Boy, the month of December really is a busy month, isn’t it? But, really? I found some strange observances that take place this month…I thought I’d share them with you.

Farm to Foodbank month?  OMG!  I didn’t realize the farming industry was in that much trouble financially! 

National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month…Those drunks and druggies want to keep us out from behind the wheel?! 

National Impaired Driving Prevention Month?  But I always take a turn driving when we go home to visit the kids.  It takes the both of us to get there!

National Stress-free Family Holiday Month…Yep, good luck with that…

Spiritual Literacy Month?  I’m not participating in that; a good Christian does not litter!

Winter Squash Month…Don’t remind me!  I’ve been helping Aunt Ida squash herself into those plaid pants for three years now!

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 9, 2022, 11:08 a.m.

For those of you who don’t know why God made a covenant of circumcision, or what circumcision is for in certain religions, I hope this post will help clear things up for you. Jesus said that God wants those who worship him to worship him in spirit and in truth. So, circumcision is a matter of the heart, ultimately.

(Genesis 17) gives us the story of God making His covenant of circumcision with Abraham, and all of Abraham’s descendants.  I did a little research into circumcision, and found the following information:  Circumcision as symbol of one’s covenant with God. The foreskin is also called the hood of the penis.  A hood can also be called a mantle.  A mantle: a figurative cloak, symbolizing preeminence (superiority) or authority.  Example: accepted the mantle of leadership. That definition comes from Merriam Webster, as you’ll see by following the link.

So, this would make the circumcision of males, the removal of their mantle of preeminence and authority.  Which comes from (Genesis 17:11) – You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.  Because, the head of every woman is man, and the head of every man is Christ; and the head of Christ is God.. (1Cor. 11:3)In the spirit, it is the same thing as is described in (Rev. 4:10-11)  (Philippians 2:9-11)

(Deut. 10:16) (Jeremiah 4:4) tells us to “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.”  That tells us that the covenant with God happens in our hearts first.  The circumcision is an outward sign of it.  God’s still telling us, in that scripture, to give up our authority to Him. (Romans 2:29) (Colossians 3:5)  Adam and Eve gave their authority and preeminence over to Satan.   But, in and through Christ Jesus, we have authority; even over spirits. (Luke 10:19-22)   I do believe that, because we were created in God’s image and after His likeness, we did have preeminence over angels, even then.  Satan was a fallen angel, so definitely, he shouldn’t have ranked with Adam and Eve. Adam wasn’t deceived.  He could have ordered Satan out of there. (Genesis 3:1) Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He definitely could have called on the LORD to settle that one.  He chose not to exercise his authority.   (Psalm 8:4-9) (Hebrews 2:6-12)   

The bottom line is that we need to remember the order of the chain of command in every situation.  Every day is a day of circumcision, when you think about it.  Every day we’re faced with the choices; blessing or cursing, life, or death.  When we keep our hearts circumcised, and keep the chain of command in the right order, we will always come out ahead. 

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 8, 2022, 11:33 a.m.

Oh, Abraham! 

(Genesis 16)  Gives us the story of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar-Sarai’s servant.  When I read it, I have to go back to what Jesus said about doing unto others whatever you wish them to do unto you.  Hagar, first of all, was an Egyptian.  We don’t really know how old she was, but I’m guessing quite a bit younger than both Abraham and Sarai (Sarah).  By sending Abraham in to take Hagar as his wife, Sarai destroyed any chance Hagar may have had at marrying a man of her choosing; or one of her own, anyway.  Quite obviously, by Hagar’s reaction to becoming pregnant, she was not a happy camper in this whole thing.  Even if it was customary back then, it still isn’t right to play God in someone’s life.  In effect, that is playing God in someone’s life, isn’t it? 

Furthermore, if God promised Abram offspring from his own loins, and “the two shall be one flesh,” wouldn’t that mean that God was intending to work through Sarai, too?  Perhaps, that whole custom should have been thought through a little more thoroughly, then. You set yourself, your husband, and all of the kids up for a world of strife and struggle!  Sarai treated Hagar harshly until Hagar fled from her.  In the wilderness, an angel of the LORD found her, and told her that her son would be “He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”  What were you thinking, Grandma?!  The angel told Hagar to go back to Sarai and submit to her.  She did; and at the ripe old age of 86, Abram’s first son, Ishmael, was born.  Ishmael was not, however, the son with whom God would make his covenant.  The Lord did promise to bless Ishmael, make him the father of 12 princes, and a great nation would come from him. (Genesis 17:15-21) 

Something I saw in this, is that once again, the man just blindly accepts and does his wife’s bidding.  Neither Adam, nor Abram, it seems, even questioned their wives’ requests.  Adam knew they weren’t supposed to eat from that tree.  He should have said, “Nope, I’m not eating that!”  He could have gone before God and prayed for Eve’s forgiveness.  Abram knew God’s promise, (and believed it) that offspring of his own loins would be born to him.  He only had one wife when God promised him that!  Grandpa, what were you thinking?! 

See how easy it is to get blind-sided and blind-sighted by our own desires and doubts?  I’m sure Abram told Sarai about God’s promise!  How could you not reckon that if he can make an 85 year old man able, God can do the same for you?!  And what about that ask and you shall receive thing?  As the only wife, I’d have been on my face before the LORD.  “What?!  LORD, make me able!  And please make sure we have pickles on hand. Amen.”  Just some things to think about.  Another thing is that I didn’t see either party, in either case (Adam & Eve, and Abram and Sarai) take it to the LORD.  And you know what?  Yeah, how many of you have been there and done that?  I lost track a long time ago of how many times I have.  Thank you, LORD, for you mercy, grace, and patience; and strengthen me to do better, please.  Amen.

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 7, 2022, 11:20 a.m.

Ah, the holiday season is in full swing…and things can get tough for us all. In case you’re struggling, I found a bit of good news for you. Today’s post covers Genesis 15.

(Genesis 15) gives us the account of God’s covenant with Abram, or Abraham, as he was later called.  (Verses 2-6) are the ones I’m focusing on.  Abram was childless, and thought one of his servants would be his heir.  But God promised Abram that his heir would come from his own body.  “He believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness,” says verse 6.  (Romans 4:3)

(Matt. 1:1-17) gives us the genealogy of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Hence, as children of God, through Christ Jesus, we have the same genealogy.  This is true in the natural, and the spiritual.  (John 17:21)  Since it is the spirit that gives life to the flesh, this spiritual “adoption” by our faith in Christ Jesus, is of the utmost importance. Let me tell you, I believe with all my heart that God has all that worked out, even in the natural.  There are going to be some surprised people on that day in Heaven!  “What?!  Abraham is really my Grandpa?!”  God can do it!  (John 3:17) (John 6:63) (Eph. 1:5)

(Romans 3:19-31)  tells us that no one is exempt from the judgment of God.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  It is only by the gift of God’s grace and the redemption of our souls through faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ-by His blood, that we can be justified and saved from eternal damnation. 

I said all that, to say this:  The world’s ways and valuations are different from God’s.  I can say from personal experience that my valuations, my beliefs, my priorities, my whole psyche, really, were very different before I got saved and became a child of God.  Jesus said, in (John 3:12) “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”  It is God who works in us the will, or desire to do better, to be better, to have better lives than we do. And, not only does God give us the will to do better, He gives us the faith, the strength, the equipment, knowledge, and determination to succeed.  Nothing can stop His will for us, which is life abundantly here on Earth, and eternal life with Him in Heaven. (John 10:10) (Philippians 2:13) (1Cor. 12:6) (Isaiah 26:12)  

If you don’t know the Lord, Jesus, I hope you’ll get to know Him.  If you’re struggling with your life, or through your recovery, He can help you.  Let me tell you, He is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him; so you needn’t be afraid.  We can go boldly to the throne of grace; just like that child that spilt the milk, who knows Mom or Dad will help to make it alright.  It isn’t always easy doing things God’s way.  But it sure is easier than failing through the world’s way.  God loves you, and so do I.

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 6, 2022, 11:29 a.m.

(Genesis 14) give us the story of Abraham’s kinsman, Lot being taken captive, along with his wives, and all of his possessions, by four kings who made war against the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela.  When Abraham heard Lot had been taken prisoner, He went out with his “trained men”.  He pursued the four kings who defeated those of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela, and defeated them.  Then, he brought Lot back, along with Lot’s possessions, along with his women and people. 

After this, the King of Sodom tried to pay tribute to Abraham.  “And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”   You all remember that God later destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, right?  Abraham refused to take any of the goods, saying, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth (or sworn a solemn oath),  that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’  I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”  In (Job 2:4), Satan said, “Skin for skin; a man will give up all he has for his life.”

Do you get the feeling that Abram didn’t want anything to do with whatever goods belonged to this wicked king?   He didn’t want to be indebted to him, did he?  I also got the feeling that he really didn’t want to be considered an ally, or even be associated with that wicked king.  There’s a lesson in that for us.  When you think about what position that might have put Abram in later, when God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, we can see that Abram didn’t want to weaken his faith in any way, or his relationship with the LORD.  By refusing the goods, Abram was sparing himself any confusion, and/or hesitance on his part later.  If I’m not indebted to, or associated with you, I won’t have to have that conversation with myself.  I’m just going to go right on down the road like I have been, and obey the LORD.  It was Abraham, who later interceded on Job’s behalf.  That’s why the two angels showed up in Sodom to save Lot and his family. 

We can put ourselves into precarious positions when we align and associate ourselves with the wrong people, places, and things.  (1Cor. 10:21) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.(2Cor. 6:15) What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?  Although we’re expected to be respectful and live peaceably with everyone, we’re also expected to serve the LORD whole-heartedly, and we are not to put ourselves into compromising positions.  In effect, that is building our house on sand.  We have to be careful not to allow the standards and boundaries to become confused and crossed.  And, we can see, that Abraham did have to intercede for Lot in order to save him and his family.  His position may not have been as strong had he forged an association or alliance with the king of Sodom.  Abram made sure there were absolutely “no strings attached.”  We have to do the same.

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 5, 2022, 1:22 p.m.

Christmas is just around the corner. We’ll be celebrating the Lord, Jesus’ birth. I hope that, if you don’t know Him, you’ll want to get to know Him. It’s my prayer that we may be celebrating your rebirth as well this Christmas season.

(Genesis 12:1-3)  (ESV)  Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”    And, Jesus said the same thing in (John 3:5-8) –“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  (John 1:12-13), (John 3:16), (Jeremiah 3:19) –this is an awesome one!  -Humans are imperfect and flawed, at best.  God gives us beautiful gifts called children, and, based on what we’ve learned and the coping strategies we’ve developed from childhood on, we direct and/or misdirect our children.  Thank God He knows the end from the beginning, and loves us the way He does!  (Jeremiah 12:10) Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

(1John 3:1) & (Romans 5:8) tell us that God gave us the power to become His children, even while we were yet sinners. Basically, when you grow up in dysfunctional environments, and learn the wrong stuff, and the incorrect ways of doing things, you’re a victim of all of that junk.  It’s like being trapped on a horrible marry-go-round; you replay the same things over and over again.  The only differences are the people and maybe the settings.  (Psalm 45:10) calls to us, ladies-and gentlemen. “Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your beauty.”  -First, yes, gentlemen too, because the church is the bride of Christ.  Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again to see the kingdom of Heaven, and have eternal life. (John 3:3-4)   Secondly, growing up in such environments, really is growing up without a mother and/or father of God’s standards.  God’s standards are not the world’s standards.  If you look around, you can see that more and more things that used to be not even spoken of out loud, are becoming acceptable, and even celebrated in some cases.  God is the father of the fatherless. (Psalm 68:5) 

We’ve all heard the saying, “Like father, like son.”   Thankfully, we get to choose.  We can overcome our pasts, and learn better ways. (Matt. 12:33)  Every day is a new day, and with God, every day is a you day.  You are, you can, you do!  (Matt. 3:17) 

(Luke 1-2:20) gives us the account of Jesus’ birth.  It really is the greatest story ever told.  But, yours can be just as great.  You can be born again by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  Every child of God becomes a great story; some just haven’t been told yet.  You can be the next great story of victory over your circumstances, and over the world and it’s woes.  I hope you’ll accept Jesus’ invitation.  He said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:37-40)

Love you from Café du Mondieu    Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 4, 2022, 12:00 p.m.

It’s Good To Be Humble

(Genesis 11:4-9) Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused* (Babel sounds like the word for confused) the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. When God said, “this is only the beginning of what they will do”, He was talking about their arrogance.  In fact, they were exalting themselves against God.  That was their sin. There’s ONE name under heaven by which we can be saved; “Jesus.”  (Acts 4:12), (Philippians 2:10)

(John 3:13) No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  (Proverbs 30:4)                                                                                                        (John 3:12) If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:31) 

(Isaiah 14:13-15) You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God.  I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assemblyin the far reaches of the north*; (in  the remote parts of Zaphon) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’  But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.  –God is speaking to the king of Babylon here.  (Job 20)  tells us that the wicked will suffer.  Verses 6-7 say, “Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds, he will perish forever like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ –The word Zaphon, in the most modern version, is translated as “north.”  If you look at a compass from a spiritual viewpoint, North would be straight up, where the heavens are located.  Therefore, when we read this passage of scripture, keeping that in mind, we can also see God speaking to Satan. 

This is where the “poor in spirit,” blessing comes in.  The humble can have the kingdom of Heaven, because the humble know they are not alone, and cannot do it alone.  You have to be humble to ask, to seek, and to knock.  And, who will not bow to the One who gave His only begotten Son so that we might be saved from Hell and death?  Who will not bow to that Son who gave his very life to pay the price to absolve us of our sin?  (Isaiah 33:14-17) speaks to us of sin and righteousness.   God’s promise to the righteous is contained in these verses. 

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 1, 2022, 11:54 a.m.

Ah, the new month is here.  December is the last month of the year; filled with wonderful smells of cookies baking, pine wreaths and Christmas trees, and of course, hot cocoa with candy cane stirring sticks.

I was on the phone with a friend the morning of December 1^st.  She had some brownies baking, and was crushing candy canes to sprinkle on top of them.  As we were chatting, she gasped, and wailed, “Oh, no!  Corky, you bad dog!”  I asked what he had done, and she said, “Well, he’s off to a great start celebrating Peppermint Bark Day, anyway!”   I said, “Oh, oh, did he get the candy canes?”  “The whole bowl,” she said.  We ended our conversation, so she could go to the store for more candy canes.  I decided I’d call my niece and find out if her little girl had finally gotten that first tooth in.  December 1^st  also, after all, National Cookie Cutter Day.  LOL

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, December 1, 2022, 12:17 p.m.

(Genesis 9:20-27) (ESV) Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.  He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”  He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.  May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”  –        1)  (Leviticus 18:7) tells us that we must not uncover our father’s or mother’s nakedness.  It’s one of the sexual laws God gave to the Israelites.  Although, Noah exposed himself when he became drunk and fell asleep naked in his tent. 2) Honor your mother and father is a commandment of God.  Ham could have covered his father, like his brothers did.  He also could have been discreet enough not to say anything to his brothers about it.  Telling them about it, was not honoring Noah.  Ham’s brothers went into the tent backwards so they wouldn’t see their father’s nakedness, and covered him.  3) This is what Jesus meant when He said, “First go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”  (Matt. 12:7)  God said that too, by the way; in (Hosea 6:6).  We could say that Noah could have handled Ham’s disobedience differently, as well.  That mercy vs. sacrifice thing applies to him too.  Now, here’s where the golden rule comes in.  (Matt. 7:12) “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.”  And, see how nicely it fits together? 

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, November 30, 2022, 11:11 a.m.

(Genesis 6:5-8) The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Noah was the ninth generation from Adam.  He was descended from Adam and Eve’s third son, Seth.  Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD because he walked with God uprightly and blamelessly. (Genesis 6:9)  Can you imagine what a task that would have been in those days?  They were the days the Nephilim, or giants, descendants of the angels that went in to the daughters of man were on the earth.  Nowadays, as the world grows darker and darker, and people become more and more selfish, and impatient, -we are a microwave society-we’re seeing a lot of the same attitudes and intentions.  Wickedness is an acceptable thing in society; sometimes, it’s even celebrated, or glorified.  Jesus alluded to that happening in (Luke 23:31)  In (Matt. 24:37) Jesus said things would be just like they were in the days of Noah when the coming of the Son of Man happens. (2Peter 2:1-22)  Warns us about false prophets and false teachers.  By this we know that even the body of Christ will not be immune, or escape the attempts at the devil’s deception. (Matt. 7:15) (Matt. 24:24) (Romans 16:17-18)

So, how do we, in a society that glorifies everything that goes against God’s Word, stay on track?  Of course, yes; we follow Jesus!  Thank goodness that there are things recorded for us.  Thank God for the Word of God!  (2Peter 2:4-8)  tells us that we have a rescuer; we have a savior.  How do we do it?  We ask the right questions, first of all.  “What is this attitude I’ve developed?”  “Is this sinful or not?”  “What does God say about it?” “Why do I feel like this, am I worried about this, am I envious of this person, etc.?”  When we answer honestly, -and, oh, it’s so hard and painful to do that sometimes –but when we answer honestly, we will always come out on top of the thing.  Even when it doesn’t’ turn out the way we thought it should.  In the end, you’ll be thankful that you didn’t get your way. 

I believe the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount go hand in hand.  The first thing God did was to set the standard and boundaries.  Jesus brought them home to us in the spirit.  The commandments have to do with our deeds; but Jesus spoke about our heart conditions.  For example, loving the LORD, and serving Him only, you see, requires humility.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  To be poor in spirit is to be humble.  Serving the LORD only requires pureness of heart.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  We all know that unbelievers do not see God in anything that happens.  There’s always an explanation for it; be it scientific, or mere coincidence, etc. Both humility and pureness of heart keep us from using the LORD’s Name in vain, don’t’ they?  This is also true regarding the Sabbath Day.  First, it belongs to the LORD and is holy.  Secondly, it is a day of rest for us.  What?  We need to rest?  Now, we’re talking about meekness, or willingness to learn; just as important when it comes to all the other laws (standards and boundaries) that God has set for us.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  May I tell you, I believe that’s not only in the future, but we shall inherit today.  When you are meek enough to learn the way things work, and to care for those things the way they need to be cared for, they will yield their power, substance, etc., to you.  Go watch a farmer or rancher who knows what he’s doing.  When we look at the heart condition(s) involved in our doings, we can more easily learn how to overcome those attitudes, and heart conditions.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, November 29, 2022, 12:04 p.m.