Linda Vogt Turner

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

Did Mr. Scrooge and the Grinch steal your Christmas?

As the Christmas Story goes, three wise men some say were priests, others say were kings others say were astrologers bring gifts to the newly birthed Jesus 12 days before. Did Mr. Scrooge and the Grinch steal your Christmas and keep you standing outside in the dark and cold looking in? It is hard to celebrate Christmas when the story doesn’t bring you food, warm clothing and safe cozy lodgings. My wish for all my readers this year, is that they find the love of Jesus and nurture it as they would a brand new baby.

Linda Vogt Turner-Author, Faith Based Speaker:

Did Mr. Scrooge and the Grinch steal your Christmas?

Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch are laughable characters. ?Death is not. Death comes to countless numbers of people every year at Christmas. So does unemployment or the loss of one’s home. Many people watched TV movies hoping for the promise of sugar plums and gifts and making it home in time to reconnect with family. Many were disappointed. They just couldn’t see any hope. Christmas came…and God didn’t wow them with a miracle.

Where is the hope of Christmas when death or some personal let down comes like a Scrooge or a Grinch? Can the Christmas Story bring hope to those facing hard times?

As the Christian Story goes, Mary is pregnant with a miracle—an immaculate conception.? Should the authorities find out about Mary and Joseph, they and Mary’s gift could be killed. Miraculously they escape the death grip of the…

View original post 750 more words

The Lid on the Story: Jesus and Nicodemus

Linda Vogt Turner-Author, Faith Based Speaker:

The Story of Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3: 1-21) can trap the unsuspecting Christian reader and leave him or her in darkness. It represents the Truth the Church is afraid to proclaim or cannot proclaim because of those who insist Jesus was a celibate “straight” male. Under the cover of darkness, Jesus and the Teacher met alone. The Sunday School or Sunday Club version says the Teacher’s love for Jesus was platonic.

The Sunday School version puts a lid on the story. The Teacher’s love for Jesus is more than platonic and this should be “good news”. This Johannine story is linked to the Rich Person and the “Good” Teacher story of Mark’s Gospel chapter 10:17. Do not let others dissuade you. Believe me. These texts are linked and they are also linked to the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19: 1-10.? Jesus the “good” Teacher and member of the…

View original post 916 more words

Home Improvement

Ken Weliever and his wife Norma Jean recently took a trip to Jerusalem. They are blessed and Ken’s blog posts are a blessing to many of his readers. Ken’s blogs from Jerusalem brought Jerusalem to me and others who are not so blessed to be able to travel abroad.

Walking on water, travelling across oceans and rivers is extremely difficult for people who are not financially independent or funded by foundations. It is easy for funded people travelling in the boat with Jesus to say…where’s your faith? You Ken do it.

This week Ken Weliever’s blog brought Home Improvement to my attention. https://thepreachersword.com/

Ken and his wife Norma Jean spent the weekend in South River Ontario where Ken presented a sermon series on Home Improvement to a Brethren congregation.

Here are snippets from Ken’s post:

Regarding our homes, it’s very easy to see how our spouse could improve. Or our children. Or our parents. But what about us? American businessman Bo Bennett once quipped, “Spend some time this weekend on home improvement; improve your attitude toward your family.” How can I be more loving? More patient? More responsible? And less irritable? Less demanding? Less self-absorbed?

I often hear people criticize local churches. Every attendee is an expert on how the church can improve. We critique the preacher. The song leader. The announcer. The Bible class teacher. And the men leading prayer and those serving the Lord’s supper. We evaluate the friendliness and hospitality of the brethren and the way visitors are received.

But what about you and me? Are we adding value to the local church? Are we doing our best? Serving? Teaching? Encouraging? Edifying? Using our talents? Extending hospitality? Speaking to others? Fervently worshiping? And joyfully engaging in fellowship?

The areas of improvement are obvious to us when observing the lives of other Christians, but less apparent in our own lives. To modernize the quote of Robert Burns, “Oh, the gift that God could give us, to see ourselves as others see us.” But even more importantly would that we pray the prayer of David, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart” (Ps 26:2).

In order to improve, we must see ourselves as God sees us. We must believe we can improve. Truly desire to improve. Identify those areas in which we can improve. And then make a conscious choice to set in motion a plan for improvement.

The Bible says, “Examine yourselves” (2 Cor 13:5). Are we growing spiritually? Increasing in knowledge? Developing deeper faith? And demonstrating the fruit of the spirit in our lives? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. And self-control.

The Bible command “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18) is not optional. And it implies that we can improve.

The Bible says that 12-year-old Jesus when home to Nazareth and was subject to Joseph and Mary and “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Lk 2:52). If the Son of Man in His human state could grow and improve, surely that says you and I can and must follow His example to improve our lives.

After reading Ken’s post, I reached out for the LIKE button and clicked it. Then I thought. How can I add value to what Ken said?

The image of 12-year old Jesus getting lost suddenly occurred to me. To check out the facts, I looked up the passage Ken quoted from Luke 2:52. Just before this passage, Joseph and Mary lost sight of Jesus.

Here’s the comment I added to what Ken said.

The twelve-year old Jesus was subject to Joseph and Mary. And then one day Jesus appeared to be lost. They couldn’t find him. They may have criticized each other…for losing sight of such a precious gift. Scripture says they retraced their steps and found Jesus teaching in Jerusalem.

WOW! Imagine their joy when they discovered the gift given to them to raise up. So, they asked: Why have you done this to us? [Disappear and not tell us where you were going or ask us for permission?]

Jesus simply answered his Mother and his Father with 2 more questions. And they did not understand the statement He was making to them. Then he went down to Nazareth and was subject to them. But [And] Mary treasured up all these things in her heart. Imagine her joy when a friend simply reminded her of the 2 questions Jesus asked his Mother and his Father.

These Two questions Jesus asked bring Wisdom and Stature to Jesus’ body still today. Why are you looking for Me? Did you not know I had to be in my Father’s house?

Think about Jesus’ questions. Who is Jesus’ Father? Why isn’t Jesus’ Father standing behind him or sitting beside him or across the room in Church, in the Temple?

Mothers and wives can improve their relationships at home. Me too. We can start by [inviting and] encouraging our husbands and our Bridegrooms (or special friends) to attend Church with us and God’s children.

Later I thought…well that is a place to start. Discussing the sermons and the issues brought up in Church (even if they do not attend with you) can strengthen and improve one’s self and one’s family ties. Conflicts and disagreements are bound to occur. This is where humility comes in with a big dose of love for the one with whom you disagree. If they are not taking your side and getting behind you. Ask yourself why? Likely, the answer to that question is where the growth and home improvement will happen.

With this post, I am thanking Ken Weliever and his wife Norma Jean for reminding me of what Jesus said to his Mother and his Father when they had lost sight of Him.

The Magdalene Affair

July 22 was the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene. At church on Sunday, the sermon focused the congregation’s attention on the Magdalene pointing out that the name Mary was a very common name back in the day and that modern edited versions of Scripture reveal there were at least 7 different women named Mary.

I forgive the Ministers for playing it safe, for not taking the risk to support what I know and believe about Mary Magdalene. Modern scholarship has diminished Mary Magdalene’s role as the Bride of the Gospel. Up until Vatican II, the view in the Roman Catholic Church and the prevalent belief in Protestant Churches was that Mary Magdalene was the Woman who anointed Jesus with her Alabaster Jar. What many Protestants contested was the fact that the Roman Catholic view used her anointing image to tarnish Mary Magdalene’s image by saying she was a sinner, a whore who was forgiven for her heart of gold.

It matters little for many people that calling Mary Magdalene a whore is no worse than calling Jesus a Jew, a Judean, or a demon possessed Samaritan. There are worse epithets. Think about Judas. Judas is called the betrayer, like Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute in old Jericho who betrayed her people by letting Joshua stay the night at her house. This made it possible for his armed men to scale the walls of Jericho under the cover of darkness to bring a mighty victory to God’s Hebrew people. Rahab let the enemy into her heart and into her home and country as did Judas.

Many, if not most Christians today, want to play it safe. They do not want to pick up their Cross, let Jesus wrap them with the Teacher’s help in the fine linen sheets of scripture and place them inside the very womb of life, wrapped and protected by a magnanimous Rock (Matthew 27:58).

Most people would not understand what I just said.

Most Christians want to see the Political Jesus, the one who lived and died as heroes live and die. They take the Crucifixion and burial of Jesus as the actual historical account of how the authorities condemned Jesus as a blasphemous traitor and executed as all Roman criminals were executed.

Many Christians believe Jesus was nailed to an ordinary cross made of lumber. They think like Simon did, as men, as people, not as God (Matthew 16:24). Their minds are on the concerns of the people. They want justice and they want to denounce all evil doing. They want law and order and they want the woman they love to be treated with dignity and respect. People want to worship a conquering hero, someone who goes into battle for them and brings them the victory. If their hero sacrifices his life for them and dies nobly all the better. They will remember him and honour his memory and teach others to “fight” and die for them and future generations.

Most Christians honour Jesus in this way, claiming he is no dead hero. He died and rose again, proving he was God. And most will argue, he did not stick around. He ate with people, proving he was alive and then having proved that fact, he ascended into heaven (Luke 24:51), with the assurance that he would return one day (Acts 1:11).

Most people stop at the Ascension, thinking this ends Jesus’ earthly ministry. This is where they will say. “See Jesus doesn’t live forever on earth and neither will we. When we die we will discard our bodies, ascend into space as vaporous spirit and live with Jesus in space, forever as a vaporous cloud. Here on earth, it is our memories and our contributions to life that live on.”

Stop! Look and Listen. Hear the blessed assurance of Acts 1:11. In the same way you saw Jesus go, you will see Jesus return. Open your eyes and your heart. See how Jesus soothes, comforts and protects his cherished bride with the help of teachers like Nicodemus.

People who are biblically alert might be quick to say. Linda I see where you are going with this. It is Joseph who lovingly, craves, or begs Pilate for the body of Jesus who is battered and bruised and whose wedding garment is removed, torn to bits and given to 7 others by demons, by people who are playing it safe or know not what they are doing. It is Joseph of Arimathea with the help of Nicodemus who anoints, wraps and carries the bloody and bruised body of Jesus in fine linen to a new cavern he has purchased for her, his Bride, as God did for Jerusalem when she became of age (Matthew 27:58; Ezekiel 16:9-10).

People will say Joseph of Arimathea is not Jesus. They will say. How could he be? You must be off the mark Linda. Joseph was the earthly Father of Jesus and his Mother was Mary.

Others will say it was Simon the Cyrene who carried the Cross of Jesus (Mark 15:21). He was the Father of some red-haired person and some person called Alexander. So How could Simon be the Father of Jesus? If Simon was a Cyrenaic, wouldn’t that make Joseph the Father of Jesus black?

What has all this got to do with Mary Magdalene?

The Bride is the female Jesus who was crucified with Christ, her Bridegroom (Galatians 2:20). For two thousand years, Mary Magdalene was celebrated as the Bride. What is keeping you from realizing this? Are demons, patriarchal language, politics, worldly concerns for border security, or peace and justice, climate change, or the enigmatic beliefs of others?

Stand up and realize the Resurrection. Humanity is created in the image and eternal loving and living likeness of God. Every living person on this planet has a mother and a father. Loving parents, loving teachers, and loving neighbours from all walks of life teach us how to love and protect one another, not lifeless idols. Sometimes the concerns of our neighbours and the concerns of our hearts blind us to the Truth. Nothing, not even the grave, can separate us from the Love of God that is physical and protects us by living and dwelling with us forever (Romans 8:38).

Mary Magdalene is the Bride, the Godly Mother of the Gospel. Her Godly Groom is Simon, the Christ she stumbled upon with the love and help of Jesus Nicodemus (John 3:1-21). She is not an X-rated enigma. Children need to see her as the Rabbi who loved much. They need to forgive and redeem her inordinate love affair with Israel’s Teacher who made straight the highway, to empower sinners to turn back to God and honour their Mother and their Father.

This is Good News. Not Fake News. Jesus the Rabboni did not steal Christ’s body as many have thought. Christ’s body belongs to the Bride. The Rabboni is the Friend of the Groom who ascends, stands up with his head held high and his arms stretched out, rejoicing at the sound of the Bridegroom’s voice, saying I do! (John 3:29; John 20:15-17).

The Ascension does not end Jesus’ earthly ministry. The Ascension is the beginning!

Star of Wonder

Every year on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Christians celebrate Epiphany. Epiphany is when the Magi see a wondrous star in the east. This star brings these prestigious travellers to the city of David, where they see Jesus and present Jesus with gifts fit for a king (Matthew 2:2).

Many people have often wondered about that star. How could a star suddenly appear in the sky and cause prestigious wise people to travel to a far-off land? Was the star a comet? Was the star a revelation of divine wisdom? Or a rising new star for them to respect?

In 2015, I presented an eco-justice paper at the Orthodox Academy of Crete. The title of my paper was Mathematics and the New Jerusalem. In this paper, I revealed how as a homemaker, with merely a high school education, I discovered how the ancient biblical writers were well aware of sophisticated mathematics. Astonishingly, I discovered and make known in that paper how they embedded the circumference of the planet into the sacred stories. I do so with the help of the Star of David and the Christmas Star.

The City of David…Jerusalem…the City of Peace

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

So what?

What difference does it make whether the Magi saw an actual star in the sky or discovered the circumference of the planet as I did?

The fact is the magi saw a revelation they believed was divine. It astonished them. It filled them with awe. It caused them to suddenly see how awesome and mighty God is. It took them on a journey outside of their comfort zone bearing gifts. The Star they saw led them to a place where they saw God’s wondrous gift of Eternal Love newly born. It inspired them and gave them the hope, that no matter what, God was with them forever. The Star and the Journey brought them to where they saw for themselves, God’s promise of Eternal Love and Life was true.

However, law abiding citizens were demanding justice and peace on their terms. They were asking. How can God’s gift of Eternal Love and Life inspire shepherds and stable help who do menial work for little or no reward? What little they make gets gobbled up by taxes and living expenses.

As the Christian story unfolds after the Visit of the Magi…Christians can read about the problems the early church encountered as they tried to work for peace and justice.

About 12 years after the Magi’s visit, Mary and Joseph lose sight of Jesus. To their wonder and surprise, they find Jesus sitting at the feet of Rabbis teaching them, in what Jesus says is “Daddy’s” domain.

Well most of you readers know the story. Or think you do? It is a rich, complex story. As more and more people join the band of followers working for peace headed up by Jesus the Good Teacher and the Woman called Mary Magdalene, things go awry (Luke 8:2). Everyone has a version of the truth. Some people say Mary Magdalene is not the Woman who anointed Jesus the Good Teacher. Others sully her reputation, claiming she is a prostitute, possessed by demons. Nobody cares a fig about Joseph or arithmetic and everyone is calling for Jesus Barabbas the resistance leader and insurrectionist to be set free (Matthew 27:16).

So dear readers. There is more to the story. Read some of my other posts. If you want to read some of my more academic papers, you can download them from my website. If you like what you read, be sure to give me a like. Or share my posts with your friends.

Did Mr. Scrooge and the Grinch steal your Christmas?

Did Mr. Scrooge and the Grinch steal your Christmas?

Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch are laughable characters. Death is not. Death comes to countless numbers of people every year at Christmas. So does unemployment or the loss of one’s home. Many people watched TV movies hoping for the promise of sugar plums and gifts and making it home in time to reconnect with family. Many were disappointed. They just couldn’t see any hope. Christmas came…and God didn’t wow them with a miracle.

Where is the hope of Christmas when death or some personal let down comes like a Scrooge or a Grinch? Can the Christmas Story bring hope to those facing hard times?

As the Christian Story goes, Mary is pregnant with a miracle—an immaculate conception. Should the authorities find out about Mary and Joseph, they and Mary’s gift could be killed. Miraculously they escape the death grip of the lawful governor and his assassins and they arrive in the Inn. There, they are faced with another moment of near death. The Inn has no room for a woman about to give birth to what Joseph names as Jesus and the Heavenly Messenger claims is “God Emanuel”. The Innkeeper and his wife put them up in an adjacent Barn.

heart shape multicolored stand — Nothing can separate us from God’s Eternal Love conceived in the Woman called Mary and presented in the Inn with her betrothed. (Photo by Simon Matzinger on Pexels.com}

Still today, lawfully accredited authorities threaten Mary and Joseph and the Holy Family that they began that night the Innkeeper and his wife made room for them. There is simply no unbiased historical evidence to support Mary’s conception that the birth and rebirth of Jesus brings people Eternal Life.

Like the cold-hearted, Ebenezer Scrooge and the mean-spirited Grinch, the cold hard factual truth comes in the form of death, war, earthquake or some horrible tragedy to tell people flat out. There is no miraculous birth of Emanuel. Eternal Life is an illusion, fake news. The Madonna’s new born Don is fiction. He’s not Eternal. Only God is. When people die, they leave this earth and it hurts like hell to say goodbye to them. God has Eternal Life. People in earthly form do not.

Many Christians have lost the hope of ever seeing their loved ones again in this world. Not wanting to completely abandon their faith, they cling to the hope that one day they will see their loved one on the other side in spirit form, without a body. The “other side” being that place where righteous people go when they die to live in spirit form with God.

Atheists on the other hand are adamant. When people die, they die. Their hearts stop beating and their organs shut down. It is the end of the game. Sometimes people can have a near death experience that gives them the illusion of floating over their bodies or seeing Jesus. That’s as good as it gets. There is no God.

Despite all this negative evidence, many Christians believe in the miracle of ETERNAL LOVE that Joseph and Mary brought to the Inn that dark “starry” night. They are not fooled for a moment. Joseph and Mary are their proof. It was God’s plan that Mary and Joseph should fall in love and marry. The miracle is. They who had lived and died countless times, found each other at a moment in history when the priestly family of God needed a wake-up call. As their love for each other grew and became more visible to the Innkeeper and his wife and the shepherds and the angels, people began to celebrate the news. The Don loves the Madonna and their Eternal Love is a Gift from God. They together with the Innkeeper, his wife, et.al present Emanuel to the World. This is truly a wondrous gift that ushers in a whole new era. Death is fake news.

Oh-oh. Wait a minute. If death is fake news. Why should people try to make peace with each other, with their families and with their neighbours or with their enemies? Sure, Christmas is about Love. It is also about, Peace and the hope for Justice.

The Christmas story takes place in winter. In winter, the road to the Inn gets muddy and full of cattle dung. Many days and nights are dark. There are times when the couple could have given up and simply allowed themselves and their love to die without pressing on toward the Inn. Yet, they trusted God and what God was doing in their lives and so did the Innkeeper, his wife and the visitors who came to listen and watch as Mary presented her gift.

Christmas is about being cold and hungry and frightened and slipping and sliding and almost giving up because it is a time when death is very real and near. Yet, Mary and Joseph pressed on toward the Inn. Getting to the Inn was God’s plan.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

May the gift of Emanuel bless you and give you hope for the New Year.