Watchin' God Book One - Listed Alphabetically

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Saturday, June 23, 2018

So You Want To Go To Alaska

I'm working on this. Will have more info, links, phone numbers.  .

Links to my NCCarlson fb profile albums
 Alaska pictures. Fairbanks, Palmer, and many other places
More Alaska Pictures 
Ruth Glacier, Denali


This itinerary is designed for adventurous adults without young children.

Ferry from Bellingham WA to Valdez AK
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/
     The cost of driving through Canada makes a trip on the ferry worth considering.  First, there is the $300 per person per vehicle that one must have to cross the border.  Then there is the gas prices, which seems to be about 25% higher than the US.  Besides, I'm saving the trip through Canada for last.  Of course, you might choose to take the ferry home after the busy vacation in Alaska.
    Sleeping arrangements on the ferry are several: if you can afford it, and can get one, there are cabins (expect to make reservations a year in advance!); there is an open deck with heaters in the ceiling and deck loungers, bring your own sleeping gear (I bought an air mattress and a blanket, then gave it to someone who was boarding at the terminal where I disembarked); bring a tent and set it up on that same deck;  the auditorium has seats that people use during the day, and sleeping on the floor is allowed.
    The ferry makes several stops at towns along the coast.  There will be time for you to take a little tour of the area.  If you want to spend the night at a port, you can do that and simply catch the ferry the next day.  It might be a good idea to discuss that plan with an employee.  I didn't make a stop, but I have heard it can be done.
    When you arrive in Valdez - pronounced Val-DEEZ, visit a little.  I haven't been there since 1973, so don't know much about what you will find.  I do remember Thompson Pass from my senior trip.  Beautiful waterfalls!  The sun streaming through the moss-covered trees in the woods is a picture that will forever be etched in my memory. (As will the looks of the folks in the restaurant after our class of 9 with a few chaperones piled in, hungry as bears and smelling like the same!)  Here is a nifty post.  https://matadornetwork.com/trips/valdez-coolest-town-never-heard/

Drive to Anch

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

 















Drive to Talkeetna
     On the Parks Hwy, at mike 77.5 prepare to see a beautiful view of Mt. McKinley (Denali, for the PC) if it's visible. It will be bordered by trees on both sides of the road and look much larger than the awesome view of the entire range that will be spread before you on the way down the hill into Talkeetna.
     Turn right on the Talkeetna Spur road at mile 98.5.  At mile 13.5 you willl be blesed and highly favored amongst the hopeful tourists if you get to see this view.
     Well, minus me. I am highly unlikely to be in town.
     My camera is only 5 mega pixel, so the photo doesn't do justice to the view - at all. Truth be told, nothing does. It's one of those views that is best kept in the memory.

Here's a shot of some dreative rock balancing on the river path, headed towards the bridge. To get there, go to the end of Main Street and hook a right. 

     Sheldon Air Service   Tell Holly that Nancy Spencer said Hi!
     Roadhouse. Raspberry Rhubarb Pie, half eaten. Tips are included in the prices, ala European-style. The employees are from all over the world, so if you speak a language other than English, try it out on them! They might be thrilled to speak their native tongue.
     Devil's Canyon - Mahay's Riverboat Service. My video is on another computer, but if you want a glimpse, go to youtube. There are plenty of videos. Keep in mind that, like pictures of The Mountain, videos of this awesome trip are bland.

     Fishing
     I haven't gone fishing, so can't recommend any particular operator.  Plenty of options, from river to lakes.
     Zipline
     I haven't done this - yet! - but rumor has it from my (older) friends that it's a blast!
     Take the Hurricane Turn on the Alaska Railroad (that's what we used to call it back in the day when the North- and South-bound passenger trains met at Honolulu and exchanged passengers), now known as the Hurricane Turn.  It's a 5 hour trip.  Possibly the last flagstop train in the country - maybe the world!



Head north on the Parks Highway to your next stop.  On the way, keep a lookout at Mile 188.5 for the giant igloo.
     Someone tried to sell it, and The Daily Mail in the UK picked up the event.  I, personally, have never stopped.  Maybe this trip??

Drive to the Park  (McKinley Park if you're old-school.  Denali National Park and Preserve if you're politically correct.)
     The Parks Highway from the Park entrance north a mile or so is affectionately (or not) known as Glitter Gultch.  Hotels, tourist traps, food, tours.  You can walk on a paved path from the park headquarters.  I'm sure there is a shuttle from the Park headquarters.  Or you can drive after you see the Panorama at the Park.  Parking might be a bit dicey, but it can be had.  There are several 'shopping centers' with gravel parking lots.

Arrive in Healy and spend a few days.  There really are enough things to do, and lodging is somewhat cheaper there than staying on Glitter Gultch.

These cabins are small, but the beds are good.  There are also rafting tours available from the office.
 
Climb Mt Healy
     I want to climb this! Evidently I'm not the only one who keeps driving by without stopping.  Maybe this impromptu trip in September 2018.  I wonder if I can find anyone willing to accompany me??

Usibelli Coal Mine  At the least, look at the mountain across the river from Healy.  Find the black coal strip, and look for this huge dragline!  (when I find the picture I will insert it here.)

Fairbanks
     Riverboat Discovery
     UAF museum
     Chena Hotsprings
     Turtle Club in Fox
Circle  (Arctic Circle)
Santa Claus House in North Pole is - a touristy shop, but they do have some local, Made in Alaska items.  (Look for the Bear. There is a long and detailed State process to be able to use this logo, so you can be assured the item really is Made in Alaska.)
I refused to buy just any old thing, only what demanded to come home with me. Yeah. It wasn't the cheapest thing in the store...  It lights up! This will make, oh, maybe #34 trees in my house for Christmas. It's not really that bad. Some of those trees are pictures, or napkin rings. But still...
     Oh, and Santa said it wasn't him... I asked.
Buffalo at Delta Junction
     There are several camping areas around Delta Junction.  Enjoy!    
     If you didn't make it up Mt Healy, Donnelly Dome is your next chance, at roughly 2,000 shorter.  A permit is required, so check out the link.
Fast Eddy's in Tok
Chicken/Klondike
Back to the States down the ALCAN Highway


Tuesday, June 5, 2018

"Lord Have Mercy!"

“Lord, Have Mercy!”

     Do you take the Lord’s name in vain?  Like me, if you are saved, your automatic response is probably “No way!”  One day, after being accused of such a sin, I asked God to tell me what He thought.  I was surprised.  It embarrasses me to have to admit, even to myself, how many times God has to let me know I am breaking the third commandment.
     Unless you are actually talking to God, asking for his help, or talking to him like he’s a friend standing beside you, chances are good you’re using his name in vain, no matter what cliché you use to express surprise, anger, frustration or any number of other things.
          ‘Lord, have mercy!’ and ‘Ooh Lord’ are common phrases used without thinking.  Unless you are truly asking God for mercy, you just used God’s name in vain.      
     ‘Oh my God!’ is so blatant that it does not require explanation.  I usually comment ‘Mine, too’ and hope the offender will get the message.
     Since asking the Holy Ghost to show me when I am cursing, it is surprising how many times I do it, and how often other Christians do.  I have heard it from the pulpit, in homes from people I consider above reproach in other areas, everywhere.   We probably do not even hear the words we are saying.
     Another issuxe is the phrase ‘blessing someone out’, which is just a polite term for ‘cussing someone out’. 
Consider this:  Jeremiah 23:10 ‘…for because of swearing (cursing) the land mourneth;’  It’s bad enough that unsaved people use God’s name in vain, but we as Christians are doubly guilty of cursing God, and of causing our country to fall!   II  Chronicles 7:14 ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
            If you call yourself a Christian (Christ-like), do not blame all of our country’s problems on the unsaved.  We share in the blame, more so because we trample underfoot the name of God and Jesus Christ our Savior, whom we profess to love.                                                                       
    It’s time we, as children of the living God, who paid for our sin of cursing him, pay attention to what we say and confess our sin.
     If you have never realized you are destined for hell, if you have never asked God to forgive your sin of unbelief, now is the time to admit you’re a sinner, condemned to die, and thank God for Jesus, who paid your debt so you could live!  John 3:18 ‘he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’Romans 10:9 ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ There is no magic prayer that will save you.  It must come from the heart.  Talk to God as if he is right there listening to you.  He is, you know.  Then tell someone about it!

Sunday, June 3, 2018

God Will Let Me Into Heaven Because

Why should God let you into heaven?  Now that’s a question!  What’s your answer?
     Because you’ve worked enough, been good enough to deserve a place beside Adam and Eve, Jesus, even the beggar Lazarus?  Titus 3:5 ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…
     Because you give time and money to church and missionaries, to the TV preachers, to the homeless? Because you’re better than those hypocrites who make a show of being so good when someone’s looking? Because you can quote more Bible verses than your neighbor, your brother or sister, even your pastor? Because you go to church every time the doors are open?   Luke 18:10-14 ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee (often hypocritical religious leader), and the other a publican (tax collector).  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying “God be merciful to me a sinner.”  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.’
     Because you believe in God? John 3:18 ‘… he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ James 2:19 ‘The devils believe also (in God) and tremble.’
Because you’ve been baptized or confirmed? Because you’re a church member, or take communion? Acts 18:8 ‘…and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.’  Acts 2:47b ‘And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.’  Belief comes first, then you are baptized, added to the church roles, and take communion.           
    Because you’re a Baptist (or Methodist,   or Catholic, or Pentecostal or Mormon, or Jew or Muslim or…)?  Romans 3:9 ‘What then?  Are we better than they?  No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles (everybody who isn’t a Jew), that they are all under sin;
     None of these reasons will do.

     If you realize you need to trust Jesus instead of yourself, tell him you were wrong, that you want to trust his death, burial and resurrection as payment for your sinsAsk him to forgive your sin of unbelief.  John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life’. Thank him for the Holy Spirit who will help you live for him from now on.  John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:’   There are no magic words that will save you.  It must come from the heart.  Talk to God as if he is right there listening to you.  He is, you know.  Romans 10:9 ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’

Okay, I said the Prayer, But How do I Know I'm Saved?

Okay, I Said the Prayer But How Do I Know I'm Saved

Glad you asked!  When you prayed, did you ask Jesus to forgive you and save you, in so many words?  Did you feel like God was trying to get your attention?  “No man can come to me, except the Father…draw him” (John 6:44) Was there a change in your heart and life?   “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” (Ezekiel 36:26)
True repentance is “(I) have sinned, and have done perversely, (I) have committed wickedness: and so return unto thee with all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul” (1 Kings 8:47b-48a) False repentance is “I have sinned...because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice…pardon my sin.”  God said “I will not”.        (1 Samuel 15:24-26)  Saul refused to take responsibility for his sin.
Are you willing to admit with sorrow and shame that you aren’t good enough to get to heaven on your own? Are you convinced that nothing you can do will pay for your sins, either past, present or future? Do you rely completely on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, believing only he can save you? “He that believeth not on him (Jesus) is condemned already” (John 3:18) God “saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
Is there a constant conflict about doing right and wrong? “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the others: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would”.  (Galatians 5:17)
When you wonder if you’re saved, do you have a memory of asking for salvation?  ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:’  (Romans 8:17)
Do spiritual things interest you? Do you enjoy telling and hearing stories of the blessings of God?  Does God give you wisdom when you ask for it?  Does God answer your smallest prayers? Deep down, do you really care what God says? “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”  (Romans 8:14) Does the Bible seem to apply to you?  Do you understand the Bible and believe it to be God’s Word?  “The Spirit…will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)  
Does living like ‘everyone else’ make you feel like you are doing something wrong? Do references to immoral sex, and crude jokes, drinking, immodest clothing and pictures, lying, stealing and swearing make you uncomfortable? Is your idea of what is right and wrong different from the world? “For when he (the Holy Ghost) is come, he will reprove the world of sin,” (John 16:8a)
When you sin, are there consequences?  If you cheat someone, do you seem to lose what you gained?  If you engage in immoral activity involving a partner of the same or opposite sex, are you miserable instead of happy?  If you are living a sinful life are you ashamed to be around ‘religious’ people? “And be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23)
Luke 15:11-32 shows what happens when God’s children sin. The stubborn son left the blessings of his father’s house for ‘riotous living’ (Luke 15:13), resulting in famine and misery. God was chastening (punishing) him.  He “came to himself”, repented and went home, admitting to his father that he was wrong. “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons…But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all (saved people) are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”  (Hebrews 12:7a, 8) The chastisement was proof of his relationship with God.  Is there any proof of your relationship with God?
If you have been answering “yes”, and your sins are causing you to question your salvation, follow the prodigal son’s example and REPENT, lest God chastise you more.   Thank God for His keeping power and great love! “And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”  (John 6:37b)
If you have been answering “no”, God says you are NOT his child.  “Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.”  (John 8:43, 44a)  If God has made you realize that the prayer you repeated earlier in life was just words to please someone else, RIGHT NOW is the time to ask Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your heart and make a change in your life.  There is no ‘proper’ prayer.  Just talk to God like he’s right there.  He is, you know.  “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2b)  If you put it off, the devil will steal away the desire. He doesn’t want you to admit your need for a savior, or believe that Jesus died, was buried and rose again to prove He’s God and can, and will, forgive your sins.  The devil wants you to spend eternity in hell with him.  That will break your momma’s heart and God’s as well.  God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  (2 Peter 3:9b)

The Prayer That Can Send You To HELL

     Strange as it may seem, there is a prayer that can send you to hell!  And it’s the ‘sinner’s prayer’. 
     I can hear you thinking ‘What are you talking about?!’ 
     If you believe that ‘once saved, always saved’, repeating the sinner’s prayer – or asking Jesus to save you – can actually keep you from getting saved.  The reason for that is that many people think just saying the words will do the trick.  Bingo! You’re saved!  Now no matter what I do, or don’t do, I’m going to heaven!
     It’s not so easy.  There are conditions.  Yes, conditions.  You must see yourself as God sees you – a sinner.  No excuses, no ‘I’m doing the best I can’, no ‘I’m not as bad as the next guy, even though I am bad’.  Also, you must be willing to trust Jesus Christ to save you.  Trust involves being willing to put your life on the line, and actually doing it.  You can believe the airplane can fly, but until you are willing to actually get in the plane and let it take off with you inside, you don’t really trust the plane.  Same with knowing that the blood of Jesus will wash away your sins, and his resurrection will make it possible for you to live with him for eternity.  As long as you think you are responsible or can do anything for your salvation, you aren’t trusting Jesus Christ.  You can’t flap your arms and help the plane stay in the air.  Neither can you do anything to help Jesus save you.
     Until you are willing to acknowledge and accept as life or death fact, and reach out and take the payment offered, without trying to help, you are still on your way to hell!  Repeating a bunch of words isn’t what saves you.  It’s transferring your sin and trust from yourself to Jesus Christ that saves you (repenting). 
If you’ve ‘said the prayer’ and there is no change in your attitude about God, no little voice inside that says ‘you did wrong’ when you cross the line the Bible draws about sin, no desire to know more about Jesus Christ, and you think that prayer has saved you, you’ve prayed the prayer that can send you to hell!
     The reason?  Because you think ‘once saved, always saved’.  Which, by the way, is true.  God said ‘have everlasting life’ and ‘is passed from death unto life’ – that’s forever - you get it, you got it.  The kicker is that you must be saved in the first place.  Are you?
     If you’ve been relying on a prayer you prayed, no matter your age when you said it, but there is no evidence in your life and heart to support such a claim, don’t just say yet another prayer.  Ask God to show you.  When you are convicted (you can’t get away from the thought that you need to be saved), then tell God that you are tired of leaning on yourself, and accept the payment Jesus made on the cross for your sins.  Jesus is waiting for you to acknowledge your doubts and fears, so he can give you peace and complete assurance.  And maybe the salvation you thought you had in the first place.  You’ll go to hell without it.