Christmas Card Exchange Requested

It's Christmas time again! My favorite time of the year. I live for this each and every year that rolls around because it means for me, not only the Savior's birth which we celebrate, but it genuinely seems that most people are a little more kind than they usually are. More giving perhaps. More willing to be charitable and pass along a kindness or two.

Just the other day, my brother Mike and I talked about our Christmas growing up. Great memories even though we lived with my mom, who divorced was working two jobs just to make ends meet, so we didn't get a chance to see her that much. But we lived for the day we knew she wouldn't be home for a while so we could climb up to the rafters and get all the Christmas boxes down and begin decorating as a surprise for her.

We would use EVERYTHING we found in the bins. We added colored garland to each of the beams in our house and some sparkly snowflakes hung on fishing line or even left over glass bulbs that didn't find a home on the tree between the swags. It was never decorated the same twice. We would turn on Johnny Mathis' Christmas album and get to work. It took us all day working together, singing beloved Christmas carols. If we had time we would climb up on the roof and add our traditional Santa and two lighted reindeer along with the traditional glass bulbs. None of these icicle lights or LED's but the old stand by's you had to screw into the sockets. They were great cause when one burned out, you simply replaced that bulb.

It was such a joy to see the surprise on my mom's face when she got home and was immediately filled with the Christmas Spirit and a whole lot of love from her kids. I miss that. Traditions are important. They need to be passed along to our kids who may or may not pass them along to their own kids.

One of the traditions I see disappearing are Christmas cards. The old fashioned kind you wrote in. Not pre-printed ones, but ones you went to pick out and added your own Christmas wishes for whomever you were sending it to. Now a days, you get photo Christmas cards, with pre-printed messages on them or the Christmas letter telling you what someone's family accomplished all year. Those are great because things are so busy these days, but I miss Christmas cards. The old-fashioned kind that fill your mailbox with something other than bills or advertisements.

I love pulling out some of the one's I have kept over the years because they still mean something like Christmas decorations. They hold memories I want to hold on to. So today, I sit and write out Christmas cards because I want the person I am sending them to, to open them, smile and know that I cared enough to send them a bit of Christmas Spirit. Do you still send Christmas cards? This is one Christmas tradition, I hope never dies out.

If you want to join in a Christmas card exchange with me, I'd love to send you one if you'll send one back. Email me at Stevenkat27@gmail.com and lets exchange addresses and get them in the mail. Perhaps I share them on my blog but know this, they will all be treasured in my heart.

Exposing the Origins of our Cultural Traditions

Whenever I find myself reading the Bible, it always use to amaze me at how the Israelites could fall into the religious practices of the nations around them when they had seen what following God could do and what disobedience would lead to, yet like a dog goes back to its vomit, this is precisely what they did. Israel was constantly tempted by the Babylonian cults, and it is where we fall into Satan's subtlety's like palm reading, rabbits feet, good luck charms, white magic, tarot cards, fortune cookies and even purgatory and lent. All of these things have their origins in Babylonian cults regardless of how innocent and cute they might appear. There are all kinds of things in our culture and traditions today, that we fail to stop and consider or even question their origins, that they have Babylonian roots.

As we have looked back into Jeremiah 44:15-17 ~ "Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: 'As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, n the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster."

This spells out the worship of Semiramus and Tammuz.

Ezekiel warns us in Ezekiel 8:12-14 ~ "Then he said to me, 'Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.' He said also to me, You will see still greater abominations that they commit. Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz."

Each of them had their own personal shrines of his own idols. All of these things had their origins in the Bible, but then Satan twisted them and made them seem okay. Semiramus and Tammuz, you might say are not things I worship, but have you considered the origins of those statues and idols you do have that may in fact have Babylonian roots?

Purgatory predates the origin of the Catholic church, they didn't invent it. It was from the Babylonian culture.

Lent was established 5000 years ago, remember, when after 40 days of weeping and lamenting Semiramus prayed to the gods of the underworld to send back her son Tammuz. When he was resurrected, they celebrated. This is all pagan worship and this story appears in most cultures but with different names and worship styles.

Mary and Jesus, the Mother and Child or Madonna and Child, is an example of pagan worship. That very image of a mother holding a baby with a crown above her head, has been unearthed in archaeology more than 4000 years ago in ancient Babylonia, regardless of what you may have been told or taught as part of your religious upbringing. The worship of the "Holy Mother Of Heaven and Child" is what it has been called. Again if you don't believe this, please research it for yourself.

The Temple of Pan from ancient Philippi in Caesarea is where we also get the name Bacchus. It goes by another name as well, Tammuz. His name changes but his worship doesn't. We get the word 'panic' from this.

You might argue that you're not worshiping it like it is being revealed here, but that is the subtleness of Satan's antics. A twist just a bit, and you can see what he does. You can't worship the Queen of Heaven and that is what Jeremiah and Ezekiel were warning Israel not to do. If you want to know more the ancient names of Semiramus and Tammuz from various cultures, see my blog post.

In fact if you look into the King James Version of the Bible in Acts 12:4, Easter is found in the Bible.

Acts 12:4 ~ "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people."

This isn't a reference to Easter, a spring time celebration, but of Ishtar's celebration in Ancient Roman Empire. This was pagan Rome, not the Christian church doing the celebrating of Lent and Easter. After their festivities, they were going to bring Peter out and kill him. 

As her cult priesthood spread westward from Babylon, a method of priesthood began in Jesus' day as the Nicolaitans. Nico = Lords and Laitans = people. Religious rulers or lords over the common people. 

Revelation 2:15 ~ "So also you have some who  hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans."

By the way, the Nicolaitans practiced an ancient Babylonian rite, "The Seccessional Hierachy." A true minister of God will point you to Christ. That is why the Bible says that there is but one mediator between us and God, Jesus Christ. 

This is the very reason that Moses was reprimanded by God for bringing forth water from a rock and saying that he deserved all the glory for it when the Israelites were thirsty, a direction violation from God. Moses took the glory like it was coming from him, but God called him on it and resulted in Moses not being allowed into the Promised Land. 

Numbers 20:7-12 ~ "and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.' And Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he commanded him. Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?? And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ' Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the lands that I have given them."

This Babylon in Revelation 17 is called a whore because (1) she is easily accessible = all roads lead to her, (2) she's deceptive = taking on a cultural form, and (3) she's dangerous = the souls of mankind are in her hands. 

Remember that we read that she is riding a beast, we will see later that the beast will be none other than the political antichrist. 

Remember we saw this image on the Greece version of the Euro coin. 

This is the Greece 5 Euro coin from 1996. As you can see a woman riding the beast, in her flowing robes, upon the water. If you were to purchase this coin it comes with a document that describes who this is. The waters are the sea of humanity, the woman is Europa who has been captured by the beast, Zeus taking her on a trip to conquer the world. Now not every Euro coin has a woman and beast on it, but if you research it for yourself, you will see for yourself what is apparent in front of us than many do not understand how prevalent this really is in the world. In fact a postage stamp depicting the very same image of the woman and beast also contains a little cupid like figure on it. Remember what we studied before, Cupid is the name for Tammuz in the Roman culture. 

This all points to a world that will worship Babylon or her origins in their religious system that has been a false one since the beginning of creation. We will be exposing even more tomorrow in our study. Hope you will join us.

This One Post Might Cost Me More Readers Than Any I've Written!

This one blog post today might just cost me me entire blogging and social media readership, but as I have always promised, I am sharing my insights on the Bible study through the Book of Revelation and in doing so, I am shining the light of God's Truth into the dark places of the world that we might wake up and be exposed to the Satanic influence that is permeating our culture and world today with such innocence that we might all find ourselves like John did, marveled and shocked at what is revealed.

This one post will probably cause quite a bit of controversy and the one thing I ask is simply if you would research all of this today for yourself. The one thing I believe might happen is that this post creates more curiosity and cause more people to open their eyes to what is happening all around them in the world today.

We are going to be digging even deeper into the mystery surrounding Babylon and the cult system of worship that began there, including looking into the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah from the Bible and gaining an understanding of the word, "Purgatory." Is it biblical or is it grounded in myth?

The one question I would ask you if you are reading this today, is do you trust in Jesus alone or in a church, religion, system or tradition?

Remember from our study yesterday we learned a bit about the origins of the Babylonian cult worship. If you haven't read it, please do so by clicking here. It will help understand what we are studying today. Israel began to adopt this Babylonian cult worship.

Jeremiah 44:15-17 ~ "Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: "As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. But we will do everything we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster."

Ancient Israel was bowing down to Semiramus, even Jeremiah warned them to stop worshiping.

Ezekiel 8:12-14 ~ "Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, the LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land. He said also to me, "You will see greater abominations that they commit. Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz."

Every person in Israel had their own personal idol in their homes. According to the Babylonian cult, Semiramus' acts of priestly intercession confirmed upon her the power to deliver a soul from what the Babylonians called the doctrine of (Perga-tory). Her religious system went out in the world.

You can read more on this in the book, The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop, written in 1853 by more than 270 authors who contributed to his research. Not one person today has ever disputed his writings.

Revelation 2:12-13 ~ "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan dwells."

The region of Pergamos was in the place now part of Turkey and extended into the region of Iraq. At the time of Jesus Christ, the headquarters of the Babylonian cult was in Pergamus. The church called it Satan's seat, or the Temple of Zeus. This actual temple has been relocated and can be found in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, Germany today. Semiramus was worshiped there. It is where emperor worship began. Emperors used the term Pontifus Maximus, which is Latin for Emperor of the Roman Empire. Check ancient Roman History for more on that. All the Caesars obtained that title and that is why the Roman Empire was worshiped and the emperors were worshiped as gods.

This is why there was such an issue when Christianity came on the scene, because you either worshiped Jesus Christ as Lord or you declared Caesar as lord.

The ancient Babylonian cult married itself into the ancient Roman Empire. This is the key to the century we are living in today. This is why it is so important today to see the rise in Europe's power and might. It must happen and it is!

The ancient Babylonians when they worshiped Semiramus as the priestess of Heaven and Hell, remember when her son Tammuz died, she prayed him out of hell and death.

So why did Jesus write the letter to the church of Pergamum?

Because its root is Perga-tory, Perga-mum. Perga-mus. Catholics didn't invent purgatory. The popes didn't invent purgatory. This has been in the minds of men and women since Babylon. It is not new.

The museum of Pergamum is located in Berlin, Germany because the German's stole it from Turkey. I am including pictures of the Museum of Pergamum, the Ishtar Gate, and the Temple of Zeus and you can research it for yourself and visit it today if you find yourself in Berlin, Germany. It got its name from Jews and Christians as the throne of Satan founded in roots from Babylonian worship. Tammuz in some cultures was worshiped as the moon god.

In the Assyrian Empire which reaches into southern Russia today, worshiped Semiramus and Tammuz as Isthar and Tammuz.

In Phoenicia, they were worshiped as Ash-Tar-Ta and Baal.

In Egypt, they were worshiped by the names Isis and Horace.

In Greece, they were worshiped by the names Aphrodite and Eros.

In Rome, they were worshiped by the names Venus and Cupid.

In Islam, they don't know the name of their god, so they simply refer to him as Allah, but if you research it further, they worship the moon god. What is on the temples as a symbol of their faith? The crescent moon.

Semiramus was declared to be the intercessor for the world, and that Tammuz was the deliverer of the world, and born in Babylon was the cult of "Mother and Child."

Do you remember how long Semiramus lament, pray and wept for her son? 40 days. They referred to it as "Lent!" After the resurrection of Tammuz, there was a great celebration in honor of Semiramus (Isthar) and Tammuz of feasting, drinking, and of orgies. A very special gift was exchanged, a decorated egg was given to worshipers of Isthar, her name for 2000 years is not Ishtar, but by the Chaldean word, "Easter."

Don't believe me, again research this for yourself.

The Babylonian Empire has always recognized the egg as a symbol in fertility. If you gave an egg to someone and they accepted it and took it from you, then you would engage in sexual orgies with that person.

That is why John was so marveled and shocked at what he was seeing at the opening of Revelation 17. He understood exactly what was happening. It is hard to gain an understanding of the traditions we grew up with as children, but again research it all for yourself. It is challenging reading and studying this and it is no wonder we find ourselves shocked today and how this Babylonian culture is all around us without us being any wiser until hopefully today.

Christmas Tradtions from the Smith Family

It's that time of year again as Christmas draws closer, decorations begin to go up and shopping malls are packed to capacity. I thought I would take a moment and share some of our families Christmas traditions with you and hope you might share some of yours with me.

Because the month of December and Christmas in general is my favorite time of the year, I can't wait to get all my Christmas decorations up. I have been collecting them since my mom worked at Hallmark years ago and now with yard and garage sales being so plentiful, I am still scoring more to my collection every year.

In fact, I try to get my house ready before Thanksgiving, much to the disappointment of my youngest daughter Kailee who believes that Thanksgiving is being sadly overlooked. But honestly, who decorates their home for Thanksgiving? Sure I have fall decorations but those go up before the end of September and stay up til the Christmas ones come out.

Most of the time, it's just me and Steve putting up all the decorations, pulling tubs out from our storage shed and hauling them into the house, where we plug things in to make sure that they work before putting up garland, bows, and lots of antiques I've found through many of my searches.

The one thing we hold off doing until the entire family is here is decorating our Christmas tree. We take the time to go through all our ornaments and remember those special times in our kids lives or even our own as each ornament tells its own story. In fact that is a tradition in our home. Each year, the kids pick one ornament that identifies a year in their life. It might deal with sports, a career, an interest but something they feel represents them.

We write their names on the bottom so that one day when they move out and get their own homes going, they have a pretty good starter collection going.

Another tradition, like most, is baking cookies. Each year I have vowed to reduce the numbers of varieties I bake, but usually end up making them all. Caitlyn's favorites have been magic bars, Steve's are Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls and Kailee's are Candy Canes.

Even my brother Mike, has his favorite, Spiced Pecans. I make a huge batch for him each year, and make sure he has them.

I make sugar cookies and wait for a time when all of us are together again, and we have a Christmas Cookie decorating contest, with the winner getting a $10 gift card of their choice based on votes from our Facebook posts and comments telling us which one they think is the best. 

Another tradition is visiting the Christmas lights in Alta Loma. My husband Steve, grew up there and it has been something he has done as part of his families tradition, plus he knows just how to get there and find the best places to park.

We usually rent a SUV or mini van to take whomever wants to come, and we all head out.

I give the kids each $5 to support the families who put on the event to buy a cup of hot chocolate or soft pretzel while we take part walking around and enjoying the display.

We even try to take a picture to make it a memorable event.

One of the Christmas traditions, my husband brought with him that we started in our new family is painting of plaster houses. We try and get each person to paint at least one to add to our growing collection each year.

We sign and date them and once again, when the kids move out, those will go with them as well. They have grown so much over the year with friends of the kids painting them that we are struggling to find a place to put them.

On Christmas Eve night, the kids each open a gift, even though they aren't really kids any longer. They already know what it will be, a set of pajamas to wear either to bed or for Christmas morning. When the kids were much younger, I used to include a Christmas book to be enjoyed that night before bed. We usually order dinner out that night because we know we'll be cooking all day on Christmas Day. We top it off with a movie or two from our Christmas movie collection.

Christmas Day is savored because it is over too soon. Coffee is made, music is ready and playing and Steve and I are usually showered and ready before waking our kids up. Now that they are older, there is no rush to wake up early.

We all take our time and do stockings first, each person revealing with they have, while I diligently write it all down, because no one can remember what they got from one year to the next.

Then we move on to presents and we each take the time to watch each person open their gifts.

Once the gifts are opened, showers begin while breakfast is being made. Phone calls go out to family that are home celebrating their own Christmas'. We generally watch Christmas movies all day long with each family member picking their all time favorite movie for us all to watch. They change ever year. Dinner preparations begin early with each person requesting different things. Steve has to have beets (yuck on my end), Kailee needs sparkling apple cider, Caitlyn wants Deviled Eggs, and I love stuffing. We make sure that we have plenty of fixings so that Caitlyn can take left overs home for a few days. We make turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes, corn, green beans with bacon, biscuits with honey and butter, deviled eggs, and for dessert either apple or harvest pie, a blend of cheesecake and pumpkin pie.

That is how the Smith family celebrates Christmas, what traditions does your family incorporate that have been passed down through generations? I'd love to hear.

Why Making Memories is So Important

Shopping on Black Friday, yes as crazy as the thought seems, it is on my Bucket List. Not that I haven't experienced it before, but I wanted to add it to this year's Bucket List to see if I can find a way to put a positive spin on the day.

Yes, there is bound to be pushing, shoving, grabbing, fighting, chaos and drama while people simply set out to find the best deals for their hard earned money. But what if in the midst of all this is a way to impact people in a positive way. To show the true meaning of Christmas in spite of all that most people shy away from. From fighting for that coveted parking space in a packed shopping lot, to standing in endless lines, that seem to go on forever. What if in the midst of all this is the greatest adventure, the ability to show kindness, love and the true meaning of Christmas to the world.

What if instead of bickering over that parking spot, you let someone else have it? What if instead of complaining why they won't open another checkstand while in line, you find time to share a smile and a kind word? What if instead of rolling your eyes, while your waitress takes too long on bringing your order, you leave your comments inside your head, and thank her for doing her job as best as she can and leave a generous tip?

What if life that day was simply about enjoying making other people's day just a bit better?

All I know is when I look back on trying to remember what I got for Christmas last year, I honestly can't recall a thing I got. You know why?

Because it isn't about stuff, it's about making memories and spending time with people. I can tell you I remember waiting to decorate the tree because it was important for my oldest daughter Caitlyn and her boyfriend to be there to help. It was about looking through the ornaments we have collected over the years with the kids and remembering a time when something was important to them. Caitlyn's soccer ornaments remind us of how hard she worked to play soccer in Rhode Island and how she learned not to be afraid of the ball hitting her in the face. I look at the Sesame Street ornaments, and remember how fond Kailee, my youngest was at watching these shows on Television during her childhood or looking at her gaming ornament and remembering how much she loves to play computer games.

Each of these memories are what I truly treasure. It's why material things don't really matter. Oh sure, if you got a new car or something large it might spark a memory. But I lay you odds it's the traditions you create with your kids, the events you take part in, that will last forever. From taking your kids to see the Christmas lights and finishing it off with ice cream sundaes, or helping the homeless out with coats and a meal, to making Christmas cookies with your family. These are what matters the most.

I would encourage you to have your family write a letter outlining their favorite memories they remember from Christmas' past to share with one another each year. If you're like my family, you will begin to realize how much all those memories really means instead of all those presents they have opened during the years. Try creating some new ones this year.

Just like the movie, It's A Wonderful Life, even George Bailey realizes by the end of the movie, it isn't about stuff, it's about his family and friends that truly matter the most.

Christmas Traditions

I always find myself pulled back to my childhood during Christmas. Even though most of the ones I can remember are ones when my parents had divorced, I know my mom did what she could through working two jobs to make our Christmas the very best it could be. We didn't have the latest and greatest things like our friends did who lived on the same street, but I do remember we spent those days leading up to Christmas with a sense of excitement that is missing today.

I don't recall making tons of cookies in the kitchen with my mom, probably due in part to working so hard to provide a Christmas for my brother and myself, yet I do recall the way we used to get excited to pull all our decorations down from the rafters and begin to decorate the house for my mom. I remember the days of real tinsel and not the stuff they try and pass off as tinsel now a days. I remember those colored strands of garland that we would try to drape in OCD like loops around our tree. I also remember the ornaments before the days of Hallmark, the blown glass kind, in all kinds of brilliant colors and shapes; the ones we would want to pass up later on but now as an adult, I'd wish we'd kept. I now search antique stores looking for those to add to my tree. There is something to be said for those old Christmas traditions.

I remember the outside lights on our house were the ones with the multi-colored bulbs you had to screw in after you put up the light strands. They also made loud pops when you tossed them into the street after launching them high into the air. I remember sitting back on the couch in the evening before the days of DVD and Blue Ray players or even VCR's and having to wait for your beloved Christmas classics to come on; A Charlie Brown Christmas, Ruldolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and especially The Year Without A Santa Claus. If you missed it the night and time it was shown, you missed it for the year. So we waited with anticipation for those nights.

I remember those beloved Christmas records too, Bing Crosby's White Christmas or even Elvis Presley, belting out Blue Christmas. All was right in the world. I remember spending hours with the Sears Christmas Wish Book catalog that used to come out just before Christmas and looking all day long at putting together just the perfect Christmas list for my parents. I remember moonlight sales at Woolworth's much like the Black Friday sales now, but without all the madness and pushing and shoving. Even the deals you used to get at stores like Mervyn's before they closed that offered you free gifts with purchase so you could really make your money go further. Now you're lucky to get Free Shipping from your online retailers.

Then the anticipation of waiting all night long for Santa to come along and bring our presents. It was honestly so hard to sleep those nights, waiting with baited breath to see if that noise you just heard was Santa out by the fireplace. Of course, there were those nights when my brother, Mike and I would quietly sneak into our living room to see if Santa had come yet only to be disappointed to still see empty stockings and no presents under the tree yet. We had to force ourselves back to sleep and hope we hadn't messed anything up yet.

Morning were the best in that we would race into our mom's room to wake her up while it was still dark out proclaiming that "Santa had come!!!" We would sit inpatiently by the tree trying to read the names of the packages under the tree to see who had the biggest or more elaborately decorated package. The best part was when presents were too big to wrap and instead were adorned with bows, like bikes!!! Christmas breakfast and dinner were the best in addition to playing with our toys or even trying on new clothes or racing outside to play with our friends. Some memories are just too good to ever forget!

That's why when I am decorating my tree or listening to Christmas music on the radio, a smile will cross my face. I'm remembering a fond memory from long ago and it takes me back to my childhood or even a time when that child-like quality of Christmas magic still exists. It's a time when troubles truly do seem so far away and goodness and mercy prevail, and once more all is right in the world.