Hey...it's been a few days again.  I promise I haven't forgotten any of you I've just been keeping busy and not on long enough to sit down and write here.  I will catch up.  I am doing well though.  I'm going to share a devotional I just read and then I'm going to do my regular entry. The Greatest  August 8, 2008  Key Passage: Matthew 12:22-37  Topic: Jesus; Evil  "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house." (Matthew 12:28-29, ESV)   We tend to look at the battle between Jesus and Satan as a match between equals. Like two boxing champs who are similar in weight, height and, hopefully, skill. So, the fight could go either way.   But that's not really the case. Satan may throw his weight around, brag up his abilities, but he's always outmatched and overpowered by Jesus. Even at a word, Jesus can throw off the evil one.   He does it here, with a man possessed by a demon that had made him blind and mute. But with a single command, the demon is tossed out and the man's sight and voice are restored.   You may be caught up in addictions, bad habits and the influence of evil in your life. You may feel like you're chained up and weighted down, that Satan's too strong and you'll never get free from his power. But you don't have to live this way.    Call on Jesus. He is the greater power, the strong man who can overcome the forces of evil. And when He comes into your life, He "cleans house" so the Holy Spirit can take up residence. You see, you now belong to God. The things that have a hold on you are replaced with what's good and true and light and free. Look at 1 John 4:4: "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (ESV).   Jesus is the greater power, far beyond anything Satan can muster. And with Him in your life, victory is a sure thing!     Like what you're reading? Forward this e-mail to a friend!  Contact Ushttp://www.notreligion.com/index.php/Contact-Us/NotReligion.html Privacy Statementhttp://www.notreligion.com/index.php/Privacy-Policy.html NotReligionhttp://www.notreligion.com ~~~~ That just really hit me tonight.  I know so many people struggling with various things including myself and really we already have the answers on how to overcome these things.  It takes work but with God anything is possible.  Yeah, sometimes it's still a battle...because Satan is sneaky that way...but we should already believe that we've won the battle if we have God on our side.   Anyhow...that's that on that.  I'm doing well overall.  Time of the month hit me as a surprise this month.  I didn't realize the last few months it's been shifting earlier and earlier each month and so it sort of snuck up on me.  When I started I thought I was about a week early but then I looked in my book and nope...right on time.  Funny how that is.  This time it didn't really affect my moods much but it totally knocked the energy right out of me for a day and a half.  I was no good at all for doing anything.  Thankfully today my energy is back to a decent amount.  Hey, I'm not complaining I didn't get major cramps either so I'll take the day of total vegging over the cramps and moodiness.  Now I don't know if this is hormone related or Satan being a bully related...but I do get those negative thoughts creeping in a little more often the last few days but I tell Satan to go away and ask Jesus for peace and it seems to help.  I get bad thoughts about the past and how I wasn't suppose to live through stuff I did and vivid memories of things I've done and different things...but they are short lived and I know I have the power over those thoughts, not the other way around.  Twice I've been close to tears and briefly thought about cutting (nothing I'd act on) but hey I believe that's just a certain someone trying to get in my head and it ain't gonna happen.   And he wants me to be blaming it on time of the month when it probably really isn't that at all. Anyhow...enough of that... My friend came over a few days ago...and my oldest sister and my oldest nephew and his girlfriend.  I love being able to have people stop in.  This place is so much cosier and welcoming and we still haven't even got it finished up yet.  I just love it here.  I am so happy.  After my sister, nephew and his girlfriend left, my friend and I went to find a cache (geocache) that was nearby my place and then went to the bus stop only to find out we just missed it so we decided to run into the discount store.  It was fun.  I could spend so much time in there they have a little bit of everything.  The clothing you have to be careful with since a lot of it is damaged...brand name stuff that was ripped/cut while opening boxes.  Stuff like that.  But most of the stuff is good just discontinued stock at reduced cost.  Totally dangerous place I tell ya.  Haha.  Thankfully we didn't have much time.  After that I went to her house to hang out and meet the last kitten.  He slept on me most of the night.  But I had to hand him over after a bit so I could play with their daughter and read her a bedtime story, she wanted me to read it...and then cuddle.  Haha...I loved it.  It's so much easier to get to and from their place now too...just 1 bus each way...no transfers.  Yay! Thursday I went to my family doctors for the liquid nitrogen treatment on my toe.  OMGosh that was bruttle...and I'm not joking.  I asked her to get around the edges better...which of course is the thinner skin and wow...can we say painful.  It seems like a simple enough process but I'm not joking when I say I'd rather get a bone marrow biopsy done every couple of weeks instead of this.  At least with that they freeze you and the pain for me after was minimal (like a bruise).  Of course I didn't help things any by walking all around the grocery store waiting for prescriptions to be filled.  Within a few hours my toe, not even were it was treated, but my whole toe was so red and swollen and full of pressure that I had to take ibuprofen...which did dull the pain enough right around the same time my energy dropped and I fell asleep...only to awaken to finding out my period started.  Gosh.  Haha.  I wanted to check the mail and hobbled down the stairs okay...but it took all I had to get back up clutching onto the railings.  Haha...I probably woulda done better to crawl.  Anyhow, I guess it kinda worked out that time of the month happened at the same time as the treatment so I didn't have to walk on it at all Friday. Friday was a total wipe off.  Did nothing....and I must say it felt great.  I just vegged.  Didn't leave the apartment all day.  I don't know what I did...think I might've had a nap...maybe I had the nap Friday...not Thursday.  Ahhh...my memory sucks.  Anyway, it wasn't a productive day.  Yeah...I think the nap was Friday.  But the monthly cycle was definitely starting on Thursday.  I think Thursday may have been the night I rearranged my room.  Or started to anyway.  I'm not done yet.  I'm confused. Today the energy came back, but obviously the memory hasn't.  :P  I got up at a decent time, just had a slow but semi productive morning.  Had a shower, did my toe nails, went to the mall to pick up a few necessities and a few non-necessities.  5 minute walk to the mall = danger.  Haha...but I'm doing pretty good.  Most of what I got I needed/will need.  Something else was something I wanted for over a week (ie. not an impulse buy) and I had a gift card to use up anyway, and the other was a sorta of treat....uhmm...iced caps from Timmies are a necessity aren't they?  :P  Anyway, my sister discovered a futon that her neighbors were selling today and so I ended up buying it.  So my parents brought that in and we had quite the time moving it up the stairs.  But it is so nice, makes our place look even more homey.  Lots of seating for people to come over.  Then mom and dad and I went to supper....mmm...yummy.  Honey pineapple chicken with sweet potato fries...so good.  And then we came back and my friend and I had to move a super heavy tv down two flights of stairs to my parents truck.  Afterwards my friend and I put in a movie, Rudy, but we were too tired to finish it.  Or well...she was...so we will finish it another night.  My sleepy pills are starting to kick in so I so take advantage of them and just go to bed.  Attempt 2 at making it to church since I moved.  Last week was unsuccessful.