks made from shirts, and traveling through peoples backyards at night.)
We once were hiking and saw a couple people starting up a hill on their bikes along a path and we decided to intercept and spy on them. Once we got to the top we found a great place to hide to spy on them.
We had great adventures. I think I remember hearing that he had once told his dad Joel that he couldn’t imagine doing a boring job, that the Lovett boys had ruined him for a life of adventure. So he joined the military and became a sniper.
I wanted to publicly apologize to his dad Joel for something else though. You see I had some bitterness toward my own dad growing up. My parents fought a great deal or most often ignored each other. At the time all I talked about was running away and living in the woods. Well, the truth is, I believe that my bitterness was passed on to Jimmy at the time and I may have caused some distance and lack of closeness in the relationship between Joel and his son. I cannot tell you how sorry I was for that over the years. Please forgive me.
My only consolation is that heaven will wipe away all tears and all fellowship will be fully and finally restored.
The following is the article about my friend who passed into glory on January 28th 2008:
An Army sergeant from Spokane was killed along with four other 4th Infantry Division soldiers Monday when a roadside bomb destroyed their vehicle in Mosul, Iraq.
Sgt. James E. Craig, 26, was married in Spokane in July and deployed in December for his third tour in Iraq, according to his father, Joel Craig, of Cheney.
“He was a wonderful man who loved the Lord Jesus Christ with his whole heart,” Craig said. “He served his country with dignity and honor.”
Sgt. Craig was born in Spokane. He moved to the Cusick area, in Pend Oreille County, where he attended high school before moving with his parents, Joel and Phyllis Craig, to the East Coast for a time. He graduated in 2000 from Academic Magnet High School near Hollywood, S.C..
While in school, Craig earned top scores, was an accomplished musician and a star football player and wrestler, his father said.
“Coaches asked me if I had any others like him at home,” Joel Craig said.
He remembered his son as a “thrill seeker” who loved action, even as a 12-year-old.
“He once flew my dirt bike over the barn roof,” Joel Craig said. “I saw the motorcycle flying through the air with him on it.”
Upon graduating from high school, Craig joined the U.S. Army and was trained at Fort Benning, Ga., before being stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, where he became a sniper. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Craig requested to be transferred to a unit that would see action overseas — the 4th Infantry at Fort Carson, Colo., his father said.
Craig met his wife, Natalie, on the Internet while he was on active duty. It was an “amazing coincidence” because she was a member of his Spokane church, Fourth Memorial Church, Joel Craig said.
“When we found out, we invited her to come to the airport with us to meet him (in person),” his father said. “It was like the movies – a wonderful romance.”
Craig was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, as were the other soldiers killed in Monday’s attack – Staff Sgt. Gary W. Jeffries, 37, of Roscoe, Texas; Spc. Evan A. Marshall, 21, of Athens, Ga.; Pfc. Brandon A. Meyer, 20, of Orange, Calif.; and Pvt. Joshua A.R. Young, 21, of Riddle, Ore.
Craig was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
Prior to his death, Craig was twice awarded the Army Commendation Medal among other honors, which included the Combat Infantryman Badge.
During his last deployment in Iraq, Craig was involved in a firefight during which his body armor stopped four rounds from enemy rifle fire, said his father, who recalled his son telling him, “I’m no hero, Dad. We all do the same thing every day.”
Craig is survived by his wife, parents and four sisters: Lola Hanson, Menesia Spade, Kelly Inman and Rachael Putman, all of the Spokane area.
His father said all veterans and church members are invited to attend a memorial service for Sgt. James Craig at 10 a.m. Feb. 9 at Fourth Memorial Church, 2000 N. Standard St.
From The Spokesman Review spokesmanreview.com 02/01/08:
Army sergeant from Spokane dies in Iraq
From The Post and Courier charlston.net 02/01/08:
Oregon pen pal remembers soldier
North Charleston teacher also recalls Sgt. James Craig
By Ron Menchaca
The Post and Courier
Friday, February 1, 2008
Oregon farmer Cynthia Heeren has corresponded with hundreds of soldiers serving in combat over the years. She’d never lost one of them to war — until Monday.
One of her favorite pen pals, Army Sgt. James E. Craig, a 2000 graduate of North Charleston’s Academic Magnet High School, was one of five soldiers killed this week by a roadside bomb in Mosul, Iraq. The men were assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade
Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo.
The attack coincided with a rifle ambush from insurgents, according to news reports. Also killed in the attack were Staff Sgt. Gary W. Jeffries, 37, of Roscoe, Texas; Spc. Evan A. Marshall, 21, of Athens, Ga.; Pfc. Brandon A. Meyer, 20, of Orange, Calif.; and Pvt. Joshua A.R. Young, 21, of Riddle, Ore.
Karen Collins Hames, a physics instructor, taught Craig his senior year at Academic Magnet.
She remembers him as cheerful and outgoing, someone who would help anyone in a heartbeat. “He had a terrific sense of humor and also was a person of faith.”
Heeren never got the chance to meet Craig in person, but she knew the details of his life from long letters he would send from the battlefield. They occasionally spoke by phone. “He was just a terrific kid. He had this great smile and it came through in his letters. His spirit came through.”
Craig, 26, often wrote about his love for his family and his Christian faith. He felt fortunate to have a support system back home and would ask Heeren to round up pen pals for his buddies, so they could receive mail, too.
Heeren remembers when Craig called her with exciting news. He’d met a girl, the one he would marry. Her name was Natalie. “It was love at first sight,” she said
“She is the kind of woman that God would want me to have,” Craig wrote in a 2006 letter. “So we are going to take things slowly and keep our relationship pure. I am very excited about her.”
They married in July 2007. A wedding photo shows Craig decked out in his Army dress blues, his Infantry blue cord worn proudly over his right shoulder. In her silky white dress, Natalie held her husband tight and beamed at the camera.
A few months later, Craig shipped out for what Heeren said was his third deployment to Iraq. “He loved the Army. He loved what he was doing.”
Craig had been in the Army eight years. He planned to serve until 2010 and return to Washington state to start a family with Natalie.
While Craig spent a few years in South Carolina during high school and the military listed his home of record as Hollywood, he considered the Spokane, Wash., area his real home, Heeren said.
Attempts to reach Craig’s family in Washington were unsuccessful. Funeral arrangements likely will take place in the Spokane area, Heeren said.
Hames last spoke to Craig before his first deployment to Iraq. “He asked me to pray for him, that he would be safe,” she recalled. “But he then said, ‘If it ever is my time to go, I know I’m ready.’ “
Wouldn’t it be just like God to put the cure for cancer in everyones yard? Now, as I was researching the benefits of dandelion I came across the above image. Interesting.
Yes dandelion is a healthy wild edible with wonderful medicinal properties as well. It was brought over by settlers from Europe and cultivated in gardens and was a valued spring crop that revitalized the body after a lean and starchy winter.
Yet today most in America think its a weed… yep, we are that out of touch with reality.
I hope you enjoy this educational video I put together on some other common plants you will find growing in your backyard including: Is Clover edible, Wild Violets, Cattail, Thistle, Wild Mustard, Burdock, Garlic Mustard, Creeping Charlie, and Ferns. (more videos to come!!)
Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13 NIV
I have always loved that Scripture! Yes, even though we are evil, He gives the Holy Spirit to any who ask him. He is that generous!
I remember a blog I wrote called What Kind of a Monster do you Think God Is? where I talk about how I have been praying for the Holy Spirit for over a decade. Here is an excerpt from that:
Notice how that Scripture ends? He is telling us the best thing to ask for and seek after… the best gift of all… is His Presence in the Holy Spirit!
Now, do you think for a moment that if one of his children asks for the Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus gives him an imposter spirit? A false Holy Spirit? A demon? Can you imagine God sitting back on his throne drink in hand laughing to himself, “Ha ha got him that time. He really trusts us, doesn’t he? Isn’t that so dumb? What an idiot! We’ll teach him a lesson.”
What kind of a monster do you think God is?
No, the Good Shepherd does not feed his lambs to the wolves. Again, can you imagine Jesus saying to you, his sheep, “You annoyed me today.” “Come here wolf and teach this one a lesson!” As he holds you down and lets the wolf gnaw on your leg for a while.
Yet, this is the very attitude I see in some “believers” that I meet. I have heard them say things like, “Having kids is scary. If they don’t accept Christ right away then it would be a blessing if they died before the age of accountability.”
It’s time we did just that and come into the knowledge that our Trust Worthy Loving Heavenly Father is the One and Only Sovereign who really does rule from heaven and has put to open public disgrace all the demons of hell when Yeshua crawled onto a cross and took the hit, becoming evil and the punishment that evil (we) deserved, in our stead, so we could then become the righteousness of God in him:
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
I knew him as “Jimmy” and as a child I really enjoyed spending time with him and his family. I remember making forts in the rocky outcroppings near his house. I remember “ninja-ing” through backyards as we flipped over fences and moved stealthily so as not to be seen.
Daniel Lovett 