“I am the good Shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:11
This is my opening line in Chapter 6 of my book–Hurting Hearts Need A Light.
A pervasive darkness envelops America, driven by social media and other forces that manipulate our thoughts and emotions, & it’s spreading rapidly like a pinwheel in the wind.
Past the politics and the noise, we can clearly see that the wolves are already knocking at our doors trying to bust into our lives, our thoughts, and our emotions, as well, while the sheep (us) stand in the shadows watching. Wolves are social animals and travel in packs, & each pack has a leader; alpha male. They’re nocturnal: sleep in the day, roam at night seeking their prey.
What does this have to do with us? Human wolves roam our country, as well, disguised as social media platforms, podcasters, politicians, college professors, teachers, even doctors.
Like real wolves, human wolves can also be scavengers: animals or organisms that feed on dead organic matter. And they don’t stay in one place too long. They’re known to travel up to twelves miles a day; but in this case, they can travel around the world in the blink of an eye because of modern means of communication. They, too, can communicate by howling, growling, whining, and disrupting the calm which causes havoc and storms with whoever is in their paths.
Wolves, like all wild animals, go for the “guts” of their prey after the kill because the guts are the most nutrient parts of an animal.
Wolves are also carnivores: meat eaters. They are stronger in numbers but are cautious creatures. They assess their situation before leaping into action. But their true mission is to attack– the sheep. They can chew us up and spit us out. They especially prey on sheep who are sick and weak. Human wolves lie in wait to trounce on weak emotions, confused feelings, and thoughts that are driven by the wind, paving the way for the kill–your soul. They are at our front doors as we speak and must be driven out.
Sheep rely heavily on their master–the shepherd–to take care of them. Sheep need endless attention and the utmost care. Their masters must be vigilant. Because of the disproportionate weight of their bodies, they can fall and roll over, making it impossible for them to get up without the help of their shepherd. They’ll flail, bleat, and fight to get back up without their shepherd’s help.
I’ll end with this. Where do human wolves get their appetites? Quite simply: Hate. And hate kills. Hate lies. Hate slanders. Hate harms. Hate destroys. Hate corrupts. Hate resents. And hate causes public discourse. Human wolves hate law & order. They hate anyone who disagrees with them. And most of all, they hate God, God’s Son, Jesus Christ. They hate Christians, Jews, & Christianity.
Enter: The Good Shepherd–Jesus, our Lord & Savior. He protects us from these ravenous wolves who seek to destroy us.
Praying for all of you! You can check out the entire chapter, Sheep Among Wolves here: https://rb.gy/kwohxa
“For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you” –Deuteronomy 20:4
ENEMIES.
Our enemies are all around us; sometimes noticed, and sometimes unnoticed. Those we can see have faces. Those we can’t see lurk and hide in dark places. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
These unseen forces wait for us to stumble, hoping that we take our eyes off Jesus. Some have no faces, but they do have names: Discouragement. Self-pity. Resentment. Hate. Jealousy. Envy. Depression. Finger-pointing.
Many know these types of enemies because they can become relentless toward bringing us down. Our enemies try to rid the marketplace of Jesus, God’s one and only Son. They’ve tried to destroy our freedom of religion. Our enemies believe that once Jesus is taken out of the way, they will have won the battle, and they will believe they will be in control at last.
Evidently, they are not privy to Isaiah 59:19, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him?”
How awesome is this!
Our Enemies’ Goal.
Nehemiah’s enemies tried to prevent the wall around Jerusalem from being rebuilt. They said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to their work” (Neh. 4:11 NASB). Although written a long time ago, this verse demonstrates how our enemies think.
Enemies of God’s people will cause as much havoc as they can, attempting to do whatever is necessary to steal our hope and stop us from doing His work. They want us to believe that they have won the battle before it’s even over in order to discourage us. Hope is a strong emotion; but when it has been lost, depression and discouragement fills the gap. One of the main goals of our enemies is to convince us that our situation is hopeless.
Hopelessness steals life from our hearts. It can destroy our emotions and cause people to do things they might never do otherwise. Hopelessness is a thief and tries to steal your soul.
But, there is always hope no matter how far off it seems.
Nothing or no one has the power to steal or destroy our hope unless we allow it. This is because Jesus lives and He gives us the strength to overcome! The song Because He Lives (one of my all-time favortie hymns) by Bill and Gloria Gaither is a song I hold close in my heart. It’s a song that has gotten me through some rough times, and whenever I hear it or sing it, I always know there is hope. It’s the song I still find myself singing now and then and fills me with joyful emotion. I know He lives, and I know I can face tomorrow. And you can, too.
This book is dedicated to all the hurting hearts in the world that wonder if they will ever see tomorrow.
There is hope. There is a light at the end of your tunnel.
Step back.
Take a deep breath.
Breathe.
This is a new beginning to the rest of your life…
“…so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 NASV).
I’ve gone through my share of valleys, and I couldn’t see a light at the end because of the shadows that blocked my way. I know what it’s like to struggle with depression and loneliness and how it feels when you believe no one cares about you or loves you.
My sincere desire is to briefly share some of my struggles that took me down long roads of despair and want others to know that it is possible to plant your feet on the mountaintop where God wants all of us to be because of His great love for us.
You can live a life of joy if you discover your God-given purpose. Once you do, you’ll be able to set your feet on a new journey that offers hope, one where you can walk through a door and find the joy Jesus offers. He has a plan for all of us, and He’ll help you walk closer to Him. Life is an arena: choose to step inside and experience your purpose.
May you find comfort as He speaks to your heart and guides you to discover your true purpose so that you can begin working toward a goal.
I created Inspiration that all children are precious in God’s sight. They need our love and protection from those who wish to harm them.
Remember the old Sunday school song, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world; red & yellow, black & white, they are [all] precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” It is so true.
At Inspiration Designs, it’s my desire to encourage parents & families to embrace God’s children and shower them with love, attention, and loving discipline to give them a balanced and firm foundation to flourish in a world that truly needs them to become a significant force in our society because they are our future.
MAGA simply means, Make America Great Again because don’t we want to live in a country that encourages others to be the best that they can be? One of many ways to encourage our children to become independent individuals is to embrace simple Christian values & principles of days gone by. The world has changed, but we don’t have to change with it. We can still embrace good moral values and encourage families to become part of a greater mission, a greater generation by helping our children thrive in a world that so desperately needs their precious souls for a better tomorrow.
It is my hope that you will check out our American made bibs at the link below and share your experience with others and give as a gift. Other items will be available for purchase as we travel down life’s path to a greater tomorrow. Let your light shine in the darkness. God bless.
If you care to visit my website and place an order, please visit inspiration-designs.square.site.
When we walk out of our home we step onto the battlefield of life and into the arena of our enemies who lie in the shadows waiting to devour the unsuspecting and upright.
“They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion.” Psalms 22:13
“Be of sober spirit, be on alert; Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made widows in the midst of her.” Ezekiel 22:25
“But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethern who are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:9
Briefly, I’d like to encourage everyone to be more aware of your surroundings as millions of illegal aliens/invaders pour into our country and many bussed all across the country.
The purpose of this post: I ran across a post a few days ago from a woman who was in a Texas Walmart store. She noticed two male suspects eyeing a small child who had wandered off several feet from her parents. As the woman kept her eye on the child, a scruffy-looking man began approaching the child. The woman stepped toward the child and walked toward the man, staring directly into his eyes.
The man retreated, and the woman moved away but continued watching the man and the child. Sure enough, the man and another man with him circled back toward the child. Again, the woman approached them, causing the men to walk away. The woman took the child back to her parents and told them what had happened.
Distraught, the woman left the store, got to her car, and recorded a post to warn people of the incident.
It’s not known whether these two men were illegals but as more and more of them pour into our country, we must be aware of our surroundings and any children who may be in danger of being kidnapped and trafficked. The number is astonishing.
Please, when you are out and about, keep your eyes open and be more aware of someone watching a small child while acting suspicious. We are living in treacherous times, and we must be vigilant of children who may be in danger. We never know whether God can use us to deter such an incident.
Children are precious in His sight, and they are precious in our sight, too. We must help them stay safe. Follow your instincts. If something doesn’t seem quite right, it may very well not be.
We must arm our children for the fight of their lives if they are to escape our immoral society.
Once upon a time . . .
Our children were more safe than they are now. They could ride their bikes down to a friend’s house five-ten blocks away, to the corner store for an ice cream cone, and even to grandma’s and grandpa’s house maybe a mile down a dirt road.
But, no more. Children are being kidnapped, sexually and morally abused, brainwashed, and taught things that no child should hear or see. Only recently, Washington State passed a bill allowing the state to take children from their parents if their parents didn’t allow their child to transition to the opposite sex. These children no longer belong to their parents.
Life is no longer precious in the eyes of society. It seems that life itself has become a burden to our leaders, to women who choose abortion, as well as to teachers who are teaching them to go down a path of destruction and will only seek to destroy them physically, mentally, and spiritually. Society wants us to not believe our own eyes and ears when it comes to the news; we are to only believe what our government officials and the media says.
I typically have never believed that it “takes a village” to raise a child because I believed, and still do, that it is a parent’s responsibility to raise their own children, however, because of the path society has taken, I do believe that we have some responsibility to help save our children from the clutches of a Sodom and Gomorrah.
“Now, the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.” Genesis 13:13. Lot and his wife and two daughters were warned to flee Sodom because the Lord had compassion on them. But when Lot hesitated, two men seized his and his family’s hands and brought them out of the city. The man said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” But Lot asked if he and his family could go to a nearby city called Zoar. They were granted their request, and upon their arrival there, the sun had risen over the earth and the Lord rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah and the inhabitants had perished because of their wickedness.
Choose this day whom you will serve because a day is coming when the Lord will bring swift judgement on those who plot to do evil. His patience with wickedness will not last forever, but the most atrocious sin of all is abusing our children.
Wicked deeds are being done to innocent children–children who trust those who are in authority, which is so sad. We must speak out and try to save our children from those who wish to do them harm. Those in authority are mutilating our children; cutting off breasts and penises of our young boys and girls, some as young as ten years old!
I’ve watched the past two years to see these wicked deeds being performed on our young children, and it’s so hard to watch. It breaks my heart. How can we sit back and not do anything? if we don’t try to save them, who will? What choice do we have?
If you are willing and able, please get involved somehow. School board meetings? Go check out to see what’s going on in your children’s and grandchildren’s schools. Not all schools may be corrupt, but I’m finding that it’s the Superintendent’s and teachers who are teaching transgenderism, but they are disguising it. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all better, but I can’t.
I’m in the process of creating a “School Newsletter” in order to encourage parents and try to keep them and grandparents informed as to what’s going on in our public schools. They’ve been pushing transgenderism, and they are having transgenders read to our precious children during story time. School libraries are filled with smut. They are brainwashing our children, and they must be saved from these predators.
Please pray for our children. We have to give them hope, and hope can only be found in Jesus. Our children need to know Jesus.
We must teach children how to fish again–how to be kind, teach them how to be strong, to be patience, and above all, love. I do believe that God’s light is shining down onto the darkness. I believe that there is hope.
Pray for our nation. Pray for our schools. Pray for our children.
1964 – I was around ten. In 4th grade. And, my best friend at that time was my little dog, Susie, a black, white and brown fox terrier/hound mix (at least that was what we were told when we picked her up for the first time). She was my world. Smartest dog I ever knew. On command, she could walk on her hind feet, howl when we howled, sit down, and sit up. She had a different bark for humans when they came over, and another bark for dogs when one would pass by the house. But what others were most amazed about was that she’d go right to the edge of our property without stepping one foot onto the road. She knew the boundaries of our entire yard and always stayed within those boundaries. We could always let her out without worrying that she’d run off.
Then one warm, summer day my worst nightmare happened. I was home alone, and I let her out like always. After realizing she’d been out for a fairly long time, I went looking. I went around our house several times calling out to her, but she was nowhere to be found. She was simply gone. For the first time, she must have left the yard. I was crushed. It felt as though she’d disappeared into thin air.
I needed a miracle. I can’t express how heart sick I felt. Can you imagine how I felt when I discovered that I had lost the most precious thing in my life? I went inside, tromped to my room, fell on my bed, and cried. And while I cried, I prayed. I prayed so hard that God would bring my dog back. I was exhausted.
Finally, about 20 minuets to a half hour later, I trudged back into the living room and jerked to a stop when I glanced out of our picture window with blurry eyes, and there . . . sniffing through the grass was my little Susie girl. She pushed her nose through the grass as if she’d never left my sight–acting as though nothing abnormal had happened.
I ran outside, picked her up, and probably hugged her way too hard. The joy that filled my heart and soul is indescribable. I cried some more and thanked God the rest of the day that He brought my dog back to me. To this day, I have no idea where she’d gone, and why she never came to me when I called, but I believe with all my heart that God had been watching over her. And, He’d seen a little girl’s tears, and heard a little girl’s pleas to rescue her dog.
Me holding Susie
This was when my seed of faith sprouted, and my belief in God materialize. I will never forget the day that God met me right where I was–a hurting heart and all–and showed me His presence.
Everyone’s seed of faith sprouts differently, and at different times. And, most can remember the time and the place when God met them in their time of need.
God works in such mighty ways, and He will meet you, too, right where you are, at exactly the right time.
I’ve touched on this subject before, but I think it’s vital to bring it to the forefront again. A reminder of what happened on June 25, 1952, which was a fatal blow to the fabric of America’s children. The news alert that tore a hole in our Constitution and how it changed America for the worst. The following is an excerpt of that event:
“Upheaval broke out across America today as Steven Engle, a Jewish New York parent, and other parents of the children attending a New York public school brought a lawsuit against William Vitale in New York State over what they believe to be state-sponsored prayer being recited in schools…”
“After oral arguments today in the Engle vs Vitale case, the Supreme Court ruled by a margin of 6-1 (with two justices not participating in the vote) and found New York’s law allowing children to voluntarily recite the following prayer as unconstitutional . . .
WHAT WAS THE PRAYER?
‘“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued in favor of Mr. Engle.”
This was a big win for those who stood against God and prayer.
Our institutions are being purged from Christian values and principles. A war is raging for the hearts, minds, and souls of our children, and it has grown into a full blown catastrophe across this nation.
America is at a crossroads, and treading in dangerous territory: But we can either stand for God and Christian values, or not. It’s just that simple. Now is the time to choose: What road do you want your children to travel?
My heart is heavy regarding the things that are being thrown into our children’s faces. Our precious, impressionable young children are being subjected to the sin, either on social media, television shows, movies, and even in our classrooms during so-called “story time.” They’re being read stories by drag queens and transvestites during story times. They’re also being subjected to pornographic materials in school and public libraries. But it’s not that we hate these people who are subjecting these things to our children, but we hate their lifestyles because their lifestyles are corrupting our children.
What must happen before we speak and shine our lights in the darkness in order to save our children.
The progression of sin in public places and in America’s classrooms is a frontal attack on parents and our children. It is out of control. Our young children, even as young as three years old in Preschool are being subjected to unspeakable things while many parents either don’t know what’s going on, or they may think it’s no big deal. I’m not sure which, but I believe parents need to at least know what’s going on in their child’s classrooms, if they don’t already, and they just don’t know what to do about it.
If we turn a blind eye, or ignore the problem, it will only grow worse. But at least now, it’s out in the open so we’re able to work to stop it. LGBTQ+ (and all the other letters) are now performing drag shows, dancing in front of young children, some showing their private parts, and encouraging these kids to participate in their lewd performances while some parents watch and laugh.
Dangerous.Dangerous for our children. There’s not only an attack on our children but also on our family values at an alarming rate.
A warning to parents:
One video shows a transvestite bending over with his pants down while a small child paints his butt and genitals while other children and adults watch. Some are dragging small children onto the stage and are teaching them how to “drag dance.” Disgusting can’t even describe what these sick perverts are doing to our children.
Our enemies
Do you know that these things are going on? If we don’t get a handle on these things, it will be too late for our children if it isn’t already.
What is a drag queen?
Our enemies
A man who dresses as a woman and performs with lewd behaviors.A male who dresses up in women‘s clothing, typically for public performance. The man’s clothing and makeup are typically greatly exaggerated, so the end result is typically a parody of women in general.
Our enemies
Do we want these people influencing our young children?
Drag Story time: These perverted souls are going into our schools and reading to our children.
Heartbreaking, to say the least. These small children have no idea what’s going on, and they’re being taught that this behavior is okay. Children trust their parents to guide them in the right direction so if parents are allowing this kind of behavior the the child has a long road ahead of him or her. What chance does a small child have knowing the difference between right and wrong? Or, to know what sin is? But, of course, the enemy wants people to believe that sin is “fun” when in the end it brings destruction. We should never approve of such behavior. We cannot. Staying silent allows it to fester.
What’s more heartbreaking are parents who accept it and go along with it. And when their young child comes home thinking that “she” thinks she might be a “he,” and vice versa, what will happen to that child? We’re only now beginning to see the devastating effects of transgender surgeries when these parents and their children realize that they can’t undo what’s been done.
Propaganda. Indoctrination. Social lies. Test scores down across the nation because they’re spending a lot of time teaching garbage. (My suggestion at this point is get your children out of public schools)
Is it too late to stop it? It isn’t too late if we stand up now and speak out against it. Parents, God doesn’t make mistakes. He knows exactly what He’s doing. He created only two genders: male and female. To believe otherwise is a lie.
We need parents and grandparents to stop believing the lies we are being told. Get back to the basics. Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Two genders: Male and Female. Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, not between two males, or two females. Simple, back to the basics, thinking.
If you so choose, check to see what’s going on in your local schools. We have a right to know, and we have a right to know what they’re doing to our children in the classroom. You can do your own research on line. It’s out there for your information in discovering what is happening to our children. It doesn’t take much research:
A warning: If this is going on in your child’s school, for their own sake, remove them from this deadly environment immediately and seek Christian schools or private schools. Don’t think twice. Don’t look back. Get your child out from this sinful environment and save your child. It’s going to take strong parents who love their children enough to keep them safe from these predators. Parents and grandparents must realize that these people are our enemies, and we must separate ourselves, and our children from the darkness.
Make some noise and find out if these things are going on in your children’s schools. Please be praying for our children, parents, and grandparents. Our children need to know that we have their backs. Thank you.
Debbie Erickson
He Holds Our Future - Team Jesus - Seeking Truth in Troubled Times 