Author: Ashley Gatewood

Complaining Moves the Hand of God – But You’ll Regret It.

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Bread & Butter Morsels, How to Follow Your DreamLeave a comment

Don’t wander in the Desert, move through it to get to your Promise Land.

Want to wander around out there and die of exhaustion? Of course you don’t. The key to not fainting in the desert is to remain faithful to God in seasons of discomfort.

Sometimes life just isn’t fair. I mean, don’t we all think that sometimes? And isn’t ‘fair’ relative? Right, well before getting too upset that you could be doing so much more if only, I’d advise anyone feeling the pressures of life to not complain to God about it.

Israel did that and lived to regret it. After being delivered out of the hands of their Egyptian oppressors, they grew tired of following God in the desert and started complaining. They wanted meat to eat, not the same old manna day after day – you know, that got boring!

I can relate partially. It’s hard when you have to walk through the desert or wilderness in order to make it to your Promised Land. Whatever your goals or dreams may be, you’re going to hit rough patches, character building seasons (that go on and on forever!!) and believe me, I understand.

It’s like ‘let me shed another tear to put in the bottle He keeps with my name on it’ (you do know scripture tells us He collects all our tears in a bottle…I’ll write about that sometime). Be encouraged, this season in the wilderness won’t last forever. And it will make you stronger and build more character than one could imagine.

Another awesome truth to know is this:

The quicker you submit to God’s will and be faithful in the season He’s taking you through, the more expedient your journey will be to your Promised Land.

I can complain, not going to lie. But refocusing that energy into something more positive gets me moving forward and keeps me from reaping the consequences of whatever I’m tempted to complain about. It makes me stronger and builds my endurance in difficult times. Let me get back to the illustration..

So God was feeding Israel with manna from heaven which was sort of like bread they would pound into cakes and boil or cook over a fire and eat. Day after day after day, the same stuff – it’s just like life sometimes, whatever it is we’re doing that makes us weary — diaper after diaper, dirty socks-wash-pickup from floor-fold-wash again, baby puke, (lol, the struggle is real though I wouldn’t personally know. I deal in feline coughed-up fur balls which are pretty gross) pushing papers, fixing computers, answering phones day after day after…

Ooo, don’t complain. Because sure enough, God will hear it. And He heard Israel and called Moses into a meeting. He told Moses, I’ve heard the complaining of the people that they want meat, so they will get it. They will eat meat until it’s coming out of their eyes, ears noses…. (whew, don’t make God angry). So God brought the people quail, and they journeyed out and caught it, loads of it! But there was also another consequence…

Numbers 11, specifically 31-35 but the chapter gives you a good idea of the problem at hand.

But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.

While the meat was still between their teeth…for sure, if we skirt the edge of God’s plan for our lives, when we get what we think we want , then even before we can satiate our appetite with it, there will be consequences to bear. If we shortcut the path God has laid before us, we will not be ready for what we want. We won’t be ready for our dreams and our visions.

Let’s understand a couple of things here:

  1. God still feels the same way about sin, He just deals with us differently now than in the Old Testament due to the work of our Savior Jesus Christ. His mercies endure forever~
  2. God will always give us reprieve in the desert that does not bring sorrow with it.

The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

And here’s is how you get the blessings of God – remain faithful through the difficult times, knowing with surety that God will deliver you from distress.

One of the most powerful verses in scripture on deliverance is also one of my favorites and one that I have used to build my faith and receive the promises of God for my life. So I’m here to tell you, this works and is powerful if you only believe!

“He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16

So beautiful, so lovely and filled with power to deliver. God’s word never returns to Him void. Because it’s truth. But we must remain faithful. No shortcuts — or what was supposed to be our victory will end up a pile of ashes and we might even find we get burned in the process.

Stay true and fixed on God’s word. You’ll get there, one faithful decision at a time~ Until God delivers us and sets us free from our distress~

Featured Photo by Yeo Khee 

Adventures Take Courage

On By Ashley GatewoodIn How to Follow Your DreamLeave a comment

Back in 2009, I decided to sell/donate/trash most everything I owned and move to a remote island for two years to teach Marshallese children on the Island of Ebeye.

I was talking to a client at work and telling them I was leaving and that their account would be in good hands. Chuck was an entrepreneur who made great money and travelled everywhere his heart took him. He was free, satisfied with life and fulfilled.

After telling him of my plans to pretty much insert an intermission in my conventional 9-5 work day and slam the door good-bye on it, I remember Chuck saying, “Wow, now that’s really living right there. You know? You’ll really be living…”

I’ll never forget that – it took me by surprise but he was right. Fear had kept me strapped to a job making money for someone else that I didn’t enjoy doing in the first place. There was no reward, no sense of satisfaction or fulfillment for me.

Just money to pay the bills, steady income to stay independent and ugh! The boredom of it all!

For some people, this is a perfectly fulfilling life and they don’t want anything crazy or out of the ordinary. That’s great and I wish I was more like that sometimes – it isn’t easy never being satisfied with a life that’s so readily available. Why do I have to pine away for adventure, new experiences and something beyond the normal day to day routine of work– eat-sleep- do it all over again? Why do I feel this way about it?

Writing helps – painting helps – of course traveling eases the tension within my soul but it’s just not enough – I still feel fettered by this thing called ‘work’. I find no sense of freedom in it because it isn’t satisfying for me.

So many people break out of it and become entrepreneurs – how is it I can’t manage this? I think I get comfortable with the ‘easy’ and I fear losing out and having to start again. Which is odd because I’ve already done that once and I’m more blessed now than before my little island intermission.

I’m kind of using this blog to hone in on what exactly I’m desiring and how I’m going to attain it – changing your life around takes time and a lot of planning. Instead of journalling I’ll blog it because maybe I can help somebody somewhere out there who feels the same way I do. And that will make me happy – because that’s what I enjoy doing!

I love the satisfaction of work in general- it’s fulfilling….when I’m being creative and/or helping others I find satisfaction in that. Not so much anything else. The rest of it is total monotony. Pushing papers that helps no one, fighting computer glitches, printer malfunctions, slaving through the day so that I can…..turn around and do it all again tomorrow. I’ve helped no one better themselves, I’ve encouraged no one, I’ve created absolutely nothing and so it’s just dead to me.

If I can offer any inspiration, don’t give up on your dream, keep it in your sight. When you give up, you lose. Better to try and go for it and lose – at least you’ll learn something in the process and be ready to go for it again having learned from any mistakes and being stronger the second time around.

I just think life is too precious and the people that are in need are too vast to just sit behind a desk pushing papers. I need to make a contribution for the kingdom of God. God’s got a plan – I’m just going to have to be diligent in searching, patient in waiting and remain faithful right where I am until it comes to fruition and God (or is it me?) is ready to move~

Unconventional Thinking: The Potential of a Seed

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Unconventional ThinkingLeave a comment

Without seeds, we wouldn’t have Earth, we’d have Mars. There would be nothing to sustain life. A single seed is a powerful creation of God because inside one seed is the ability to produce multiple seeds after it’s own kind. Plant one tomato seed and it won’t just produce one tomato for you to eat, but multiple tomatoes containing a multitude of seeds – which you can then replant – and thus the cycle of multiplication, abundance and continual supply is set in motion.

Corrupt Seed That We Don’t Want

Satan works to stop anything that produces good results. He will either change it to produce evil results or simply bring death. A superior example of this is the Monsanto soybean. It’s a genetically modified seed which, when planted, will produce a soybean plant that is edible. The evil of this creation is that the seeds produced from the plant have no reproduction life in them. The code of life God placed in the seed has been genetically knocked out of the DNA strand.

In other words, plant one seed, get one plant, then death. You must purchase more genetically modified seeds produced by Monsanto if you want to plant and eat again. The devil takes life out of everything he can. Take note of this. (The implications of this is the setup for the One-World government that is coming – which is a different topic altogether so let me stay focused…)

The True Nature of God’s Creation is in a Seed

Now, we have God’s seed which is perfect and beautiful and creates life for others and within itself is abundance. The power of the seed is self-contained and it has it’s own DNA. One can never plant a tomato seed and reap a harvest of green beans.

The other mystery about a seed – which contains so much life within itself – is that it must die before it can produce anything. Jesus said,

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

So in the kingdom of God, seed is many things and incredibly powerful. As Christians, we are the multiplication, the harvest, the fruit of Jesus falling into the ground, dying and rising again on the third day. Satan thought by killing Jesus he would end his own misery and win – to his dismay, Jesus was then multiplied in every direction as God’s word spread and watered the seeds of the harvest of the Gentiles.

Jesus also said if we have the faith of a mustard seed, the tiniest seed of all, we can move mountains! How is this possible, you ask? The genetics of God’s seed is a powerful force my friend. It confounds the wise and saves the simple!

More on the process of how to plant a seed and what you should be doing during the waiting season before your harvest.

Now, let’s look deeper into what faith is because it’s easy to get it confused with hope.

How Our Faith Works is Just Like a Seed

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.”

First of all, if it is the substance of hope, then it is not hope, but altogether separate. Secondly, it isn’t just a feeling or state of mind like hope because it refers to tangible things: substance and evidence.

When we have faith in something, we are taking an action as a result of the hope we believe in our hearts. And that action displayed in the natural world is the evidence of that which you are waiting and hoping.

Here’s an example: Peter clearly saw Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a raging storm. He hoped he also could walk on water and not sink – the action of stepping out of the boat into the ocean was faith in it’s purest form. Hope is an attitude on the inside, in your heart and mind – faith is you taking action (evidence) on that hope and the substance for Peter was his ability to then walk on water.

Here’s a secret (which isn’t really a secret, it’s scripture): Faith works by love. Because as soon as Peter looked around him and feared, he sunk.

Without this understanding of a seed, of faith, and of hope, then the fruit of the seed won’t be seen. To go one layer deeper (like that phenomenal movie Inception) if the seed is corrupt, or isn’t sown into good soil, misses and hits the sidewalk, isn’t protected and gets eaten by fowl, or not tended to and the thorns choke it out – then there will be no harvest produced. Or worse, a corrupted harvest is produced. This idea in the kingdom of God is exceptionally powerful either way you use it, so be cautious.

Plant Good Seed for a Good Harvest

And here is why: scripture says, “God will not be mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that will he also reap.”

This goes for all seed, all deeds, all things good or evil – they will be reaped by the sower who planted them.

So you thought living for God was some stodgy ‘ole religious practice of counting rosaries, penance and rehearsing a prewritten prayer or two? Perhaps thinking that God is miles away ‘somewhere up there’? Well welcome to a completely opposite reality, it’s nothing of the sort! You want manmade religion? You’ll find it in most churches-noun-place today with their rituals and time schedules and formalities – what a bore!

God is alive and active upon this Earth and with His people. The powerful Third Person of the Trinity is with us today (who makes us His living temple 1 Corith 6:19). Living the Christian life is nothing like Religion has made it out to be. God is far too intelligent for that rubbish…

One Tiny Seed Can Change The World

That tiny seed you hold in your hand – with God – it can move an entire mountain. It can pull up a tree by its roots and plant it in the sea. Miraculous altogether!

But only…….if you believe.

The next installment we’ll talk more about what a seed planted in your heart can do because there is seed given by God and there is seed corrupted by the devil. We want the good, positive life of God’s word to produce from out of our hearts and mouth.

For whatsoever a woman thinks in her heart and speaks with her mouth so is she…….Proverbs 23.7

Plant good seed. Reap a good life.

Until next time~

Featured Photo by Hean Prinsloo 

Unconventional Thinking and Following Your Call In Life

On By Ashley GatewoodIn How to Follow Your Dream, Unconventional ThinkingLeave a comment

Being unconventional can get you into a load of trouble with humans. It can also be a powerful tool in a boring, (even dangerous) lemming-like society.

I’ve never been one for following the crowd, and as long as I am quiet everything is fine. But I’m usually not quiet. And when you begin blazing a trail in the opposite direction, and those conventional humans start seeing it, (even seeing you doing well at it) you’ll receive plenty of flack.

Many people choose to follow the mainstream because their parents and grandparents did. If it worked for them and they are happy, then they made the right decision… for their life!

I. Never. Wanted. That.

The problem is, I see people resigning their lives to the pressure of the mainstream. That’s different than making a decision to do so. Mainstream is intolerant of unconventional ideas and ways of thinking.

Seventy-five years ago in 1945, getting married, having children, holding down a good with a pension, (or if you were a woman, keeping house and husband and kids at the expense of your own desires), was all the rage. It’s what a contemporary American family looked like. No more. And I like to challenge people and why they believe the way they do and why they’ve made the choices they’ve made – oh boy! That’s a crowd pleaser, let me tell you!

But I do care. I care that people 1. Get out of this way of thinking if they want to, but if not 2. Don’t impose this way of thinking on others, which decreases one’s value as an individual person and limits people’s potential.

It is a difficult balance to keep: not caring what people think about me and yet, showing people that I care for them. Fortunately, I did a pretty good job of staying out of the clutches of traditional, conventional living.

Alas, but not quite.

Here I find myself – again – in a daily corporate grind. It is an unhappy place for me. Think about this: eight hours of the best part of the day spent making someone else lots of money. Pushing papers. Calculating totals, Excel spreadsheets, emails, phone calls….working for a paycheck is not freedom. Just try to leave at 2 in the afternoon and go enjoy a hike for the rest of the day without telling anyone. Just try sleeping in until 8am, then instead of getting in your car and rushing to work because your late, you head to the park, or shopping or anything – you’ll be getting a phone call. Or your ears boxed tomorrow.

Or maybe even a pink slip.

Oh, you can do whatever you like, but there’ll be consequences for it.

Lack of freedom is anyone or anything capable of dictating to you how your time is to be spent without you having a choice to agree to it or power to refuse it.

Work is important. Very important. But so is satisfaction and especially what you are called to do in this short life you’ve been given. God’s Calling over your life isn’t to be taken lightly. It’s serious business..

The Calling is a pull – a steady desire of your heart that you want to fulfill or that you feel drawn towards. It could be broad or specific but it will not let you go. The sad thing is, many people let the Calling go because they see no other way to get out of societal judgment, the corporate grind, the conventional machine, the daily slog of humanity to make a living.

Forget. That.

I found my way out once with God’s help. I’ll find my way out again.

Let me also say here, that sometimes there are silent, unnoticed seasons God will take us through to prepare us for the Calling over our lives. We’ll talk more about this later, but the Bible does say, ‘despise not small beginnings’. The critical issue is not giving up your dreams because you see no way out. Determine in your heart that giving up is not an option for you! God will show you how to overcome the situations you encounter so you can move into the blessings He has for you.

The problem can sometimes be people, especially when they don’t think like you. Most people find unconventional thinkers an affront to their carefully indoctrinated, socially-accepted lives. But when these people are our friends, family or mentors, we’ll listen to them, be made to feel guilty by them, have our value decreased or be made to feel foolish or selfish and before we know it, bam!, right back into the slog we go…

After all, who are you to have something different and better? Or maybe they don’t understand that their ‘happy’ is not your ‘happy’? Or perhaps they had to give up their dreams to fit in, and their hope of a better happier life in order to be socially accepted — so you should too! Because what does that say about them if you get out and blaze a better trail when they did not? You should suffer the same way they still suffer…

No. Way.

I just cannot accept less than what my heart is longing for – it’s what God put there to begin with and I must find it. Is your heart burning for something more powerful that will impact people’s lives in a great and meaningful way? Don’t forsake that desire in your heart. It’s probably your Calling.

Time. Oh Lord help me. I am starved for time. My energy is taken from me during the 8-5 workday, performing for something other than what my heart desires.

When I was in my 20s and 30s I had time and plenty of left over energy! Not so much anymore. Listen, isn’t your time more valuable than sitting behind a desk helping no one in any meaningful way? Time affords us the ability to think, invent, write, encounter, discover all kinds of things which in turn, brings the world around us to a better place. Try doing all that behind a desk, pushing papers and trying to figure out which cell has the wrong formula in that God forsaken Excel spreadsheet…there are only so many hours in a day, and even less productive hours…

Remember, what ever it is you’re working to obtain is also what you are exchanging your life for.

Think about this: how many years of your life did you exchange for that car you are driving? How about the phone your holding in your hand right now?

If you made $50,000 last year and your car cost you $50,000, well then, every hour of every day you worked for a solid year was exchanged for that car. It doesn’t matter how many months you spread the payment over.

It seems unfair, but it isn’t – some people can work one month, earning fifty-thousand dollars and exchange one month of their life for a car. It’s just how the world works down here.

The choice then, that we all have is this, “what can I do to make my life more satisfying and rewarding right where I am?”

Trust me, you don’t need to be rich to be satisfied and live a fulfilling and rewarding life. Listen to King Solomon when he said that much wisdom can bring much sadness. Money can also bring its own oppression.

Because money isn’t the answer. Freedom is the answer.

We also must face the truth that in many ways, money is freedom. Or it can at least buy you financial freedom to pursue what you want. But many get slogged down and miss the beat. Money can work for you or against you. And you don’t need money to find your Call or work in a field that is fulfilling and satisfies you personally. Understand that money is only a tool and half the battle is won.

Hold on tight. We’re going to get into a lot of unconventional thinking in the next several weeks/months that encompasses more than just work and the daily grind. Is your work fulfilling and satisfying and at the end of the day helping others and pushing the envelope to make this world a better place? Then thank God for that! We will all benefit from your valuable time being spent doing something awesome for the world. But let’s not stop there because God has so much more for us! And when we are done, we may just find ourselves a little more free and a little closer to living in the Call of God that is over our lives. Until next time…

Be well, be free~

Feature Photo by Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash

The Prophecy June 5th, 2020

On By Ashley GatewoodIn The End TimesLeave a comment

The Interpretation

Eli: The dead and blind church. The religious church.

Eli’s Sons: The behavior the dead church has allowed for 2000 years: killing, slaughter, genocide, hate, arrogance that kills, lust for dominion, greed, leading people searching for God into white-washed sepulchers.

The Philistines: Any worldly system. In this prophecy, specifically refers to leaders, officers, appointed representatives of any United States Political Party. Not the people who are governed by them, but those in leadership positions, appointed, with power and who are holding an office who have committed offensive acts against God’s people.

The Ark: What constitutes the presence of God, a representation of Him and what He stands for. In this prophecy, having been taken unrightfully and used by the Philistines to garner power, mainly political, and for selfish gain.

Dagon: The Philistines’ god, or capitalism at the expense of the impoverished, greed and power for selfish gain.

The King (any President/Leader) that touts the Holy Bible (Ark) to gain favor: God being placed in the same temple with the god Dagon.

Biblical references:

Eli: 1 Samuel 4:12-22

Eli’s Sons: 1 Samuel 2:12-21

The Philistines and the Ark: 1 Samuel 5: 1-12

Trump: King Saul 1 Samuel 8:6-18, 1 Samuel 13:6-14 and 1 Samuel 15:24-29

The Prophecy

And the Lord says,

“Ready yourselves, for I will break Dagon. The Philistines will be punished for taking what they thought was a dead god into their camp, thereby leading My people into captivity and thus defeating them. Along with Dagon, Eli also will fall and break his neck for all the evil he has done in My name when I had nothing to do with it. Depart from me for I have not known you – for Eli will be broken and the Ark returned to My people.

“Arise and thresh O Daughter of Zion! And I shall make your horn iron; and I shall make your hooves bronze and you shall beat into pieces many nations and consecrate their gain to the Lord, and their substance to the Lord of the whole Earth. My Spirit will move over My people like a mighty wind, over the waters of My people and a great awakening will begin. I have reserved for Myself a people for this purpose.

“Hear Me, you do not belong to any system of this world, no system with its foundations rooted in this world. You are My people, and your kingdom is not of this world but a heavenly kingdom not temporal but eternal. This is your inheritance.

“Separate and consecrate yourselves to Me and free yourself from earthly securities. Do not put your trust in them. You are not defined by this world, your reflection is not of this world but I have called you unto Myself, A chosen people in My image. Do not follow Saul who, when he sinned, sought the forgiveness of the people and not of Me – and thus his kingdom was stripped from his hands. But you are in need of no earthly king to lead you – for surely those who follow Saul will suffer loss when I have judged him according to his deeds. But be led of the Spirit who was sent to you as a gift from heaven.

“Don’t be led astray or deceived – there is nothing for you in the world’s kingdom and indeed it is even now passing away from under your feet. The nations rage, do you not discern it? But your kingdom is spiritual and not temporal, but eternal. This is your inheritance.

“Therefore, detangle yourself from that which is perishing and passing away; from earthly things – seek not security and sanctuary in them for they are fading away. Arise and pray. Be sure-footed in Me, who conquered all your enemies; even now I rest My feet upon them. Anoint your eyes that you may see the futile hope of this passing world and rejoice in the eternal everlasting promise that is yours in Me. It is the co-heir’s inheritance”,

says the Lord.

Like Invisible Ink

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Futurism, Speculation, Opinion, The End TimesLeave a comment

Sometimes the mind can play tricks on us. We can look at something and think we know what we see, when in reality, there’s something else just under the surface. We are uncomfortably aware that something isn’t quite right about what we are seeing, but because our eyes can’t focus on two things at once, it’s hard to shift perspective and see the image within the image.

A double-exposure photo is a good analogy. An image developed overtop a more prominent image. Until your mind discerns the difference, you feel a distraction but can’t put your finger on it. The more subtle the image, the harder to discern between the two.

Remember the Invisible Marker Pads you got as a kid from the Dime Store back in the ’80s? A pad filled with blank pages and empty spaces until you touched it with the invisible ink marker and a number or word magically appeared where there was nothing.

COVID is like that invisible ink.

On the surface, the virus is an invisible organism sweeping the globe and causing panic, fear and economic disruptions. But behind the scientific description of what it is and its direct impact (an organism that is of the SARS-CoV-2 strain and which infects humans causing illness and possible death) its indirect impact is not so noticeable, but nevertheless highly potent.

Covid is indirectly drawing lines which before were invisible or at least easily ignorable to most. Entitlement of the rich, the self-indulgent greed of the powerful, a distastful arrogance within the church, the privilege of class, and the ultimate disregard for the poor and underprivileged. It’s bringing to the surface hard lines of who should be first and who isn’t worthy to be first but should wait their turn because they don’t have 1. the status 2. the wealth 3. the importance 4. the right 5. the understanding 6. the education, and the list goes on and on.

This disease drills down into temperaments, egos, greed, entitlement, compassion, empathy, sacrifice and basic rights verses basic ethics. The nature of humankind is being tested down to an individual’s personality which is being drawn upon by the invisible ink of an unseen organism, exposing what is just below the surface. It’s like humankind has been cornered and there’s no easy way out.

Need to get the economy going again? Well then you don’t care about human life.

Need to care more for human life? Well then, you don’t care about the living, because what if I lose my job, lose my home, lose my car or have no money to feed my family?

Doesn’t everyone have the right to live?

Doesn’t every law abiding American have the right to be free?

Where do we draw all the lines? How do we draw them?

No worries…the invisible ink is doing it for us….

We humans pride ourselves on finding solutions to difficult problems, taking action and solving those problems effectively. In fact, there’s plenty of money to be made if you have the skill and knowledge to perform a task that others can’t. We are rewarded and take pride in that. But then we can get prideful – “well if I can’t do it, I’ll make sure no one else does either. If it’s solvable, I’ll be sure I’m the only one who solves it, even if I have to sacrifice morals or undercut the competition in an unethical way or hinder progress at the expense of the greater good – I’ll be first and only! Even if I have to destroy others.”

Then suddenly something comes along and begins exacting a price for this behavior. That price is death and no one knows how to address the issue. And the pride we have developed only makes the effort to stop it worse – it’s as if the virus grows and morphs on the food of pride, arrogance, cheating, competitiveness and indignant behavior – the only attributes with which we’ve learned to succeed and win are the same ones that are causing us to lose. So now what?

Humility is perhaps the key – but who on Earth cares to understand how to humble oneself? It’s a spiritual word with modern connotations of defeat, powerlessness and ignorance. Higher educational systems don’t teach this word in classrooms…wait, do they? Who cares about humility anyway – kick that weak word to the curb! We need strong powerful women and men to show the world who’s really boss, take over governments and positions of authority and be obstinate — no pansies! Humility is for pansies, that’s it.

When someone takes control of their own inner self, these are the actions s/he may take:

Humble: having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.

Humility: a modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness.

Those who choose not to take control of themselves usual have power exerted over them by those who are in positions of power (and this can be within family units, not just society at large) and this is the action that gets exerted over them:

To be Humbled: lower (someone) in dignity or importance.

Humiliation: the action of humiliating someone or the state of being humiliated

So then, we can either humble ourselves in any given circumstance, or we can be humbled by someone (or something) else who has the authority to do so. And for someone who has the ultimate uncontested power to humble others without being humbled? Well, one must look no further than a being once called Lucifer to see that there truly is only One who holds that position. Thinking he was above God, Lucifer rose up against Him in pride and like lightening, fell from the heavens to the earth in disgrace. Bad day right there.

Jesus, who is God in the flesh was described as meek and mild. And don’t confuse the word meek with weak. So then, the One who is the meekest and mildest is the only One who has supreme authority to humble without being humbled. Interesting I would say; beautifully ironic in fact.

Let me ask this question: What do you think about a tiny invisible organism so fragile that washing your hands for a mere 20 seconds destroys it, yet it is destroying trillion dollar economies and undermining the sense of safety and wellbeing of all humankind – stalking them even into their private homes?

Pride most certainly comes before a fall. In scripture, God beseeches His followers to humble themselves and pray. Why do you think He does this? To show them who’s boss? To make them feel terrible about themselves? Most certainly not the case. Humbleness is the key to changing a current circumstance, whatever that circumstance may be.

In 2020, its a pandemic.

So in this pandemic, it appears our pride and arrogance is being humbled by something so small we can’t even see it. Is it slightly bothersome that the only apparent way to approach this is to humble oneself? Or would a raucous rebellion here on Earth against our fellow neighbors and those in authority work better, you know, to kill something that a little dish soap can kill?

God is waiting.

It’s not about killing the virus. It’s not about showing the government we have the right or the privilege or the strength to do as we please. It’s not about shaming others when we have no idea what they are really going through. Instead, it’s considering what someone else may need and that what they need is important too. It’s about humbling ourselves and before God and asking Him to intervene on behalf of all people because no human arrogance, willfulness, power or entitlement is going to work against such a tiny, fragile, invisible marker.

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Featured photo by Elijah Hiett 

One Pebble at a Time

On By Ashley GatewoodIn For Artists and Creative Folk2 Comments

I paint on a tight schedule. One finished watercolor per week is what I am trying to achieve and unless I get better at it quickly, it’s going to be only one per month. Patience and persistence are key and I’m working on both of those.

I’ve had two paintings in the past two weeks not turn out. I learn a lot by making mistakes but it’s a frustrating way to go. Of course one can also learn by reading and studying. I’m not sure which takes more time in the long run, but it certainly feels a lot better to learn and execute successfully without making the mistake in the first place.

Albeit, the best skill to know how to execute quickly is forgiving oneself.

So the above painting doesn’t work, even though I still like it. Each one has their own personality and I don’t really have much to do with that, oddly enough. But I clearly made the mistake of running the mane down over the shoulder – and purple isn’t easy to control for some reason. So I over did it big time. Not to mention I don’t always plan ahead where I want a brushstroke 🙂 I should get better at that.

If horse manes were mullets….

I traced the composition and started again. I was satisfied with this outcome but the personality is different. Even though it’s the exact same composition, the expression changed. Anyway, I have SO much to learn! And so many ideas in my mind I want to do but don’t have the technique down yet. His adorable perky ears are endearing…

Though he kinda resembles a Manga comic…lol! Must be the spiky mane~

Make it a great week beautiful people~

Freedom 2020

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Bread & Butter Morsels, How to Follow Your DreamLeave a comment

 I don’t usually do the typical New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, I have a theme which usually builds on the year before. I spend the month of January focusing my prayer on it – what I want to do differently, what I want in my life (what/who I want out of it) etc, and after writing a brief note-to-self, I tuck it away and let it go. Because honestly, I’m going to forget, but God never forgets.

End of year, I pull the note out and see just how intricately God has weaved the results of those prayers into my life. Some of the most important unfolding events were the ones that I wanted and He stopped – I have found myself more thankful for those things than actually receiving the desires of my heart. God saves us from all evil if we allow Him too. Oh sure, I get frustrated and hurt sometimes, but once I see what awesome thing I thought was behind ‘Curtain No. One” I thank God He kept me from it.

God always opens other doors more suited to us and our purpose.

Sometimes we get stuck viewing life only one way. We get too focused on the means in order to obtain the end we want, and we lose site of how creative and infinitely intelligent God is. We think something can only be resolved one way and God is saying, ‘Trust Me and I’ll show you many ways which are better for you.” Fear holds us back – we fear the unknown so we stick with what we know (which limits God) in order to stay comfortable.

“Comfort and a fear of the unknown keep us stunted and living a less fulfilled life.”

So this year’s theme for me is Freedom. I hope you try this approach instead of the conventional NY Resolutions and see how it works in your life. You’ll be surprised at just how present and attuned God is to you and how your prayers really work powerful results!

Love and Blessings to you in the upcoming year 2020!

Love One Another

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Bread & Butter Morsels4 Comments

I don’t think a person can love someone and be ashamed of them at the same time. Maybe I’m wrong? Love and shame don’t seem to mix. Love draws a person in closer while shame pushes them away. Shame runs into the darkness but love is happy to show itself because it has nothing to hide. Shame endures nothing and breaks easily. Love endures all things; always hopes, always trusts.

Love never fails.

Surround yourself with people who love you – the real you – and not people who are ashamed of you. And be sure you are not carrying shame towards yourself or who you are; who God made you to be. The world needs who you were created to be. Don’t beat yourself up for not being perfect – no one is perfect. Be at peace with who you are and know that God loves you right where you are; and He wants you to love him right now where you are, on the journey, halfway there, imperfection and all, He doesn’t mind because you are His child and He accepts you.

Let’s learn to accept others for who they are. Shame doesn’t bring healing to anyone – it is love that heals the soul.

New Beginning; New Order; New Creation

On By Ashley GatewoodIn Futurism, Speculation, Opinion, The End TimesLeave a comment

The Billion Threshold

From the Dawn of Creation until 1805 the earth populated to 1 Billion people. That means, from as early as we have record (and I say might as well just count from Adam and Eve) until 1805, it took approximately six- to ten- thousand years to reach this number.

According to this study on LiveScience website, here’s how the numbers breakdown:

1805 – 1 Billion

1927 – 2 Billion

1959 – 3 Billion

1974 – 4 Billion

1987 – 5 Billion

1999 – 6 Billion

2011 – 7 Billion

2025 – 8 Billion???

The Fullness of the Gentiles

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  Romans 11.25

So, here’s what I thought was so interesting.  It took almost 10,000 years to reach 1 Billion humans, but – and make much of this – it took only 200 years to add an additional 6 BILLION PEOPLE.

There is no doubt in my mind; if in any bygone era, there has ever been ‘the fullness of the gentiles’ the age is NOW.  This is the end of all ages.

Once the fullness of the gentiles has come in, the end of the age will be at hand. And right now we are in the number seven.  We are at the precipice. Seven Billion people currently inhabit the earth and the number is steadily rising towards 8, even as birth rates have begun to decline. Seven in Biblical terms means completion, God’s perfect number; it’s tied to the idea of all God’s creation and it being good.

Eight is the number signifying New Beginnings, New Order, and New Creation. There’s something in this. Something here that is significant; that number holds a new order within it.  Is it the One World Order that will precede, according to scripture, the Second Coming of Christ?  Is it the New Heavens and New Earth that God has promised after the end of the age? Perhaps all these events will come to fruition within those years when the human race hits 8 Billion signifying a New Beginning. Perhaps not. But one thing is for sure, time will ever flow into ALL of God’s prophecies, all of God’s words and all things will come to pass that He has spoken. Time will not erode His words.

The Next Move of God upon the Earth

All I know is that the door has swung open as wide as it’s going to swing and the harvest is ready; God is waiting for His workers to thresh, take the winnowing fan of Jesus and thoroughly clean out His threshing floor! Gather the wheat for the time is here, the separation has begun.  The Spirit of God is rising and His breath will blow mightily across the fields of the nations to separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats, so be ready servants of God – you harvesters! – to bundle up what belongs to God and gather the nations ill-gotten gain to consecrate it to the Lord, the God of all Creation.john-such-493478-unsplash

His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. ~Matthew 3. 12-14