Jackie's Blog

Who are you relying on?

Have you ever thought of the concept of self-reliance? I haven’t until recently.

One of the pillars of the culture of the United States is self-reliance and individualism–the self-made man.

Synonyms for self-reliance: Click on the arrow

**relying on one’s own powers and resources

**self-sufficiency, self-direction

**personal independence, autonomy, self-rule

**resilience, freedom, power, strength

** self-support, self-dependence

How did I get started thinking about self-reliance? Well it was a prompt from the Lord. It came in a dream. Now maybe, for you, the Lord always gives you encouraging and uplifting prompts and dreams? In my life, it seems that Jesus is very concerned about my character and making sure that all in my life is going His direction and His path.

That’s how self-reliance came up.

My dream had four scenarios that coordinated with my daily life: family, neighbors, ministry, friends. I was stumped in its interpretation. Usually dreams have one theme/message. This dream seemed to include all domains of my daily world. Praying and asking for the interpretation brought this message:

You need the Holy Spirit's help 
in all situations of your life.
No self-reliance.
Only Holy Spirit's guidance.

It hit home to me. I appreciate the good, kind, care of the Lord to speak into my life!! Yes! It is so true that I need and want the help of the Holy Spirit in every area of my life! Don’t you?

Yet there was more. I sensed it. I delved deeper into the dream picture. It was the bread that I made–it was half-baked! Confusing? Well, in this context the bread was a picture of teaching, words of encouragement and even opinions. It was raw in the inside–half-baked. What does that mean?

I looked up the colloquialism ‘half-baked’. It means immature, silly, foolish suggestions, unrealistic and unlikely to succeed. 😲 And in my dream, people ate the bread anyway. Here’s the additional interpretation.

Self-reliance creates ideas,
words, and plans
that are immature, 
silly, 
foolish suggestions, 
unrealistic 
and unlikely to succeed,
even though, 
when you speak them,
people will accept them 
and do them.

Wait! Are those true words? Maybe it is just my thoughts? Maybe it is the enemy? Are those words from the Holy Spirit? We always temper dream messages by judging them against the written Word of God. God will never speak against what He has written in His Word, the Bible. What does the Bible say about all this?

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) Quoted by Jesus
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. (John 6:63) Quoted by Jesus
For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. (John 12:49) Quoted by Jesus
And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me. (John 12:50) Quoted by Jesus
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26) Quoted by Jesus
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:13) Quoted by Jesus
Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5:19) Quoted by Jesus

So I’m thinking it is quite clear that this is a serious thing, at least in my life. I am to only do and choose what the Holy Spirit has made clear to me and what the Word of God, the Bible says. When I speak, I must be careful not to give my opinions but share what I’m hearing from the Lord. Even a Bible verse has to be confirmed by the Holy Spirit because we all know in Jesus’ temptation time, the enemy used Bible verses in a deceptive way. Even when I blog to you it must be what I’ve heard from the Lord, not my opinions or what I’d like to complain about or commend.

Forgive me Jesus for all self-reliance. I want to surrender and completely rely on YOU in what I do and say.

Forgive me dear friends and readers where I have posted my own opinions instead of sharing what the Holy Spirit has directed me to say.

Jesus saw (supernaturally) what His Heavenly Father was doing and that is what he did. Jesus heard the Holy Spirit’s voice, and heard what His Heavenly Father was saying and then that’s what He said. Jesus showed us how to live our lives as believers. We are Jesus followers.

It is so easy to ‘follow’ someone on Instagram or Facebook or whatever social media you subscribe to. Just click and look at the pictures or make a quick ‘like’ or comment.

But to follow Jesus–to be a Jesus follower–it is different. We have to take the time to connect with Him and His Holy Spirit and to get to know Him. We find out how He interacts specifically with us as an individual. That’s how we learn to follow Him. We can read the Bible and know what it says but it is the daily following Jesus prompts that keeps us from self-reliance. We do what we ‘see’ Him doing. We say what we are hearing from His Holy Spirit.

Opposite of self-reliance is….click on the arrow.

**dependency, helplessness, impotency, inadequacy, weakness

**incapacity to rely on one’s own capabilities, and inability to manage one’s own affairs

Epilogue: Even after writing out this blog, as I was sitting in quietness outside talking to the Lord about this, the Holy Spirit prompted me to break the curse of ‘self-reliance’ over myself and my ancestors, ten past generations, on both sides of my family, alongside forgiveness of all.

That seemed strange to me, but remember, I need the Holy Spirit’s Help in every situation. If I don’t take that help–that’s self-reliance.

So I obeyed and did that.

Click on the arrow for a sample cleansing prayer?

Heavenly Father, according to my covenant with You, and the death and resurrection of Jesus which has cleansed me from my sin, I humbly come to You and ask Your Help. I repent of all self-reliance. I declare in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth forgiveness to all my ancestors who participated in self-reliance on my father’s side of the family for ten generations and on my mother’s side of the family for ten generations. In the Mighty Name of Jesus I break the curse of self-reliance on my father’s side of the family for ten generations. In the Mighty Name of Jesus I break the curse of self-reliance on my mother’s side of the family for ten generations. I declare that I do not agree with self-reliance and I break all legal rights of the enemy to promote self-reliance in my life–all enemy strategies are broken in the power, the blood and name of Jesus Christ. I rely on Jesus. I am helpless without Holy Spirit’s Help. I surrender my life to God and I desire to live in the strength of my Heavenly Father whom I rely on.

If you connect with this blog episode, and desire a freedom in the area of finances, we encourage you to go to Amazon and purchase our book with personal activations and engagements to help you heal and deal with these issues. Financial Healing: A Spiritual Journey by Richard and Jackie Nalos is available in soft cover or Kindle on Amazon.

© Jackie Nalos 2022 Jackie’s Blog. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jackie Nalos and Jackie’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

If you have an upsetting or confusing dream I’d love to partner with you to ask God for a spiritual interpretation. God gives interpretations to everyone, not only Jesus followers. Request assistance by emailing: helpwithmydreams@gmail.com.

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Credit to AI for definitions and quotes.

More About Prayer

My dad only went to 8th grade in public education in Wales. Yet his remembrance was not of shame but “he was good at math”. His teachers all praised him for that. My husband went through two years university physics/math courses–he understood mathematics. My kids never balked at math courses. Me? I always got ‘A’ in math but I never really could comprehend how to use algebra, trigonometry or calculus applications. I just saw the tricks of how to fake it by plugging in the correct formula. I was fascinated when my husband would explain a practical use of calculus, trig or algebra.

So when I woke up one morning remembering an unusual dream, I was a little intimidated. This was the strange dream:

You have an X.

Add to your X, a Y.

Add to your Y, a V.

V X Y.

Yes! That really was the dream! Don’t you think it is peculiar?

How could a person have a dream like that? I don’t know?! But I did! And I clearly remembered it.

It took a day to overcome the shock but then I started thinking and praying. I realized, “Oh! This is math! Algebra math!”

I prayerfully pondered, looked up a few algebraic variables, and easily came up with this:

An X is any unknown quantity in my life.
Add a Y could mean “Why?” God’s purposes? In Geometry Y is a vertical axis. Vertical is up–a God relationship. That’s prayer! X + Y “Lord what do You want to do, what are Your purposes, in this situation with an unknown outcome?”
Add a V. V is for victory? Success! God please give victory and success. V is for vector? God please give me direction.
Yet it is interesting that in my dream I clearly saw that the V was placed before the X + Y. Wouldn’t that mean that the first thing I pray for is success, victory and direction? Isn’t that faith? Trusting God right at the beginning?

Oh man! This got me excited! I began to do more research on the meaning of these algebraic variables. I wrote down all that I learned. Most everything could have a symbolic meaning for life!

Then I remembered “context”. The context of a dream is what you have been lately thinking about, worrying about, praying about, asking for, etc. What has been going on in life in the past few days? My request had been, “Lord, help me be a better intercessor–the best I can be, so I can support my team, help people, bless my family, and give You glory through my spiritual gifting.”

I realized this dream is about PRAYER. God is giving me prayer secrets! Well, they’re not secrets any more because you, my friends, will know them too!

The variables given were not only addition. They were seen also in the dream as multiplication: VXY. So with that information here’s some of the possibilities. You may receive even more insight than I have? But to your prayers, add:

purpose (May God’s will be done. May God’s purposes reign. Matthew 6:10)
multiplication (Lord, please multiply and give increase for the blessings, the fruit, the power, the strength…. Gen. 1:27,28)
victory (Lord, give us Your victory in this situation. Give success. Triumph over the enemy. Make it a win for the Kingdom of God. 1 Cor. 15:57)
magnitude (Heavenly Father, please expand our resources, may Your Greatness be seen. Amplify. Ephesians 3:20)
direction (Lord, show me which way to go; give great guidance in the handling and management of this situation; may You dictate and I obey. Isaiah 30:21)
vertical (In prayer we submit all to You Jesus. May we walk uprightly. We thank, praise, worship, plead and ask.) Phil. 4:6,7)
relationships (May all our horizontal relationships be shalom, at peace, with love and forgiveness. I forgive everyone in the name of Jesus. Romans 12:18)
dependent (We are completely dependent on You, God, for everything. We are resting in You, relying on You, controlled by You, and counting on You. Prov. 3:5,6)
a corner point (When life takes a turn, may flexibility reign; may we choose Your path–where You are taking us. We simply follow Jesus. Luke 9:23)
volume (Raise the volume of the Holy Spirit’s Voice in our life. May God’s Word be so loud it drowns out the world’s noise. Lord increase our capacity to hear Jesus. John 10:27)
velocity (Come quickly Lord Jesus. Increase the pace of my spiritual growth. Help me swiftly obey Your prompts. May my feet run to obey Your Word. Psalm 119:32)
voltage (Heavenly Father, please increase my potential through the power of the Holy Spirit. Push me, press me to do Your will even in the tension of trials. Generate within me Holy Spirit power and spiritual gifts. Be my complete Source of power, not the flesh. Acts 1:8)
universal set (all elements in consideration) (I surrender all–everything and everyone in my life to You, Jesus. You own me. You bought me with Your blood on the cross. Your resurrection gives me life so I am completely and totally Yours! Romans 12:1)

As I talked with the Lord about these additions to my prayers, the sense was that first, above all, first, before I pray, I must ask to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. Then use the lists to pray. It will provide efficiency in prayer because it is a God-list. And wouldn’t you know it–just last night I received a prayer request that felt beyond my understanding of how to pray. The Holy Spirit reminded me as I write this blog: God provides all that we need for everything He asks us to do. Thank you Jesus!

Interesting trivia that is ironically symbolic: click on the arrow.

The term ‘algebra’ comes from an Arabic word meaning “restoration” or “completion”; literally “reunion of broken parts”.

The term algebra and the field of study originated from an ancient Arabic book called “The Science of Restoring and Balancing” by Persian mathematician and astronomer al-Khwarizmi.

God bless your prayer times with power and efficiency for the Kingdom of God!

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Credit to AI for info on algebra beginnings.

Coffee Parables!

Jesus taught the people in parables. That’s what the gospels say. My dear husband has taken that to heart and he teaches his weekly coffee clatch guys in parables, well, he calls them ‘metaphors’. Life lessons, based on God’s Word, that relate to daily happenings. I shared part one of his Mr. Coffee Bean on my blog last month. The story was called “The Parable of the Coffee Bean”. It is an attachment on the blog: https://jackienalos.home.blog/2026/02/07/the-espresso-machine/

Here is his sequel, part two! “Mr. Coffee Bean and the Grinder!”

In Part 1 of the “Parable of Coffee Bean” we learned that the goal of each bean is to be poured out into a perfect shot of coffee. Each bean can give double its weight in liquid form producing a rich smooth fluid topped with crema (a brownish foam that forms on the top of freshly made espresso). This is the result of a perfect extraction. However, before we get to this phase of espresso creation there is another essential process which comes first, namely the grinding. The beans must be broken down into tiny particles so that their inner components can release the goodness that’s inside. There is an optimum level of grinding that allows the pressurized hot water which passes through the grinds to flow at a perfect rate. A master barista knows that if the grind is too coarse then the hot water will pass through too quickly, producing an under-extracted shot. Conversely, if the grind is too fine then the hot water can barely make it through, causing an over-extracted shot. An optimum grind will produce the perfect shot in somewhere between 20 and 30 seconds. Under and over extracted shots taste terrible, but when it’s done right, billions of people are delighted.

In 2 Timothy 4:6 the Apostle Paul writes, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” He has experienced the grinder of trials and sufferings throughout his life, but what he is leaving behind is wisdom and blessing to those who receive it. He is leaving behind a “perfect espresso” for us to partake of.

We all know that in this fallen world we will not escape trials and sufferings. It just is inevitable. It is the result of the original sin of Adam and Eve that unstoppably cascades down through the generations to each one of us. But we have a choice as to how we respond to these “grindings.”

In Acts 24:19 Jesus told Saul (later Paul) that “it is hard for you to kick against the goads.” A goad was a sharpened stick used to prod an ox. It poked harder into the ox’s flesh if he kicked back. Resisting the corrective action of the goad was aggravating and unprofitable. In a similar fashion, resisting God’s discipline and correction is counterproductive in our lives. One could say that such resistance is like restricting the flow of water through the coffee grindings which causes the output to be reduced and over-extracted leaving a harsh, bitter, and astringent taste. That is not the kind of testimony we want to have.

Hebrews 12:5 says “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.” So the opposite response to “kicking against the goads” is to throw in the towel and give up. This attitude is fatalistic and results in ignoring God’s work in your life. One could say that giving up like that is like just letting the water flow through the coffee grinds without resistance. That is the definition of under-extraction which results in a thin, sour, and weak brew, again not the testimony we want to have.

As Christians we need to humbly let God work his plan to shape us into mature believers. He does this through trials and sufferings. We need to cooperate with God, neither ignoring his discipline nor struggling against him and shaking our fists at him. We allow God to have his way with us paying attention to him and cooperating with him. As we go through the grinder of life, like coffee beans, we need submit to the master barista’s agenda. Only in that way can we come to the end of our lives and say with Paul that “we are being poured out as a drink offering,” a tasty, rich and creamy drink which others can enjoy but is ultimately being offered to God.

So the moral of the parable is “Give it your BEST SHOT.”

Mr. Coffee Bean and the Grinder Download

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Thanks to Richard Nalos for the “Parable of the Coffee Bean”

Joy? or JOY!

I just finished texting with some friends who got an answer to prayer! It was a wild, wonderfully complete answer to all of our prayers! We gasped in awe of God’s kindness! We shouted hallelujahs! We verbalized praise to God’s name! We reviewed and recounted the details of this amazing response to our petitions. There was so much joy in my heart, joy in our living room, joy in their hearts and joy in their living room as we shared texts and pictures!

There is just nothing like the JOY of the Lord!

It is indescribable!

It creates a lift to my spirits and a God focus to my mind and a warmth in my heart.

Do you feel you have JOY in your life?

What does Jesus say about JOY in our lives? How do we get it?

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

I have told you these things so that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing. John 15:7,11

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:24

So here’s where I get so much of this deep joy:

Reading the Bible, God’s Word and letting it sink deep into my heart, sort of like I’m eating it.
Listening to the Holy Spirit, with a quieted heart, listening ears, pen in hand so as to honor the rhema words of the Lord, spiritual eyes open looking for picture messages.
Praying for whatever the Lord puts on my heart that morning, praying it in tears, recording it in my journal, and marking it as answered when the answer comes. And then giving great thanks and praise to God that He listened, He heard, He answered and I rejoice.
Walking on a nature trail and just thinking about how great our Creator God is, how detailed and wise He is to have made and sustained everything I see around me and how kind Jesus is to have gone to the cross, for me, so I could fellowship with Him.
Praying for others. In so many situations we think we cannot solve problems–we can’t help others out of their distress. The duress of the world is overwhelming but there is JOY in bringing these situations to God and praying about them. It could be as simple as a neighbor’s marital argument or as complicated as North Korea’s persecution of christians. We release the burden and God gives joy. I feel that joy.
I get joy in using my spiritual gifts. These are not talents. I’m talking about the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:10,11. I get joy in letting the Holy Spirit do the work through my using the spiritual gift He gave me. I fight spiritual battles with spiritual gifts.

How do you get your joy? Your spiritual joy?

The verses above tell us that joy comes from answered prayer. Let’s pray more!!

Jesus says in order to pray more we need to be completely connected to Him, remaining in Him. He is our Source.

How do we know what our Source Jesus wants unless we are reading the Bible often, daily, to know what He said and did and what He thinks about things? What He promised us?

When we read His promises and the promises in the Old Testament we have to check that we, or whomever we are praying for, have fulfilled the conditions of the recorded promise.

There’s joy in realizing that we, or our friend has fulfilled the conditions of a particular promise of God, and we can claim it in faith! We are close to Jesus and we know in our hearts this is from Him.

So we take time to pray! Pray! Pray!

More praying! More asking! More worship!

More promises claimed! More praise verbalized! More thanks given ahead of time!

Pray alone. Pray with your spouse. Pray with friends. Pray online. Pray at church. Pray the Bible words!

Pray while walking, running, sitting, doing dishes, working out, kneeling, face to the ground, arms raised.

Pray! Intercede! Request! Thank! Worship! Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray!

And that’s when the JOY will come in because God will answer!!

What’s stopping us from having a prayer time right now, immediately?

Hindrances to prayer and joy in prayer: click on the arrow.

Many people, who come to the deliverance ministry we are involved as intercessors, say that as soon as they open their Bible to read, something negative happens and they cannot concentrate and continue. Or they try to pray and their mind goes to lust, criticism, and other negativities. The work required for them to read their Bible and pray becomes overwhelming and they give up, or they just grab a daily verse card and a quick ‘thank you’ God.

These enemy interferences can be overcome. Before you have daily devotions claim the blood of Jesus that He dripped when He died on the cross. Claim His resurrection power when God raised Him from the dead. Declare out loud that the enemy cannot stop you from connecting with Jesus. Persist. Resist. Read and pray.

Here’s some questions: Have you confessed your sins and accepted His forgiveness? Have you given your traumas and pain to Jesus completely? Is there anyone that you haven’t forgiven? Is there anyone whose opinion that you put higher than God’s opinion? Are there evil words, lies, that people have said to you, about you, that you have believed and ingested into your identity? Have you gone through generational cleansing? Have you gone through deliverance?

If you need help overcoming some of these hindrances, just know that I have a prayer partner and we do free Zoom prayer sessions to help break off some of these hindrances in order that you can experience more joy in prayer and in your relationship to Jesus. This is available to you.

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Generational Curses

A few weeks ago I had a dream where the given topic seemed ‘out of the blue’. I hadn’t been thinking about this or concerned. But a few days ago, the dream all of a sudden make perfect sense! It’s often like that with messages from the Lord. We have to wait to get clarification. I’d love to share this story with you.

If I put the dream into words and sentences as a message it would be this: “Generational curses (and word curses) are like seeds. The demonic takes hold and creates crocodiles. The crocodiles eat up God’s words and make them unfruitful. The crocodiles eat up God’s people.”

As I talked with the Lord about this dream, I sensed this is an important picture. God so wants His Word (logos and rhema–written and spoken) to be seeds that produce big beautiful Trees of Life that gives good fruit to many people. He reminded me of the parable of the sower.

A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:3-8

In this parable the birds of the air are similar to my dream’s crocodiles. They eat up God’s word and it cannot produce. So often I have prayed for “good soil” in my heart and others’ hearts. Well, what I think the Lord is saying to me is that we have to get rid of those generational curses so the soil of our hearts can be good soil and God’s Word take effect and do its work. What do you think?

So here’s why the dream made sense to me.

I was visiting with a wonderful christian couple who love the Lord deeply. Out of nowhere the husband asked me about generational curses. His family of origin was a shame to him. He thought the way to handle that was to disassociate with them–to turn his back on them, to reject them. By this action he determined that he was rejecting their sins against the Lord.

But in a particular Bible study he learned about generational curses. He read the importance of renouncing the sins, forgiving the sinners, and breaking the curses of the generations (in the power and authority of Jesus name) that had occurred because of these sins. So he did this out loud in prayer and faith.

God things began to happen! The current contention he and his wife had been experiencing dissolved.

His wife was healed of a year long body illness.

He felt the family shame lift off him.

He sensed a closer connection to his children.

He knew that something deep had changed and that is why he was asking me about generational curses!

Do you feel shame about your family of origin and your ancestral generational line?

Dear reader, if you feel confused right now about the generational issues that I’m sharing, I encourage you to read my blog about generational cleansing. I’m building on that information. https://jackienalos.home.blog/2025/02/22/generational-cleansing/

I am passionate about freedom for families and individuals. I have a prayer partner–a mighty woman of God. We love to help christians get free of generational curses. We meet with them on Zoom. We come alongside, we help find the generational curses and we prayerfully assist the christian as they break these curses. We do this free of charge. We offer it to you. The only prerequisite is the surrendered heart of a believer in Jesus who wants to be free to do God’s will.

If you would like help in this freedom journey from generational curses, reply to this blog or use the email at the bottom of this blog.

Here’s a partial list of possible generational curses, or results of curses, that you might see or know are in your family’s heritage. You can download this page, but only for personal use.

Generational Curse List.pdf Download

One friend went through this list, breaking every curse in Jesus name and by the blood of Jesus because of His death on the cross. My friend broke these curses out loud, even if he didn’t know about the issue in his generations. He experienced a lift off of shame that had been placed upon his father and grandfather. He felt it leave! Within a day he had a dream that was a picture confirmation that curses had been broken. It was a dream of his father washing poop away!

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Galatians 3:13

If any of your ancestors have made agreements with Freemasonry, (or related Mormonism) it is important for you to know that there are dozens of curses that this insidious, secret organization puts upon their generations. These are not included in the above list. For information on breaking these curses see my blog below: https://jackienalos.home.blog/2024/11/16/freemasons-are-not-free/

Lord, I pray for this reader! I pray for the courage to stand against the enemy and the courage to step into the freedom that You, Jesus, bought for us when you died on the cross for our sins and rose again for our freedom! In Jesus name, Amen

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Jesus quote from John 16:33

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Birthdays

This past month was my birthday month. My husband asked me, “What do you want to do for your birthday?” Oh, I savored that question! Hmmm. Let me see…. what wonderful experience could I relish….imagining the pampering…? Oh it felt good!

When your birthday comes up, what would you like to do on your birthday?

Well, I decided I wanted a spa experience. I wanted to go to Carson Hot Springs mineral bath and wrap, in Carson, WA. Then I wanted to go out for lunch or dinner at my favorite restaurant in Stevenson, called Clark and Lewie’s Travelers Rest Grill. There I can watch the wind surfers and be right by the Columbia River. (These are my secret places, so don’t tell anybody.) Yes, yes, Jackie will be pampered on her birthday!!

We have lots of expectations for our birthday, don’t we?

We expect a day of attention, pampering, texts, cards, greetings, gifts and blessings. It’s OUR day!

Mexico has an unusual celebration ritual. The birthday girl/boy/man/woman has their face put into the middle of the cake!! 🙃 🤪 😱

I agree that every person should have a birthday celebration. I gave my each of my three kids a party, with their own friends, every birthday. We lived in rural Alaska, far from a bakery. I had to make that cake and decorate it myself. It was a creation that could only be loved by a child!

But this birthday, Lord had a little conversation with me.

I needed a little correction in my thinking.

I was forgetting who I was, and whose I was.

Here are some of the main things I sensed He was saying:

It is so important that we pause and listen to the Holy Spirit because we Jesus followers don’t do our own will. We are to always do God’s will. Even on our birthdays!
The will of God does not change just because we have a birthday. Like on other days we do God’s will but on our birthday it’s our day and we get to do what we want and not consult God. No!
How much more our birthday is a day of gratefulness to God! It is a day to celebrate that GOD made us. He thought us up! He created our blueprint in His mind before the foundation of the world!
Our birthday is especially a day of thankfulness of being. We commit our path and day to Jesus out of gratitude for salvation, with honor to Him!
The world’s way and God’s way rarely intersect. Often the world’s way, the world’s view of birthdays is self-promotion and selfishness. God’s view is a day of awesome surrender and worship of Creator God. Physical gifts vs spiritual gifts.

It is a type of idolatry to be discontent with ourselves and our family of origin; to lift up another family higher than ours; a family that perhaps is more beautiful, more peaceful, has more money or status.

God carefully chose and deliberately put each person in the family that He selected for us. We were born when we were supposed to be born. We have the specific attributes and talents He gave us.

God expects us to work with the family He put us in and love them and forgive them. It’s an assignment for each of us to accept despite the trouble.

And this is another reason why generational cleansing is so important. It helps us forgive and love our family of origin. We gain freedom to focus on the generational blessings given.

I’m learning more and more how important it is to know who I am and know Whose I am.

When I know my Identity in Jesus the enemy can’t mess with me so easily.

It is interesting that our identity thinking is often revealed on our birthday. I’m grateful for the correction the Lord gave me.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you. Psalm 139:13-18

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Love! (keep warm with sweaters)

I’m so grateful to God that we can repurpose ancient pagan celebratory days and make them into more honorable days that glorify God. That is definitely what has to happen with Valentine’s Day, February 14!!

I love the picture of this poisonous frog because the historic roots of Valentine’s Day seem to be rather toxic. It seemed to include intrigue, abuse, superstition, paganism, fertility rites and martyrdom.

However the roots of ‘love’ are from Creator God who Himself is described with the name “LOVE” !

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him I John 4:16

The New Testament often translates different Greek words as love. Our English language doesn’t do the word ‘love’ justice. Here’s four main words:

Agape – This is the definition I had my teen kids memorize. I would quote it to them every time a secular song came on the radio singing of ‘love’! My pastor taught it to my youth group when I was a teen. “Love (agape) is a commitment to do the best for another person, despite what it costs you yourself.” Agape is God’s love! He gave His son Jesus to die on the cross, and come alive again, to rescue us and be the payment for our failures and sins, so we could have peace with God.
Philia – This is love between friends, a mutual friendship of kindly, affectionate attachment. It is often called ‘brotherly love’.
Eros – This word isn’t exactly found in the Greek New Testament, just suggested. It is the word for romantic, passionate feelings, that according to God’s ways, should exist only in a marital context. It includes sexual expressions of love.
Storge – This is family love. The cord of natural, affectionate bonds of parents for children, children for parents and siblings for each other.

Which of the above types of ‘loves’ has our current culture’s Valentine’s Day celebrations centered on and focused on?

How have you reclaimed Valentine’s Day in your life?

I have usually mailed the grandchildren Valentine greeting cards, saying how much God loves them and that I do too.

I give my husband a Valentine’s Day card and write some loving words in the card. He does the same for me.

But the Valentine’s Day story I would like to tell is a story based on ‘storge’ and ‘agape’ love! It is the emotional warmth of the special agape love of my mother for me! Here it is below:

We were living in Alaska. I do believe I freaked out my Mum by telling her that some of the clothes in my closet were frozen to the wall and the trailer window in my bedroom was iced over one quarter inch thick!

My Mum lovingly began making warm quilts for my bed. She then proceeded to knit sweaters for me. They were warm sweaters–very warm, wool sweaters! One wool sweater was so thick and warm it could only be worn at 40 below zero!

In her letters, she usually asked, “Are you warm enough?” Or she would end the letter, “Keep warm!”

Then more kindness came to me from my Mum! Summer sweaters! (In our part of Alaska I could wear sweaters in the summer.) She also knit sweaters for Spring and Fall! Gorgeous, beautifully knit, quality yarn, made in love with prayer sweaters! Sweaters to keep me warm physically! And the sweaters, knitted with tender affection, kept me feeling warmly cherished by my family. I always wrote her a thank you note.

Epilogue: We were going to go down to the Lower 48, as we called it, and see my parents. My husband had a new video camera and he was madly filming our lives. We decided to do a homemade video for my Mum, a funny video with all the overflowing drawers of sweaters she had so devotedly sent up to me. In the video script I voiced concern to keep warm as my parent had counseled. I began with a thin sweater and put it on. “Oh, this isn’t warm enough, I mused. I need to keep warm!” So I put on another sweater on top of the one I was wearing. I continued with this script pattern of “keeping warm,” adding sweater upon sweater to my torso. I added the sweaters, padding myself thicker, until it would wreck a sweater to stretch it so wide! Then we ended the video clip by putting on my Alaska parka and falling backwards to the floor, weighed down with warm clothes and feeling very warm! (Of course I wasn’t hurt by the fall because of the padding!) That was our silly video. Well, a few weeks later we played it on the TV screen to my dear Mum. We didn’t promote it as a joke yet we were hoping she would laugh with us and dote on those sweaters. Nope! At the end, she looked back at me and quipped, “I’m glad you are keeping warm!” 😂 😇

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Who is your favorite Bible character?

Of course our favorite Bible character is JESUS!! There’s no competition! Jesus humbled Himself, was born as a human, grew up and did miracles, taught the people, died on the cross for the sins of the world, came alive and went up into Heaven. And He will return the same way He came! In the Bible there are about 450 prophetic Old Testament passages and 89 chapters in the New Testament gospels that talk about Jesus. Many theologians will say that basically Jesus can be found in all 1,189 chapters of the Bible through typology, symbolism and themes of redemption. JESUS is Number One!!!

This month our church’s Through the Bible in a Year reading has been in the book of Exodus. There is a Bible character there that gets mentioned in three chapters. This character is my second favorite Bible character this year.

Hints: It is not a woman. He had a super-filling of the Holy Spirit.

Can you guess who it is?

Click on the arrow to see if you are correct!

It is Bezalel !!! Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah!

Did you guess it right? I think not. No one seems to know and remember Bezalel but he was very famous!

The reason I have chosen him is because lately I’m working on a quilt for one of the granddaughters who is graduating. I’m cutting, sewing, pressing and following a pattern. It is super important that I follow the instructions of the quilt pattern carefully.

So when I read three chapters about this wonderfully creative person, I was so drawn to appreciate him, his skill and the work He did for God and the people of Israel. His contribution was crucial! That’s why there’s three chapters about him and his work.

Here’s some incredible facts about Bezalel:

The Lord called him. He wasn’t recommended by somebody. God knew him and his name. God told Moses about Bezalel. (Ex. 35:30)
God poured out His Spirit on Bezalel! This was a special type of Holy Spirit baptism at a time when the Spirit was not yet given to believers. Having the Holy Spirit meant Bezalel was filled with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all manner of workmanship to design artistic works, to work in gold, silver, bronze, to cut jewels for setting, and in carving wood, engraver, designer, tapestry weaving. But really it was for all artistic workmanship! ( Ex. 35:31,32)
Not only that, with God’s Holy Spirit upon him, he also got the ability teach, and apparently to administrate and manage people as well because that’s what he did! (Ex. 35:34,35)
He was a humble and obedient craftsman. All that talent could have made him prideful, but no, he obeyed the instructions of the Lord in detail. He obeyed Moses who had been given those instructions. (Ex. 36:1; 38:22)
He had super efficiency. He finished everything in less than a year, more like six to nine months as we infer from scripture.
He received a special blessing from Moses. (Ex. 39:43) He also received special attention and commendation from Moses and the Lord. Even though he had many workers and a great assistant named Aholiab, the Bible declares that Bezalel was the key artisan: “Then Bezalel made” and uses the pronoun “he” all through the chapters listing what was crafted.

What an amazing person Bezalel was! How amazing to have the Holy Spirit empower him in doing artistic works!

But please, please read on! I have more! You might find it hard to believe?

Bezalel was young! Jewish sources and traditions say he could have been as young as 13 years old when appointed! Would you consider that a child prodigy? Yet he had maturity beyond his years and unparalleled wisdom. Clearly he was a master artisan–a spiritual and artistic genius! Why? I believe because he was empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.
Bezalel’s name means “in the shadow (protection) of God”! Doesn’t this just show what a close relationship he had with Almighty God?
Bezalel was not a Levite. He was in the tribe of Judah, and Caleb (the honored one who spied out the Promised Land) was an ancestor. Who else came from the tribe of Judah? Yes! Jesus was from the tribe of Judah!
Bezalel had a unique status! Other than the High Priest (who was a Levite) he was the only person allowed to work on, to touch, the holy items, like the mercy seat. Bezalel’s life and work foretold of redemption–the redemption of Jesus, the Messiah!

“A sinful man from Judah forged the mercy seat where God’s Presence dwelt but it was the Sinless Man from Judah that finished the meaning of the mercy seat thereby opening God’s Presence for all!”

These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:17

What are you gleaning from the life and work of Bezalel?

Here’s some things that are impressed upon me:

We have the Holy Spirit of God inside us as believers. There is so much power, wisdom, understanding that we, I, am not accessing. “Lord, fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit!”
Following instructions from God is really important. God has an opinion, for worship, for creativity. I need to ask how He wants things done. More specifically, I need to do His instructions that are already in His Word, the Bible.
Creator God enjoys our creativity. When we are creating and making things, we are being like our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe and all that exists!

So now I’m back piecing my quilt, a little each day. I’m remembering how God was involved in this quilt. I bought this sparrow pattern three years ago, happy to construct it for a granddaughter’s graduation. The pattern disappeared. I looked everywhere for it to no avail. So I gave up and bought a different one.

Then a few months ago, while looking for a dropped pencil, I discovered a secret fabric shelf in my comfy chair. I stretched fingers down the side of the chair, under, and into that shelf, and I was confounded at all the missing items that showed up. Among them was this precious sparrow pattern! It came right in time for a different granddaughter to get this quilt. Perhaps she needs its message? Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:31)

I encourage us all to be creative like our Heavenly Father, the Creator, in our lives. He cares. He has an opinion. He loves creativity that is under the supervision of the Holy Spirit! Remember Bezalel!

Here in this picture is the reminder note that has been on my prayer wall for years!

My Prayer: click on the arrow

Lord God Almighty, Holy, Good, Merciful, please fill me and saturate me with the Holy Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, creativity in accordance with Your purposes for my life and that I may point others to JESUS.

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Quote is from: http://www.Livingwatersoregon.com

The Espresso Machine

A few years ago we had a horrendous event happen on our property. It was chilling! I would like to share this story with you. May God be glorified.

About 10:30pm while almost falling asleep, I heard a huge, loud, low pitched bang. I abruptly sat up in bed and then jumped to the open window. I paused, listening for anything more. Quietness. So I went down the the living room. It had been a metallic sound. Nothing there. No problem with the wood stove. I climbed back in bed but I couldn’t sleep. I returned downstairs and felt prompted to get on my knees, head on the floor, and pray. I did not know what to pray for so I prayed in the Spirit, in tongues, for quite some time and then returned to bed.

My husband and I rose up at 5am the next morning ready to do his volunteer drive to a hospital. We turned out of the driveway but realized our mailbox was gone and 60 feet of the guardrail that protects the bank to the river was crumpled and demolished!

We jumped out of the car to investigate realizing there could be someone dead in a car down in the river. But it was dark and black. We tried our car flashlight but its batteries were dead. We were now late for this important hospital appointment so we had to leave. When we got in cell range I called 911 and asked the police to check that no one was down the bank hurt. There was nothing we could do.

We did not return home from that drive till 4:30pm. No one was around. No car. And it was dark again. We found a note on our front porch and through that note and neighbors reporting to us, we pieced together what happened.

The note was from the young man’s father, apologizing for the destroying of our riverside property by his son’s car accident. He said he had lots of insurance and please use it and he gave his info. Neighbors told us the police came, the road was closed for a few hours and they hoisted up the car from the bottom of the bank. A rock had stopped it from flipping into the river. The young man had been found walking on the road, near the site of the accident, and picked up by a neighbor at 3am. He was shaken up, a bit bruised but fine. He never even went to the hospital. Our eyes, while investigating the property damage, told us that this car had been traveling extremely fast, flown through the air, missed old growth trees and landed in front of the massive river rock. We found a white sock caught in a branch, 20 feet up.

I ask you: What happened between 10:30pm and 3am?

Answers to parent’s prayers for safety?
Answers to my prayers in the Spirit?
Healing angels ministering to this young man?
God’s kindness and glory to rescue and save a life. Praise the Lord!

God answers our prayers, so always keep on praying!

Epilogue:

Well, that evening we got a phone call from the christian gentleman we had taken to the hospital on the volunteer drive. After hearing the situation, but yet knowing nothing of the dad’s note left to us, he felt prompted by the Lord to give us a word of wisdom. “Make sure you do an insurance claim. Young people need consequences.” So with two confirmations we took the dad’s advice on the note about his insurance. Our eldest son has been an insurance adjuster. He knew how to help us prepare a claim. The claim was approved and the funds arrived. It proved complicated to replant the hillside. So our son said, “Mom, Dad, you know I have been urging you for two years to upgrade your twenty year old little Starbucks espresso machine. You just always resist. However, I have freely helped you with this insurance claim. I say you use this to buy a proper espresso machine and grinder. I will find it for you, set it up, and show you how to use it. You owe me now to do this!”

So we did. It was such a silly and simple thing compared to what God did in saving that young man’s life! But God is so much kinder than we even think! We got a new espresso machine! It took a long time to figure out! In fact, my husband even wrote a parable about this machine and how he learned to use it. I have included this to read and/or download (for your own use) for all you coffee fans. After such a dreadful story, you need some comic relief! Isn’t that what our beautiful Savior Jesus is like? He cheers us up just when we need it!

The Parable of the Coffee Bean Download

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Thanks to Richard Nalos for the Parable of the Coffee Bean!

Poetry or Plain Talk?

I was listening to a sermon. It was on Genesis chapter one. The preacher said for us to remember that Genesis chapter one is poetry. I was a shocked! Why? If you are a consistent reader of my blog, you will remember that God has been teaching me about Hebrew poetry. I’m still in the Psalms these days and loving them! Knowing how Hebrew poetry works has helping me meditate on the passages. See my blog: https://jackienalos.home.blog/2025/11/29/thankful-for-psalms/

Just a reminder, Hebrew poetry uses parallelism, symbolism, figurative language, metaphors, picture words. When we look at Genesis chapter one, the only parallels are ‘evening and morning is the 2nd day’. Compare that to David’s incredible parallels that explain, interpret or give a picture. To me, to say that Genesis one is poetry is more like a Western mindset of what poetry is, rather than being Hebrew poetry.

I suppose the question is: Why should I care? Why should I care is someone says Genesis chapter one is poetry? Why should it upset me?

What do you do when you hear something that makes you angry, or upsets you, or you don’t agree with?

Post an annoyance rebuttal on Facebook?
Withdraw, disengage and/or give the silent treatment as a type of punishment or statement?
Turn the tables by blame shifting and accusations?
Twist the narrative, distort the facts and retell the story to suit a personal perspective?
Interrupt, dominate or hijack the conversation to focus on a minor issue in order to undermine the main point?
React with physical stress of tightened jaw, clenched fists, and stares?

What did I do? Well, I definitely did the second and last reactions written above.

God’s grace got ahold of me in time. I went to the Lord and brought my reactions to Jesus in prayer.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.

James 2:13

So when I pray in a situation like this, God has taught me a few principles.

Never criticize someone else to God! Do not state or review the sins of others to God. This is prideful. Come humbly as a sinner that has their own issues.
Express your frustration and lack of understanding. Confess these negative emotions and critical thoughts.
Listen humbly to what God is telling you about the other person and the situation.
Accept and pray back to the Lord what He is revealing. Give thanks.
Pray for the people involved in the situation, and give thanks for them.

So, that’s what I did! And annoyance turned to peace; frustration to stillness and calmness. Thank you Jesus!

The Holy Spirit reminded me that I do not know the motive of the individual or his goal. Also, God moves people in baby steps of understanding. We are all learners. Love unifies in mercy. Poetry can still promote literal interpretations of events. We all get things wrong. In heaven we will know all the truth.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

And yet, here are the reasons why I believe Genesis chapter 1 is not poetry: Click on the arrow.

Most commentators use ‘poetry’ as an ‘out’ so they can add millions of years.

All of Genesis is historical narrative. God gave the creation account to Moses as a download of revelation. We read the text as written at face value, simply reading the words and sentences.

The explanation of days is seen in the Ten Commandments. Six days we work. The seventh day is the Sabbath rest because God rested after his six days of work.

The scientific theory of evolution is not scientific and hasn’t got proof. This lie has trashed the lives of so many teens and adults. They live without purpose and no hope because they believe their lives are a result of random chance.

The argument that Genesis 1 is poetry and includes an ancient, billions of years old earth, is fueled by the desire to be accepted by the scientific community. It is rooted in a desire to remove the Creator from the equation, because the presence of a Creator implies that we are created and therefore have an accountability to this Creator. Another driving force is the fear of man; wanting to be accepted by the world; and fear of the rejection and persecution that could result.

Here are detailed rebuttals for those who are truly seeking answers: https://answersingenesis.org/hermeneutics/is-genesis-1-literal-literalism-or-literalistic/ or https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/did-jesus-say-he-created-in-six-literal-days/?srsltid=AfmBOorTcWqeUZuhgcuWQ51lsmjEaDxDLrYxQZugxMTM728T8MEQhaMk

Credit to Pixabay for blog photos.

Thanks to my husband, Richard Nalos, for editorial revision concerning the reasons.