Blessed Magazine December/January, 2014 Issue

Special Article: I'm a Christian Addicted to Porn

BLESSED December, 2013/January, 2014

Coping With, Surviving and Forgiving Adultery Wife Abuse: Assault on a Woman’s Worth

Bishop Eddie Long Pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

Holiday Recipes that’s sure to Delight

The Fallen "Can Restoration Occur After a Pastor has been Caught in a Scandal?"

Pursuit of Happiness What Can You Do To Ensure Your Own Contentment

AN EXORCISM STORY

Rapture Ready: “Oops! I Guess I Wasn’t Ready!”

Repentance Prayer

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Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your loving-kindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak,[a] And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar

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Connect with Us Articles Inspired by the Following: Gary Van Warmerdam Pursuit of Happiness: What Can You Do To Ensure Your Own Contentment

Elder Randall McClure Sr. Elder Sheryl McClure

Photo courtesy of www.famu.edu

Coping With, Surviving, and Forgiving Adultery

Shaun Groves I'm a Christian Addicted to Porn

In this issue…

Father Joe An Exorcism Story

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June Hunt Wife Abuse: Assault on a Woman’s Worth

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Todd Strandberg Rapture Ready

S. Michael Houdmann The Fallen

Pursuit of Happiness: What Can You Do To Ensure Your Own Contentment

18 Coping With, Surviving and Forgiving Adultery 21 I‘m a Christian Addicted to Porn Due to the nature of this true-life story, parental discretion is advised due to some graphic content

26 An Exorcism Story

Special Thanks to God our Father Jesus our Savior Holy Spirit our Guide My Loving Parents My Adoring Children Our Faithful Fans Our Supporters God Bless You All

Due to the nature of this true-life story, parental discretion is advised due to some graphic content

33 Wife Abuse: Assault on a Woman‘s Worth 47 Rapture Ready: ―Oops! I Guess I Wasn‘t Ready!‖

53 The Fallen 59 Holiday Recipes That‘s Sure to Delight

The images and/or content posted in this magazine are not always owned by Blessed Magazine, unless otherwise stated. Blessed Magazine is not, and does not claim to be, the original host of all of the posted content, and some content is found via popular image/info sharing sites and forums. Please be aware that certain content such as recipes and/or preparation procedures are not subject to copyright law.

NOTE: Blessed Magazine does not willingly or knowingly intend to hurt anyone or violate anyone's rights when it comes to posting content. We try our best to carefully research each photo. article and will list the original owners within the article for full recognition. However we are human and not infallible and errors are sometimes made. If you see something in Blessed Magazine and believe it to be your property, please contact us immediately to make us aware of it and to discuss the proper way you would like us to share it.

Contact email address is: contact@blessedmagazine.org

NOTE FROM OUR EDITOR

As with each issue, we communicate with individuals about what would be of interest to not only educate, but inspire and encourage each other as we continue our journey of salvation All of us here love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and we strive to bring you the best in this magazine we call blessed We hope that you will be inspired and blessed with this issue as we desire with all the issues we have already published and the ones to come If at any time you have a topic of interest or would like to contribute, please contact us at contact@blessedmagazine.org

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

―Wow! I‘m so excited about this issue of Blessed Magazine because this issue focuses on topics which seem to be controversial to so many Christians today.

May God continue to bless you and yours this Christmas season and enter the new year!

Laraine Turner President/Founder

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Christian Living

Pursuit of

By Gary Van Warmerdam

What Can You Do To Ensure Your Own Contentment

The pursuit of happiness seems to be a big deal. Bookshelves and magazines fill volumes with the topic. Even our founding fathers thought it rated a line in the Declaration of Independence. It is part of our natural instinct to pursue happiness. The same way we seek to experience physical pleasure and avoid physical pain, we seek emotional pleasure, and attempt to avoid emotional pain. Our emotional enjoyment, or what we can call happiness, is simply part of human nature 9

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

When we buy a car we want to feel good about the purchase. Feeling good is the end result we seek but there are many paths to get there. One person may worry about safety concerns with children in the car. In order to feel better emotionally they buy a large SUV. Another person may have strong beliefs about the environment and feels better when they satisfy these beliefs. They might buy a hybrid car. A third person may be frugal with their money and think it‘s stupid to pay full price for anything. Not wanting to fall into their own belief criteria of being stupid, they buy a used car. Each person‘s means to feeling happy about their choice is a completely different path in car buying

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How pervasive is the pursuit of happiness and emotional well being? It is one of the all encompassing motivations that people have once they meet their survival needs.

Abraham Maslow pointed this out a long time ago in his hierarchy of needs. When a person is physically comfortable and no longer driven by fear of starving or freezing to death, emotional pleasure becomes a primary pursuit. Happiness may take many forms but it is the underlying motivator in most our decisions Even with a natural instinct, constitutional approval and our best efforts, it seems all too easy to create emotional chaos and unhappiness instead. How does this pursuit of happiness get so distorted and take us in the wrong direction at times? While it is easy to discern between the physical sensations of pleasure and pain, emotions are not always direct. We often have a layer of beliefs in the mind that tend to complicate our sense of enjoyment and pursuit of happiness Think about shopping for clothes. Unless we are buying a uniform or a necessary item, we generally buy clothes that we believe will enhance our appearance. When we believe that we look attractive, we feel happier. How we look is just a means to improve how we feel emotionally. We make purchases because we feel good, or assume we will feel good with that purchase. The assumed impact on emotions is the principle motivator behind our decisions

The pursuit of happiness, or feeling emotionally good about the choice, is the principle motivator that was met with three different means. Each person has different assumptions and beliefs they have to meet in order to get to that emotion. For these people it isn‘t the car or the clothes that makes them happy. They feel better because they have satisfied the beliefs in the mind. Each person‘s emotional happiness is behind a barrier of criteria. If they can meet the criteria in their mind they will reward themselves with pleasurable emotions, at least in the short run. Later, their beliefs may change and then they have to go shopping again For the SUV owner maybe it wasn‘t so much about being happy as just keeping their fear based thoughts at bay with a bigger car.

Remember that a large part of feeling good in the mind is about avoiding what we believe feels painful, or potentially painful.

This includes using compensating strategies like a large car to keep emotionally painful fears and beliefs at a distance. Compensating strategies don‘t eliminate the fear based beliefs, but people rely on them a lot to keep their fears managed Where do most people go to satisfy their pursuit of happiness? They try to satisfy the criteria in their mind that tells them what they have to do in order to feel good

That might also mean doing things to compensate for fears and beliefs of something painful happening. The end goal is happiness and all the beliefs, fears, assumptions, and perceptions in the mind dictate the path. You can find these beliefs hiding behind thoughts or comments like, ―Ill be happy when…‖ or, ―I would feel much better if..‖

There are other problems with the approach of chasing the mental assumptions of what will make us happy. What happens when our mind tells us what we have to do to be happy but we haven‘t met the mental criteria yet?

Suppose we believe we will be so much happier if we lose 15 lbs. Our mind can set up the paradigm to be less happy with our body because we haven‘t met the requirements for being happy yet. When we let our belief system determine the criteria for being happy, we also unconsciously define more reasons to be unhappy What if the mind‘s criteria for feeling better emotionally are dependent on things we can‘t control? Perhaps we want a promotion, or recognition at work. We can certainly do things to help our case but we can‘t make someone promote us or appreciate us. Our mind now uses these external factors as justifications to conclude that we are not as happy as we could be

Our pursuit to feeling better and happier has turned into a struggle to get recognized and promoted. Not because it will really make us happier directly, but because our belief system has set this as the means to an emotional end. We might very well get the promotion, a raise, and recognition only to find out we are not filled with joy. Our pursuit of happiness has turned into a pursuit of assumptions in our belief system. The problem here is that we bought into our false beliefs as being true If we aren‘t aware of how belief structures limit happiness we are likely to try and change external factors in order to be happy.

Trying to change factors we can‘t control can lead to us feeling frustrated and powerless Achieving and creating happiness generally isn‘t accomplished the way the mind thinks it happens. Some people are able to pursue their assumptions and satisfy their belief system in their mind. They consider this success and feel good about their accomplishment. This doesn‘t work for everyone. Some people are able to feel happy by satisfying their beliefs But then their beliefs change and they end

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

In the pursuit of physical enjoyment we get direct feedback. With emotional enjoyment we often have a barrier of beliefs and assumptions filtering our efforts.

Is there a problem in seeking happiness according to assumptions and beliefs? Not really, unless you have followed the criteria in the mind and your pursuit led to unhappiness. Is it possible that what our mind assumes will make us happy isn‘t 100% accurate? Disillusioned career choices, broken hearted relationships, and mid-life crisis indicate that our assumptions about happiness often miss the mark. Most of what we have imbedded in our mind about what makes us happy and unhappy comes from other people or marketing agencies and doesn‘t address our individual inspirations

We end up unhappy because we can‘t change external circumstances. If we don‘t change the criteria in our mind we miss our opportunity for happiness

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means to an emotion based on a belief. A belief can change and then the emotion shifts. When you don‘t have a handle on your beliefs, becoming happy is a moving target that is likely to get away from you

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

The pursuit of happiness is a part of our personal constitution and make up as a living being. It is every human‘s birthright and it is within every person‘s possibility to achieve.

To be successful in your pursuit of happiness you will need to dissolve the assumptions and criteria in the mind that interfere with authentic happiness

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up chasing new assumptions thinking it will make them feel better. After a while they get tired of the chase or disheartened because the happiness is not lasting. Some people attempt to satisfy the beliefs in their mind all their life and still never feel fulfilled. Maybe their mind moves the target before they get there. Or maybe, just maybe, there is a greater happiness and fulfillment to be experienced than just satisfying criteria in the mind or compensating for its fears The pursuit of happiness is real. It is an authentic and natural desire of our nature.

For those that feel a deep emotional yearning, simply meeting the criteria of beliefs about what is supposed to make us feel good doesn‘t satisfy this yearning. At a deeper level it becomes about the heart‘s desire, or satisfying something at the level of the soul. Answering these desires is much more meaningful and emotionally fulfilling than satisfying the beliefs in the mind To create, and live in authentic happiness, you will need to learn not to blindly chase the false beliefs in the mind. You will have to pay closer attention to the end goal of emotion and not jump after the first idea the mind offers as a means to get there. When we go after happiness by satisfying the belief system we have taken our eye off the goal and become attached to assumptions and beliefs in the mind A new car, clothes, or losing 15 lbs is just a

In this article I‘ve covered what doesn‘t make for lasting happiness. In our pursuit of happiness it is important to recognize which paths are illusions and dead ends.

A completely different approach to being happy is to create happiness.

Create Happiness in One Step There is one step to creating happiness. It is to express love. When you express the emotion of love you create happiness and joy within yourself. Happiness is not just a state of mind. Happiness is also a state of emotion.

Psychologists study happiness like it is a mysterious phenomenon. They suggest things like work in a meaningful career, spend time with friends, and take time to savor the day as a means to increase happiness. See a larger list on how to be happy at Wikihow.com Why do these things show up as activities to do if you want to be happy? It‘s not because they actually make you happy. They cultivate happiness because people express love while doing them. They express love for their friends and family, they express love for work and activities they find meaningful.

When people express love they are happy It is easy to overlook our critical role of expressing emotion in creating our happiness. We are inclined to think of our emotions as a response to people and

material things.

One simple way this happens is that we hypnotize ourselves with words such as ―He/She makes me happy.‖ Even the phrase, ―I‘m so happy you came to visit me.‖ can have an implied mental assumption that our emotions are because of them The part we didn‘t see is that we expressed love for the person that came to see us.

Where did that emotion of love come from?

We created it. Emotions are invisible to our eyes and so we overlook where they are coming from. Yet the truth is that we create them ourselves. We can perceive other people‘s emotions, but more than 95% of what we feel emotionally is from what we create

What about all the things that seem to make us happy?

If we are enjoying music, it is not the music that makes us happy. It is the expression of our love for the music that creates our joy. If we are happy in our job or career, it is not the job that makes us happy. The expression of our love for what we do creates the experience of happiness. If we are enjoying a beautiful day, it is not the day that is flooding us with emotions. It is our love for the experience of the day that we are flooded with

Over the years our mind has built a program between outside triggers and the emotions we express. If we win a game, we express joy. If we lose the game, we express disappointment. Get a raise, promotion, or buy something we want, we express emotions based in love. Get fired, lose money, or lose something valuable, we express fear, anger, or disappointment. These are triggers to withhold the expression of love As long as you have artificial criteria in the mind your happiness will be dependent on external factors. Common criteria in the mind can be what other people think of you, material things, or what your body looks like.

It is by satisfying the criteria in the mind that most people engage in the pursuit of happiness. People try harder to win more games, make more money, or to have people like them. This approach is also why most people find their happiness to be fleeting.

They continually have to chase the next

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

The person that visited us is just a trigger for us to create and express love for them. We then experience joy from the love we express for people; not because of them. It is often easier for us to love some people more than others. This supports the false assumption that they make us happy. What it doesn‘t take into account is how the beliefs and perceptions in our mind cause us to express love to some people and less than others

Think of a joyous memory in your past.

Perhaps it is a person or an event that ―brings‖ you great joy. Immerse yourself in the feeling. You can also use unhappy memories that trigger you to create unpleasant emotions. The memories are the triggers, but you are the one creating the emotions. Where and how you focus your attention and interpret experiences in your mind are the major factor in triggering what emotions you create

The one underlying act that determines your happiness is the expression of your love coming out of you Do we really create our emotions? Try this experiment to find out for yourself

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If psychology studies happiness based on surveys of normal folks they will end up with answers about happiness from people who pursue it. However, if psychologists study happiness from people who have selfmastery over their beliefs they will have conclusions based on people who create happiness through expressing love. This internally created foundation of happiness is a much deeper and lasting version than what the averages person experiences

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

criteria their mind comes up with

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Truly lasting happiness is yours when you have the self awareness to choose the criteria in your mind and change it at will. With selfmastery you are able to choose the emotion you express in each moment. When you have this level of self-mastery the obvious choice is to express love. The Dalai Llama is a well known public figure that demonstrates this mastery of expressing love We often associate this kind of mastery over the mind with spiritual people. But it is actually something that you can master without having to move to an ashram in India. If you have expressed love for your children, a friend, spouse, or a pet, you have already exercised the necessary emotional muscles that it takes. Now all that is required is some practice and some shifting of the criteria in the mind

Happiness is a relatively new field for psychology, as they have only been looking at it for a few decades. Academics will have a difficult time understanding happiness. Science doesn‘t take into account what it can‘t measure. And science can‘t measure emotions, or how they are created.

They also have difficulty detecting the beliefs in the mind that form the criteria for expressing emotions. Through interviews and surveys they can only get second-hand information about these unseen aspects

Spiritual traditions have been studying happiness, love, fear, and belief systems in the mind for thousands of years. Their esoteric studies have gleaned a great deal more insight into the unseen world of emotions and belief systems than recent academics. Within these spiritual studies there is room for distortions and misinterpretations but at least the knowledge base is much deeper.

Happiness is not a mystery to solve or secret to be revealed in order to be experienced. It is so simple that just about any child can model it even if they can‘t explain it.

Happiness is a feeling created by the expression of your love coming out of you.

When your love is coming out of you, you are happy. If you express emotions of fear and anger, you will experience fear and anger. How you feel is determined by the emotions you create The reasons you create different emotions at different times is because of beliefs in the mind that respond to different triggers. Those beliefs are the artificial criteria telling us not to love, or that it is not safe to love If we limit the expression of love by the criteria in the mind, we limit the happiness and joy in our life. Being aware that we create our emotions and that we can change the criteria in our mind is a big shift in responsibility and power over our happiness Expressing love is the one step to happiness. Our mind may have a lot of different criteria that has to be met before we allow ourselves to be happy, but those can be

Changed If we change those agreements we can express love for any reason we choose, or even for no reason at all. We can express our love just because we enjoy the feeling of happiness it creates for our self. This isn't being selfish; it is just doing for yourself what no one else can do for you

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Gary van Warmerdam http://www.pathwaytohappiness.com/index.htm We would love to hear from you in regards to this article, please write us at contact@blessedmagazine.org and voice your opinion

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Relationships Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Coping With, Surviving and Forgiving Adultery By Elder Randall McClure Sr. Elder Sheryl McClure

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

The Bible provides ample guidance with how we should cope when our spouse commits adultery. Adultery is one of the few things that justifies divorce in the New Testament.

Christians can divorce because of adultery, but it should be a last resort. According to the Bible another option is to separate for a season in the hope that the separation will heal the relationship. Also, marriage partners should consider ministerial counseling to help seek God's direction when marriage relationships are strained. A marriage partner must also remember that the adulterous partner does not really understand how much adultery affects the marriage and the family. Many adulterers will truly repent after committing adultery. The Bible tells us that we should forgive someone who repents of their sin just as God has 19 forgiven all of

Coping With Adultery: A Last Alternative Is To Divorce According to the Bible divorce is an option if your marriage partner commits adultery. At the same time divorce should be the last resort in a marriage, especially if the adulterer repents to God of their wrongdoings (See Scripture Commentary: Matthew 5:32 provides advice on adultery and divorce)

Coping With Adultery: Separation and Reconciliation

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Another option in coping with adultery is to separate. In this case separation from your spouse for a season may heal the relationship (See Scripture Commentary: 1 Corinthians 7:11 provides advice on marriage separation and reconciliation)

Seek Counsel for Sins Like Adultery. As adultery creates so much confusion in marriage relationships, a person should seek God‘s direction and receive ministerial counseling to find out what God should have for them to do

One of the hardest things in coping with adultery is to actually forgive the marriage partner that has committed the adulterous act.

The Bible tells us that if someone repents, we are suppose to forgive them. See Scripture Commentary: Luke 17:4 advises on situations of repentance and forgiveness. Forgive as God Forgives. Jesus forgives all of us that repents of their sin. God expects us to forgive people as He forgave us (See Scripture Commentary: 2 Corinthians 2:10 advises us to forgive sinners as God has forgiven us) ---------------------------------------------------------

(See Scripture Commentary: Proverbs 19:20 provides advice on counseling)

Coping With Adultery: They Do Not Know What They Do One thing for you to remember when coping with adultery is to realize that the adulterous marriage partner does not understand the full consequences of their actions. If they did, they would not have been tempted to commit adultery (See Scripture Commentary: Proverbs 6:32 advises us on the ignorance of adultery)

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For With Repentance Comes Forgiveness

Elder Randall McClure Sr. Elder Sheryl McClure http://www.access-jesus.com/ We would love to hear from you in regards to this article, please write us at contact@blessedmagazine.org and voice your opinion

Christian Living

I‘m a Christian Addicted to Porn

Due to the nature of this true-life story, parental discretion is advised due to some graphic content

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The remains of the campfire were cold. And the labels on the bottles of Bud were bleached white by days in the sun. Whoever had camped out in the woods near my house was long gone. My friend and I picked through the debris they'd left behind. An abandoned hiphop CD. A few empty baggies and bottles.

And a magazine The cover was weathered and unrecognizable.

I poked it open with a stick, scared of what critters might be calling it home now. Its dewy, wet pages flopped open. I saw a woman. And I saw her naked breasts

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Since I was only 7, I ran. I mean, girls had cooties. They were gross. They were things we chased at recess, but didn't know what to do if we ever caught one. But I still remember that image. I was excited by it, but scared of it at the same time. I didn't understand it and I knew I shouldn't be seeing it.

And I knew I wanted more

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more. Some days I was strong. Other days, I was like a lustful porn addict looking for a fix.

I never purchased or downloaded porn, though. I was a church kid in a small town who could be recognized and ratted on. And I had no computer at home. Instead, I stole porn I searched my friends' houses in hopes their dad had a hidden stash of Playboys somewhere. When that didn't work, I stole porn magazines from convenience store shelves. Not many. Just three or four over a couple of years. But I savored them I imagined one page at a time coming to life.

It's embarrassing to say, but these women made me feel loved. My eyes would feast on their skin and it made me feel like a man. For just one moment, I felt wanted. I felt pleasure.

I felt close to someone, and it never bothered me that she wasn't real. She was to me

A few years later I got my chance. This time I didn't run away. I was 13. I was at my friend Tyler's* house. Tyler was my only friend with internet access. Almost every day, we played computer games for hours But one day we clicked on what we thought was a game to download, and our lives changed. It wasn't a game, but a video. At first, we laughed as we saw the blurry, slowmoving image of a woman. We laughed nervously as if to say, "That's so stupid. Turn it off." But we didn't turn it off. We watched it.

Then I went home.

But Tyler went looking for more and showed me what he found. I didn't run away this time.

I didn't want to keep looking. But I did. I was caught Eventually, looking at nudity online together grew uncomfortable and boring. So Tyler and I took our passion for porn solo. Tyler kept downloading anything he could find, progressing from topless women to sex photos to hardcore videos. Meanwhile, I bounced between feeling guilty and wanting to see

But those moments of fulfillment did pass.

Always. The pleasure faded. And in its wake I fought pounding waves of regret and guilt. I felt a million miles from good, a billion light years from God. I'd often think back to how I saw that first picture of a naked woman. I had used a stick to keep it away from me. I felt like God had the stick in his hand now, poking at me from a distance, trying not to get any of me on him

I knew this wasn't true. I knew I was a Christian. And I knew God saw me as perfect and loveable as he saw his very own Son. I knew all this. Grace. Love. Forgiveness But I didn't feel it. And I grew more and more depressed and frustrated with myself. I'd promise myself over and over that I wouldn't mess up again, only to repeat my mistakes Tyler wasn't any better. He eventually found it impossible to believe in a God who'd keep him from looking at porn. With God out of the picture, Tyler convinced himself porn was just about pleasure. And how could pleasure hurt anyone? Once he decided pornography wasn't evil, he embraced it. He subscribed to Playboy and bought their videos

As I met with my new accountability group, I saw my life had to change. And a lot of those changes and lessons still apply to my life today. Lesson one: run away. "Flee!" our mentor often said. "Alcoholics shouldn't live across the street from a liquor store." To me, that means I can't walk alone into the magazine section of a store. Or use a computer alone without internet filters

I have to limit the opportunities for temptation. I have to put space between me and porn. I can't have some catalogs in my house. I don't let myself watch TV alone.

Even with filters on my internet service, I don't go online if no one else is home. These restrictions annoy me sometimes. But they help me flee The second thing I learned was to ask myself the question: How can I increase my desire for God and smother my desire to lust? Someone once told me that there are two dogs in my heart's backyard. One dog always craves pleasure, sin and selfishness. The other dog craves justice, mercy, peace and obedience to God. When I wake up every day, I choose which dog gets fed. The one I feed grows until the other dog can't even be seen I need to feed the right dog. I do that by having honest relationships with Christian guys. I have one friend in particular I check in with daily. We talk honestly about sex and sin and the junk that tempts us. Together we figure out how to be better men. We gripe. We pray. We confess. We teach

And then—to my surprise—my friend told me he had the same problem. Turns out most of my friends did. We went to an older Christian in our church and asked him to meet with us every week and help us. This man had no great wisdom we lacked, no secret to fighting the drawing power of naked women. But what he did was listen, give us wise advice and pray. He became a caring mentor to all of us.

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Seeing what happened to Tyler was a wake-up call. I knew I was headed down the same path.

So I got help. One day, I was hanging out with a close friend who was a strong believer. Out of nowhere, I told him everything. My voice shaking, I confessed that if I could look at pornography for free, knowing I wouldn't be found out or feel guilty, I would. I asked him for help. We prayed together

The first thing he showed us was that we weren't the only ones with these problems. We weren't freaks. We weren't alone anymore

I also feed the right dog by reading the Bible and studying it with other people. And I don't just read it, but I write down what I've learned and what I'll do or think differently because of it I spend time in silence asking God to speak to me. I pray , worship, serve other people.

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

On most days, the good dog outweighs the bad one. That mongrel is so scrawny now that I hardly notice him. But he surprises me every once in a while. Out of nowhere he'll bark at me, and I'll find myself pulled in the wrong direction. He's the loudest when I'm not careful about avoiding temptation. So I flee. I get up and leave

And I pray: "God, help me do what's right today. And help Tyler, too. Save us both from pornography and make us closer to perfect.

Make us love you more than ourselves and surround us with people who remind us that you love us even when we mess up. Surround us with friends and a church that feed the holy side of us and teach us how to starve the addicted side of us. Kill the bad dog. Feed the good one. Amen.“ Article originally featured in Christianity Today Blog available at http://www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/truelife stories/ithappenedtome/im-christianaddicted-to-porn.html?start=1 -------------------------------------------------------------Anyone who suffers from porn addiction can overcome by the blood of Jesus. Jesus is willing and ready to help all who seek His help

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The Washington Post article in 1949 proclaims, ―Priest Frees 14-Year-Old Boy Reported Held in Devil‘s Grip.‖ Almost immediately the story was picked up by the other news services and magazines. Who would think that such a thing could still happen, and in all places, modernday America? The story has been told and retold

An Exor

cism Story

by Father Joe

Due to the nature of this story, parental discretion is advised due to some graphic content

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Unable to get access to archdiocesan records, William Peter Blatty produced his fictionalized account that resulted in a blockbuster movie of 1974. One priest lamented at the time, ―It is tragic that the devil should prove so popular with people when they seem so disinterested in God.‖ The conclusion of the film was most lamentable in that the young priest exchanges his body for that of the child as a host to the demon and then throws himself from the window. If the story had been true, one could logically contend that the devil was really after the priest the entire time. In other words, the devil really won and the rituals and intercession of the Catholic Church were proven impotent. Fortunately, such portrayals are restricted to the movies and the real story shows that the power of Christ and of his Church can still vanquish the demonic

This sound of scratching was repeated each night from about 7:00 PM until midnight. Logically, the family figured that there must be a rodent problem.

An exterminator was called. However, despite taking up the floorboards and wall panels to spread poison, the sound did not cease. Indeed, the disturbing noises became worse

Some ten days afterwards the noises ceased and all believed the rodent to be dead. Nevertheless, the boy 28 was under the impression that he could still hear the scratching noises

How It Really Started Unlike the movie, the story surrounded a young boy who was born June 1, 1935. He and his parents lived just outside Washington, D.C. in Cottage City, not far from Mount Rainier, Maryland. (Some sources claim a popular Mount Ranier location as the site of the boy‘s home. The house at this location has been torn down and a dance studio is now on the site. The diary gives the Cottage City location, instead. I do not feel it appropriate to give the full address. However, since Catholics in the past identified themselves by their parishes, we might still call this the Mount Ranier Case. The boy converted to the Catholic faith and claimed St. James parish as his own in Mount Ranier.) The first signs of trouble started on January 15, 1949. He was thirteen years old. While his parents were out that evening, he and his grandmother heard a dripping sound in the house. It only lasted for a brief period and then a picture of Jesus on the wall began to shake as if something had bumped into it.

When his parents had returned home, a definite scratching noise could be heard under the floorboards next to his grandmother‘s bed

Three days later the sound became audible to the rest of the family again

The exorcist writes: ―When the sound became audible again, it was no longer in the upstairs bedroom but had moved downstairs to the boy‘s bedroom. It was heard as the sound of squeaking shoes along the bed and was heard only at night when the boy went to bed. The squeaking sound continued for six nights, on the sixth night scratching again was audible.‖ It appears that the invitation for this spiritual invasion was inadvertently initiated through a favorite aunt of the boy. She had died in St. Louis two weeks prior to the first registered phenomena

As time went by, it became evident that strange occurrences and sounds seemed to follow the boy

 ―An orange and a pear flew across the entire room where he was standing.‖  ―The kitchen table was upset without any movement on the boy‘s part.‖  ―Milk and food were thrown off the table and stove.‖  ―The breadboard was thrown onto the floor.‖  ―Outside the kitchen a coat on its hanger flew across the room.‖  ―A Bible was thrown directly at the foot of the boy but did not injure him in any way.‖  ―His desk at school moved about on the floor similar to the plate on an Ouija board.‖ This latter evidence of telekinesis forced the boy to quit school because of embarrassment

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

―It developed that the aunt of the boy and his parents had used a Ouija board, and this probably gave the devil his first entrance.‖ Many religious authorities are convinced that such a so-called toy actually offers an invitation to evil spirits. Aunt Tillie had been an enthusiast of spiritualism. Suspecting something supernatural in the sound of marching feet, the boy‘s mother asked (according to the exorcist‘s journal): ―‗Is that you Aunt Tillie?‘ She obtained no verbal reply and continued: (evidently aware of the methods employed by spiritualists) ‗If this is you, knock three times.‘ There were waves of air striking the grandmother, mother and boy, and three distinct knocks were heard on the floor. The mother asked again: ‗If you are Tillie, tell me positively by knocking four times.‘ Four distinct knocks were heard.‖

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Things became increasingly worse at home. ―On one occasion the coverlet of the bed was pulled out from under the mattress and the edges stood up above the surface of the bed in a curled form as though held up with starch. When the bystanders touched the bedspread, the sides fell back to normal position.‖ It was also stated that ―At first everybody, including the boy, took it as a kind of joke, but it became more than a joke.‖ Soon thereafter, ―the word LOUIS was written in deep red on the boy‘s ribs,‖ seeming to indicate that some invisible force desired that the boy travel to St. Louis where his favorite aunt lived

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

The Lutheran Minister

He then placed the boy on a scatter rug upon the floor.

Certainly, this would resolve the matter for the night.

But no, the rug ―moved slowly until it got to the wall and then it stopped.‖ The poor clergyman was utterly befuddled. ―I remember thinking he must be doing it himself but I realized later that would have been impossible. There was no movement of his body.‖ The boy was delivered home the next day. Because of his Protestant theology, the minister sought a natural explanation. Unable to come up with one, he 30 categorized the whole incident under unknown forces

His mother called a minister of her faith, a local Lutheran pastor. He was dubious about the whole matter. Although suspicious of the chest message, written upside down as if self-inflicted, he requested that the family come to his home. What happened next struck him as defying any natural explanation. His offer to keep the boy over at his home was accepted. It was the 17th of February in 1949. At about 10:00 PM, they decided to go to bed. The room contained twin beds. After about ten minutes, the boy‘s bed began to vibrate. The headboard was banging against the frame The minister reported: ―It made a lot of racket. I thought he was shaking it but he was making no visible movement.‖ Seeking a practical remedy to the situation, he placed the boy in a large overstuffed chair and sat beside him. Slowly the chair began to tilt upon its side and the minister had to grab it before it fell over. The good pastor insisted that there was no way the boy could be pushing the chair over since his legs were thoroughly tucked beneath him

FROM SHRINK TO WITCHDOCTOR TO PRIEST A psychiatrist from Georgetown University was called in but refusing to believe in the phenomena he simply reported that the boy was normal but ―somewhat high-strung‖. The family complicated matters further by calling a spiritualist. However, his incantations for dispelling spirits failed. Indeed, the situation became graver

Having a relative married to a Catholic, the boy‘s mother described the situation to him. His response was ―If what you say is true, then you should consult a priest.‖ The family called the nearby parish, St. James Catholic Church. The boy‘s father made an appointment to talk to one of the priests

This anxious situation refused to end and matters grew tenser. The priest, Fr. E. Albert Hughes, went to the chancellor of the archdiocese He was warned to move slowly and not to leap to rash judgments. The young priest explained that he had done as much. After a meeting with the archbishop, Most Reverend Patrick A. O‘Boyle, he was authorized to initiate the exorcisms. Fr. Hughes resisted, hoping that an older and more experienced man might be chosen instead. He ―understood that this should be done by a very holy man because the devil is wont to expose the sins of the priest; so the Father went to Baltimore and made a general confession Story continued on page 33

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

The clergyman gave him various sacramentals: holy water, blessed candles, and some recommended prayers. ―Once when the mother had sprinkled the holy water around the room, she placed the bottle on a dresser and it was picked up by the spirit and smashed.

When one of the candles was lighted, the flame shot up to the ceiling, and the candle was extinguished for fear that the house might be set on fire.‖ The suggested prayers seemed to make the phenomena worse.

Deciding to call back the priest, the clergyman heard a great crashing sound. The mother of the boy told him that the telephone table she was using had broken into a hundred pieces

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But the devil is the father of lies, and there is a theological opinion that he is unable to reveal sins that have been forgiven.‖ The archbishop insisted, the young priest had to offer the ritual. It would prove a terrible miscalculation. Between February 27 and March 4, the boy was moved to Georgetown University Hospital. A young man and altar server (George) who was known for his abilities in high school football was drafted by the priest to assist him. This young man is still with us and is a leader in the local Knights of Columbus today. He told me that he had a terrible struggle to hold the possessed boy down

As an interesting aside, the young server in this episode was struck in the eye by the afflicted boy. He

Previously the boy had taunted the priest in Latin.

Objects were thrown around the room. The boy growled like an inhuman animal. Then it happened.

Somehow the boy had gotten a hand free of the restraints. He secretly tore through the heavy mattress and ripped out a metal spring. The server responded to the words uttered by Fr. Hughes in the ritual

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

At the conclusion of the Lord‘s Prayer, the boy attacked the priest and tore a gash into the cleric‘s arm from his shoulder to his wrist. Blood exploded over everything! The ritual prayer book was caked in the priest‘s blood! He screamed out! The exorcism had ended in failure. The priest‘s life was saved by the doctors and his arm had a long track of a hundred plus stitches. He would have lingering problems with the arm and it would visibly drag at the consecration during Masses

That he could spit across the room with deadly accuracy. At one point he lost his patience and even slugged the other boy to keep him under control.

He saw himself as the popular priest‘s body guard.

The priest made him go to confession and pledged him not to tell his mother and friends the details of the encounters. They tied the hands and feet of the boy to the bedposts. He reacted violently to the ritual. Loose items in the room crashed to the floor.

The bed shook uncontrollably. Strenuously the large server sought to hold the bed down. The victim was a small boy and yet he possessed incredible strength. The priest warned his young assistant not to enter into dialogue with the boy, only to give the required responses to the ritual words of the priest. Strange words came forth from the restrained boy, supposedly Aramaic, a form of ancient Hebrew

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would develop a black eye and it was joked that maybe the priest had socked him When the priest mysteriously left the parish, only he knew the true reason. The good priest would need to recuperate from his terrible encounter and injury. After this event, colleagues of the priest say that Fr. Hughes was never quite the same. He became quieter. He was intensely reserved about what had happened. One remarked that it was as if he was a haunted man.

He died in 1980

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They Go To Saint Louis

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The sources are clear about this next point. ―Up to this time everything had been obsession, that is, exterior to the boy, but as soon as the exorcisms began, real possession began.‖

The boy expressed a desire to go to St. Louis, and since they had relatives they could visit there, the family left with the hope of leaving their troubles behind them.

Unfortunately, the problem with the boy did not improve. ―Different displays were witnessed by two aunts of the boy, four uncles and four cousins. The printing ‗No School‘ was seen by four people. The swaying of the mattress, the upsetting of bedroom furniture and the scratching on the mattress were observed by the entire group . . .

Phenomena indicated that the spirit was not the devil but the soul of deceased Tillie. The spirit confirmed again to all present that she was Tillie by moving a heavy bed two or three feet with not one of the bystanders near the bed.‖

Again a priest was consulted from the closest Catholic parish. Fr. Raymond J. Bishop, S.J., a teacher at the university came to the house on March 9. He ―blessed the entire house, and used a special blessing in the boy‘s room and on his bed. A second-class relic of St. Margaret Mary was safety-pinned to the extreme border of the pillow. Shortly after the boy retired, the mattress on his bed began to move back and forth in the direction of the bed uprights. The boy lay perfectly still, and did not exert any physical effort. The movement in one direction did not exceed more than three inches; the action was intermittent and completely subsided after a period of approximately fifteen minutes.‖ The next day, similar things happened. The relic was thrown to the floor. ―The safety pin was open but no human hand had touched the relic

The boy started up in fright when the relic was thrown down.‖

Exorcism and Baptism The next day, Friday, March 11, the priest who would perform the exorcisms visited the family. Fr. Bishop had in turn contacted Fr. William S. Bowdern, S.J. from St. Francis Xavier Church. He was shaken by what he observed. He brought additional relics and a crucifix. ―Shortly after the boy had retired at 11:00 PM, he called downstairs that he had been frightened by a strong force that

The symptoms of possession seemed to get worse and not better with the new exorcism attempts beginning on March 16. ―The seizures took place in the evening when the boy went to bed and would last from 8:OO to 12 Midnight or 1:00 AM, intermittently, and then the boy would go off into a perfectly normal sleep for nine or ten hours.‖ It was decided a few days later to recite the prayers earlier so that everyone could get more sleep.

Nevertheless, the seizures were unabated and started about 9:00 at night and lasted until 2:00 or 3:00 AM Sometimes as many as ten people were required to hold the boy during seizures. He would tear the sheets and pillows to shreds, as well as the shirts and undershirts of those who restrained him. He was utterly wild, hitting and kicking. He even broke the nose of one of the assisting Jesuit students. One incident had him scratching the exorcist‘s arm so badly that he could not lift it for a number of days ―Coming out of a seizure he would complain of feeling very hot and would ask for a glass of water

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

had thrown some object against the mirror in his bedroom. With safety pin opened, the relic of St. Margaret Mary had been thrown against the mirror and the sound was like a pellet striking the glass.

Another occurrence was a cross mark scratched on the boy‘s left, outer forearm. The pain was similar to that produced by a scratch of a thorn. The cross remained evident for approximately forty-five minutes.‖ The family telephoned the priest in Washington, and after a few days, the priest in St. Louis brought the case to his archbishop (Archbishop Ritter) and was authorized to continue with the exorcisms

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After one of the seizures in the beginning, he said that the evil spirit seems to carry him down into a pit about two hundred feet deep where there were intense heat and vile evil spirits. In the beginning also he seemed to be in a long, dark cave with a tiny bit of light at the far end; as the exorcism progressed, the lighted end seemed to grow larger and larger, in one of the exorcisms, the spirit, in the body of the boy, pointed to one of the priests who were assisting and said: ‗What is the use of you being here; you will be with me in hell in 1957.‘‖

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

A few days passed. The boy asked to be baptized. It should be noted that his father had been baptized a Catholic and that some of his cousins in St. Louis were Catholics. Once consulted, the parents were agreeable

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The boy was instructed and preparations were made to baptize him in church. ―On the appointed morning he rose, took a shower, ate his usual breakfast and set out for the church in a car driven by his uncle. Just before reaching the church the boy grabbed his uncle by the neck and said: ‗You S.O.B., you think I am going to be baptized, but you are going to be fooled.‘ The uncle was just able to seize the emergency brake and avert a collision by an inch. It was realized that to baptize the boy in the church would create a scene, so he was taken to the third floor of the rectory, which stands in back of the church but faces Lindell Boulevard. Every time he was asked: ‗Do you renounce Satan and all his works?‘ he would go into a rage Only after several hours of repetition was the boy able

to reply: ‗I do renounce Satan and all his works.‘ Then it required several more hours to get the water poured on the boy‘s head.‖ After the rite of initiation, things became calm and quiet for a couple days. However, then the demonic business started up again and worse than before. Some of the phenomenon was quite peculiar. ―One was the amount of spittle that the boy could discharge: there would be half-a-pint at one time. At times he would ask for a glass of water and it would be given to him, although it was known what would happen. It would be spat back on the bystanders. While the priest read the exorcisms, two others would hold a towel in front of his face to protect his glasses, but it was useless; the spittle would go under the towel, over the towel or around the towel and strike

directly on the priest‘s glasses, and the boy‘s eyes would be closed the whole time. Another phenomenon was excessive urination. During the seizures the boy would utter the vilest obscenities, curses, blasphemies and ribald songs, all in a high falsetto voice that was off key.‖ It is noted that at one stage, the exorcist had to protect himself with a pillow, for the boy‘s head moved like a cobra, aiming non-stop with spittle for his face

First Communion The exorcist and the family returned to the Washington, D.C. area

“What is Your Name?”

During the exorcism, the priest asked for the first time its name. ―What is your name and when will you depart?‖ The response was simply ―Shut up, shut up.‖ Later, ―in answer to the question of his name, the words, ‗Hell, Spirit,‘ appeared in red letters on the boy‘s chest. In reply to the question of departure, red numbers: 4, 8, 10, 16, some Roman numerals appeared on the boy‘s body. He said: ‗I will not go until a certain word is pronounced and this boy will never say it.‘ There also appeared a red arrow extending from the boy‘s throat to the bottom of his abdomen, and it was thought that the spirit might go out by the way of urine, as has happened in some cases.‖

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

The boy‘s parents were at wits end and were suffering from sleep deprivation. Fr. Hughes tried to get the boy committed to a sanatorium or hospital in the Washington-Baltimore area, but none would take him. It was decided to take him to the Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis. He was given instructions in preparation for his first communion. The hope was that receiving the Eucharist might bring the possession to an end. ―When the time came, it was impossible to get the Host near his tongue, but finally, after several hours, they succeeded in placing it on his tongue and three times he spat it out. Eventually success was achieved. This was on April 2, the first Saturday of the month, a day dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. The title was explained to the boy and he showed great interest. But the seizures continued.‖

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Liberation at Last

An appendage to the diary tells us that ―the boy would greet the priests with filthy, foul obscenities, fluently answer the exorcist‘s questions in Latin, a language he had never studied.‖ One day the boy was sitting in bed reading about Our Lady of Fatima with the book on his knees when he was thrown into a seizure.

He threw the book across the room. On another occasion, he was given a glass of milk and threw that across the room. On one of the final days, a Jesuit scholastic gave the boy a plate of chipped beef. He grabbed the plate, jumped to one side of the room, and threatened to brain anyone approaching him. While one assistant approached him from one side, the scholastic crawled under the bed to seize him. The boy threw and smashed the dish of food against the wall

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Despite hope that the possession would end during Holy Week, it continued through Easter Sunday with particularly violent seizures. The worst day of all was April 18, Easter Monday. The exorcist and his assistants were becoming completely discouraged ―Suddenly, at 11:00 PM, a new voice was heard from the boy; a beautiful, rich, deep bass voice exclaimed: ‗Satan, Satan, go, now, now, now to the pit where you belong, in the name of DOMINUS (the Lord).‘ That was the word and at that moment the boy felt a tearing sensation in his stomach, relaxed and lay perfectly quiet. He described what has happened. He saw a brilliant figure, visible from the waist up, clothed in a close-fitting white garment which had the appearance of scales; the hair was long and flowing in a wind;

the right hand held something like a flaming sword or light pointing downward. It was St. Michael the Archangel. When he spoke, the evil spirit rebelled against going until the word ‗Dominus‘ was spoken and at this moment the boy felt the tearing sensation in his stomach.

Then at some distance down he saw some evil spirits standing at the mouth of a cave from which flames issued. Then the spirits reluctantly withdrew into the cave, the opening closed and across it appeared the word: ‗Spite.‘ Thus the possession was ended.‖

Closing Remarks 38

The diary tells us that the exorcist and his assistants ―observed some severe fasting,

mindful of the admonition of Christ that some devils can be driven out only by prayer and fasting.‖ There had been at least twenty exorcisms performed. One Jesuit involved remarked: ―Only by examining the record after possession was ended, was it possible to see the meaning of the replies (the red marks on the boy‘s body). The numbers may have been the days on which certain spirits departed from the boy, if there were actually more than one in his body.‖ The Jesuit priest, Fr. Bowdern, passed away in 1983 and his assistant and then scholastic, Fr. Walter Halloran died from cancer March 1, 2005.

The young server who tried to help Fr. Hughes has desired to remain anonymous An interesting side note, George (the server) tells me that when the boy returned to Washington, he could not remember the active possession episodes.

The possessed man is still living and there has been no trouble since. He married and had a nice family.

Life went on

An aunt of the boy said in a New York Times article from August 1972: (Upon the boy‘s visit to her home) ―All of a sudden the mattress starts going, just raised up in the air, and down, up and down, and my sister hollered for me, oh I tell you that mattress just raised both of us right up in the air . . . . I happened to have a table against the wall with a vase of flowers on it and I got out but as my nephew tried to leave, that table actually flew in front of the door and would not let him out‖ confided to him, ―I assure you, Gene — I saw this with my own eyes — the boy did not tear the Ritual book, he dissolved it! The book vaporized into confetti and fell in small pieces to the floor!‖ The staff writer Jeremiah O‘Leary reported in the Evening Star that the boy spoke an unknown language that sounded similar to Hebrew. ―A professor of Oriental languages from Catholic University was called in and he was shocked to discover the words coming from the boy‘s mouth were in Aramaic, the language spoken in Palestine in Jesus‘ day.‖

In the same article it quotes what a Jesuit priest

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

A FEW ADDENDUM NEWSPAPER CITATIONS

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Materials Assembled and Retold by Father Joseph Jenkins http://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/about-2/ --------------------------------------------------------------

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

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Christian Relationships

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

by June Hunt

Wife Abuse: Assault on a Woman‘s Worth 43

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

He was prominent in the community. What woman wouldn‘t feel fortunate to be his wife? She certainly had all the finer things in life. And the children … didn‘t they have the best that money could buy? How could she think about destroying such a picture-perfect family or risk stepping into a future unknown? Where would she go?

What could she do? How would she support herself? And even worse, if she began to expose the terrible truth, would she lose the children? She felt hopeless.

Who would believe her? She had been so skillful at hiding her feelings, as well as the bruises. With swollen, tear-stained eyes, she reasoned … ―It‘s mostly my fault anyway!‖ Even when reason seems skewed, the Psalms offer hope for the afflicted:

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“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending … the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.”

(Psalm 10:17-18) While abusive acts are committed by both husbands and wives, in cases of domestic violence, approximately 95% of the victims are women. Although the reality of wife battering reveals a long history of being tolerated—tolerated traditionally and even legally—abusive behavior has always grieved the heart of God. Any violation of this most sacred relationship always produces pain, but God promises to be close to the victim who suffers at the hands of an abuser

Domestic violence is not an issue of ―marriage problems‖ or ―irreconcilable differences‖ solved by ―conflict resolution.‖ This kind of abuse…  Affects everyone in the family  Bridges all levels in society: racial, religious, geographic, and economic  Undermines the value of others  Seeks to dominate others  Escalates in intensity and frequency What Are the Different Types of Abuse?  Verbal Abuse  Emotional Abuse  Physical Abuse/Violence  Sexual Abuse/Violence

God’s Heart for the Victim – God hears the cry of the battered and abused God holds the victim of abuse in the palm of His hand God will rescue the victim of abuse and violence

“He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.” Psalm 72:14

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

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Christian Faith

Rapture Ready

“Oops! I Guess I Wasn’t Ready!”

By Todd Strandberg

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

This article will be addressing two audiences: those of you who read this before the rapture and those of you who read it after the rapture. My focus here will be on those who have found this article after the rapture of the Church. For anyone reading this material before the pre-trib rapture, I highly recommend that you ponder the negative consequences of being left behind and seriously consider committing your life to Jesus if you have not done so already

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

What's Happened?

If you are reading this after the rapture, you need to realize that you have been left behind. At this time, you may be feeling rejected by God. You might be saying to yourself, "Why didn't He take me?" or "I don't understand; I've led a good life." The problem isn�t that God rejected you; the problem is that you have rejected Him. By not committing your life to Jesus and by declining to follow Him, you have left Him with no choice but to leave you behind

Right now, I'm sure there's a tremendous battle going on, with people offering various points of view and trying to explain why much of the population has suddenly disappeared into thin air.

It's likely that the media is teeming with possible explanations for the disappearances. It would be foolish for me to try to guess what authorities will be telling the general population. I will boldly say the cause of this event was supernatural. The mass disappearance of all these people was the result of the Lord Jesus Christ removing from the earth all believers who were spiritually ready. This catchingup of the Christians into heaven is referred to as the rapture of the Church

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with 48 these words - (1 Thes 4:16-18).

Why Didn't He Take Me?

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21) "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, sister and Mother - (Matthew 12:50) "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool‖ - (Isaiah 1:18)

Is There Hope For Me?

Depending on when you read this article, you may have heard people say, "Because we've missed the rapture, we are lost forever." That assumption is totally wrong! The only way you can find yourself eternally lost is by receiving the Mark of the Beast on your right hand or forehead. Barring that, as long as you have breath in your lungs, you can gain salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37) "Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28) ―But as many receive him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, (even) to them that are called by His name‖ - (John 1:12)

Why Do I Need Jesus Christ To Be My Savior?

To be allowed to pass through heaven's gate, you need to have all of your sins removed. The only industrial strength cleanser strong enough to thoroughly remove sin stains is the blood of Jesus Christ You could say heaven is much like the "clean rooms" where computer companies make their microchips, and sin is like any dust or dirt that might try to find its way into one of those rooms The manufacturing process for microchips requires "clean rooms" to be absolutely spotless, with virtually zero free-floating dust or dirt particles that could damage the delicate microchips Because humans are naturally contaminated with all kinds of dirt and dust particles, whenever workers enter one of these "clean rooms," they need to wear a special suit that prevents them from giving off particles

According to Revelation, a huge number of people will be saved during the tribulation. Some scholars have predicted that tribulation believers would grow to outnumber the saints that were just raptured "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" (Revelation 7:9) "And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14)

The sin decontamination process is very simple you simply ask Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for it.

First, admit your sinful state. Next, ask Jesus to forgive you of your wrongdoings. Finally, make Jesus Christ Lord of your life by surrendering your will to Him By dying on the cross, Jesus made it possible for each of us to be granted a full pardon from the punishment of eternal damnation. The reason so few people accept this pardon is that they don't think they need a Savior or they want to find their own way of salvation "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

To prevent heaven from becoming contaminated with sin particles, God has long set the requirement that anyone desiring to enter into His untarnished dwelling place needs to be covered by the blood of Jesus

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his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?― - (Matthew 16:24-26)

"...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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" - (Romans 10:9-10) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Changing Your Direction After making Jesus the Lord of your life, you need to change the direction of your life. I remember when I was a young lad, I was on vacation with my parents, and we were headed to a city in Minnesota. We made a turn that some of us in the car questioned. It wasn't until almost an hour later that we realized we were definitely headed in the wrong direction. Well, after having a spirited debate about proper automobile navigation, we found our bearings and headed toward our original destination

behind will discover a need to renew their faith Unfortunately, the revival is going to be very shortlived. The Apostle Paul, in the Book of Thessalonians, predicts that because most men's hearts will still love unholy living, they will follow after a deception that God Himself will send. Jesus foretold that the false prophets would arise using "great signs and wonders" to trick people into believing satanic lies There will be no middle ground. The people who failed to fully dedicate their lives to Christ will be totally ensnared by the demonic delusion that will sweep over the world "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" - (2 Thes 2:10-12) "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect" - (Mat 24:24)

Once you realize you have been heading in the wrong direction, the only option that makes sense is to turn right around and start heading in the right direction You cannot just say a few words and then continue on your merry way. You need to make a full commitment to Jesus Christ by reading His words and following His examples of holy living "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14)

There Will Be Strong Delusion I imagine that on the Sunday immediately 50 following the rapture, every church on earth will be filled to overflowing. Suddenly, all those left

During the next few years, a world leader--whom the Bible calls the Antichrist--will arise. At first, he will seem like the most benevolent leader who has ever held office. However, by the end of the tribulation, he will easily put the likes of Hitler and Stalin to shame. Because the lies of the Antichrist and false prophets will be so pervasive, you will need to assume that everything you read and hear in the mass media is tainted doctrine. Your only source for the truth must now exclusively come from the Bible

Do Not Trust Christian Leaders In the coming days, you will see and hear messages from some of the biggest names in Christendom on radio and TV, and these messages won't be ones recorded before the rapture. The broadcasts you'll be hearing will be either live or taped after the rapture. They will be from Christian leaders who have also been left behind Millions of people will be reassured by the fact that their favorite Christian celebrities are still here on earth. I expect most of these well-known leaders, possibly out of embarrassment, will be working feverishly to disprove the rapture event. They may say things like, "I don't know where or why those people disappeared, but I will tell you this: That was not the so-called rapture of the Church.― I'm sure it will be quite confusing to hear people who were regarded as the leading authorities on the pre-tribulation rapture now proclaiming contradictory theories. Don't listen to them, no matter how well respected they appear

"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints" - (Revelation 13:7-10) "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled" (Revelation 6:9-11) At first, it may seem rather easy to secretly be a follower of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, very soon the Antichrist will be requiring everyone to receive a mark in his or her right hand or forehead. This electronic implant will be the means by which everyone will buy and sell goods and services. If you do not have this implant, it will become quite obvious

Enduring To The End Well, folks, here comes the unpleasant news. Most of you will likely have to choose martyrdom if you wish to maintain your commitment to Jesus Christ.

There will be no middle ground. During this tribulation hour, you will have to choose between two masters--the Antichrist or Jesus Christ

"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name― - (Revelation 13:17)

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Many religious and political leaders will attempt to persuade you into believing some logical explanation for the rapture. All of their lies will be contrary to the Word of God. Remember, they were left behind just like you; what business do they have instructing you?

Your decision to follow Jesus will not be a popular one. The majority of the world's population will soon be falling captive to the Antichrist's hypnotic words. Because true believers will refuse to join the chorus of praise, the Antichrist will demand that all nonconforming Christians be put to death

Because the Bible says that everyone who receives this implant (Mark of the Beast) will be eternally lost, I'm going to strongly advise you to decline the offer when the government informs you that it has your implant ready for insertion "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for

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ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name" (Revelation 14:11) In the coming persecution, you will probably face some of the greatest trials that Christians have ever had to endure. How long will you have to endure?

From the time the Antichrist declares himself to be God, there will be only 1,260 days until Christ returns to earth

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

As time passes and the suffering caused by the tribulation grows more severe, your desire to see Christ should grow all the more stronger. From my understanding of Scripture, I would guess most tribulation saints will not live to see the conclusion of the tribulation. If you are facing a situation that requires you to lay down your life, I promise you that the brief moment of pain will be nothing compared to the pleasures of an eternity in God's glory

"And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved" - (Matthew 10:22)

We would love to hear from you in regards to this article, please write us at contact@blessedmagazine.org and voice your opinion

52

Church Life

The Fallen "Can Restoration Occur After a Pastor has been Caught in a Scandal?"

By CEO, S. Michael Houdmann

Pictures from LundLund

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Answer: The answer to the question of pastoral restoration after a scandal is somewhat controversial.

Biblically, whether or not a pastor caught in scandal can be restored to his office depends on two things— the nature of the scandal and the condition of the pastor. Let‘s look at each of these in turn Scandals involving pastors generally fall into two categories—doctrinal and moral. In His Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus), Paul writes to his two young protégés about the particulars of starting and caring for churches. In these letters, Paul is very concerned about teaching sound doctrine and establishing sound leadership. He instructs Timothy to remain in Ephesus and command certain people to refrain from teaching false doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3).

Paul tells Timothy that the law of God is the standard by which behavior should be judged and that to violate the law is to violate sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:10).

He explains to Timothy that the good servant of Jesus Christ is one who is trained in good doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6). He warns Timothy that false doctrine is anything contrary to the words of Christ (1 Timothy 6:3), and he instructs Titus that qualified elders must be able to teach sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9). Finally, he exhorts Titus to teach that which accords with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1) Doctrine is very important to the life of a church, and the pastor is charged with not only protecting the doctrinal purity of the church, but he is also entrusted with the faithful dissemination of pure doctrine. Jesus, before He ascended to His heavenly throne, charged Peter three times with the simple admonition ―feed my sheep‖ (John 21:15-17). The seriousness of this charge is made manifest in James‘ epistle when he says, ―Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness‖ (James 3:1)

It is a serious charge to teach false doctrine. It is a scandal that can lead those under the pastor‘s care into serious error or gross sin. Consider our Lord‘s words of condemnation to the Pharisees: ―Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to‖ (Matthew 23:13; cf. Matthew 18:7). The one who teaches false doctrine not only condemns himself, but also 54 condemns those who follow his teaching

If a pastor is teaching false doctrine, he must be rebuked and, if necessary, removed (see Matthew 18:15-18 and 1 Timothy 5:19-20 for the procedure to approach a sinning pastor) The other aspect of pastoral scandal is the moral, or lifestyle of the pastor. Again 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 provide the qualifications of elder (Paul uses the Greek word presbuteros in Titus and episkopos in 1 Timothy. They translate into English as ―Presbyter‖ and ―Bishop/Overseer‖ respectively. They essentially describe the same office that we commonly refer to as ―elder‖).

When looking at these qualifications, one is immediately struck by the fact that they describe an individual of impeccable moral character (almost to the point of disqualifying most individuals). The elder is not just one who protects and disseminates sound doctrine, but he also serves as a moral example to the church. This is an individual who has a proven track record of good, moral living and gentle, yet firm, leadership in the family setting. The reasons are obvious: How can a man whose moral character is questionable exhort and rebuke others into holy living? This doesn‘t mean that an elder can never, ever commit a sin, but an elder should be the very model of a repentant sinner when the occasion calls for it How about those instances that we seem to see and hear about so often in the media about ‗famous‘ pastors who are caught in horrible moral scandals—adultery, pornography, drug abuse, and homosexuality? When a pastor or

As to how soon may a pastor caught in scandal can be restored, again, that would depend on the nature of the offense and the rules governing the individual church or denomination. In many denominations, there is what is called censure (everything from a formal rebuke to removal from office, all the way to ‗excommunication‘) and restoration

elder succumbs to one of these sins, two things happen—the faith of the church is shaken and the gospel is ridiculed by unbelievers. In many cases of pastoral scandal, non-Christians seize upon the opportunities to criticize the Christian faith and charge Christians with hypocrisy. When this happens, we make the gospel unappealing (contra Titus 2:5, 8, 10). When a pastor is guilty of some serious moral failure, he must be removed in order to protect the moral integrity of the church

In some cases that might mean the pastor has to be re-ordained (or re-examined) before taking office again. In most cases, the individual must undergo personal examination to ensure as much as possible the true nature of his repentance.

However, once the church has done the due diligence to ensure the fallen pastor is truly repentant and fit for office, however long that might take, he can (and should) be restored The restoration of a repentant pastor to office shows the watching world the amazing grace of God in action

Going back to Matthew 18, notice what Jesus says, ―If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother‖ (Matthew 18:15; cf. 2 Corinthians 2:5-11; 7:10-11) The goal of any rebuke is restoration, but restoration must only come after the guilty individual repents of his sin. From that point on, the truly restored pastor will continually live a life that is free from even the hint of immorality or doctrinal impurity. Such a restored and redeemed life will be obvious to all, both inside the church

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Up to this point, we‘ve looked at two types of scandals that are serious enough to warrant the removal of a pastor from his sacred office. The question that remains to be answered is whether a pastor guilty of such sin be restored. While these scandals are serious enough to warrant the removal of a pastor from his office, in and of themselves they don‘t prohibit a pastor or elder from being restored to office. Restoration would depend on the second of the two things mentioned above: The spiritual condition of the pastor—whether or not the individual is truly repentant over his sin

The key to true pastoral restoration is that the pastor is truly repentant. Before any pastor who has been removed from his office can be restored to his former office, those in charge (the other ruling elders, denominational hierarchy, etc.) must take every means possible to ensure his genuine repentance and protect the message of the gospel from further damage by this individual

By CEO, S. Michael Houdmann http://www.gotquestions.org

We would love to hear from you in regards to this article, please write us at contact@blessedmagazine.org and voice your opinion

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Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance

Prints of this prayer is available for a donation of $5.00 Visit http://www.blessedmagazine.org for complete details

Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications!

Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!

And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous.

For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.

Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart is appalled within me.

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I muse on the work of Your hands.

I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah.

Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.

Let me hear Your loving-kindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.

Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I take refuge in You. Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me.

In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

12 And in Your loving-kindness, cut off my enemies And destroy all those who afflict my soul, For I am Your servant

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Home Life

Holiday Recipes that’s sure to Delight

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

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Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie Author: Love of Family & Home Recipe type: Dessert Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 16

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Ingredients 1- 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened) 1- 16 oz. container Cool Whip 1- 15 oz can pumpkin 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice ½ tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup powdered sugar 2- 9″ graham cracker pie crusts Ready Whip/Cool Whip (for serving) Cinnamon (to sprinkle on top) Chopped Pecans (for serving-optional) Yields 2 pies.

Instructions In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, cream cheese, pumpkin pie spice, & cinnamon. Mix well.

Add in large container of Cool Whip. Then add vanilla, brown sugar, & powdered sugar. Continue to mix ingredients thoroughly.

Spoon mixture into pie shells. Cover & refrigerate for 1 hour.

Top pie with Cool Whip/Ready Whip for serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon & chopped pecans if desired.

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Peppermint Bark Pie

By Ellen Christian

Ingredients: 1 chocolate cookie crumb pie crust 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup milk 1 small box of Jell-O Vanilla instant pudding mix 3 cups Cool Whip, thawed 3 Tbsp milk chocolate chips 10 Starlight candies, crushed, divided (3/4 and 1/4)

Directions: Combine the sweetened condensed milk, milk and instant pudding in a large bowl. Mix well. Fold in the Cool Whip and mix gently until smooth. Slowly stir in the chocolate chips and 3/4 of the crushed Starlight candies.

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

What better way is there to celebrate the holidays than with the delicious tastes of chocolate and peppermint. This simple holiday pie combines crushed Starlight candies and milk chocolate chips. The result is something to celebrate and definitely something you‘ll want to serve to all of your holiday guests this year

If you are making your own chocolate cookie crumb pie crust, make sure the pie crust has completely cooled before adding the filling. Carefully pour the filling into the pie crust and gently smooth the top.

Refrigerate the pie at least three hours or overnight until firm. Sprinkle top with the remaining crushed Starlight candies and a dollop of Cool Whip (if desired) and serve.

Makes eight servings. Refrigerate any leftovers

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey

Recipe Ingredients: •smoked turkey necks or wings •1 small red onions diced •2 clove garlic, diced...

•2 teaspoons olive oil •2-3 bunches collard greens •salt and pepper to taste

Recipe Instructions: 1.Rinse collards greens in the sink under running cold water.

2.Pick greens away from the stem. Stack collard greens into several leaves on top of each other. Using a cutting board and knife, roll the leaves together and cut collard green leaves into 1 inch thick strips.

3.In a small pot boil turkey necks (or turkey wings) over medium-high heat until tender. Once turkey parts are tender rinse and transfer to the pot containing your collard greens.

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4.In separate large pot, heat equal amounts of water and chicken broth. Add greens, bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Next add diced red onions, garlic and olive oil. Cover with lid and continue to simmer for 1-1/2 hours. Once greens are tender add salt and pepper to taste. Throughout cooking continue to add equal amounts of water and broth.

Pumpkin Toffee Dump Cake Yield: Serves 10 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 50-60 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Pumpkin pie bottom with a cakey, crunchy toffee top

Ingredients:

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9 Ă— 13 baking pan lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and spices.

Stir to combine. Pour into your prepared pan.

Sprinkle your entire box of cake mix on top, followed by graham cracker crumbs and toffee chips. Pour your melted butter evenly on top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree 1 10 oz can evaporated milk 1 cup light brown sugar 3 eggs 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger pinch nutmeg 1 box yellow cake mix 3/4 cup butter melted 1 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers 1/2 cup toffee bits

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Bavarian Apple Torte Topping: prepare first Peel and core 4 apples 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Mix brown sugar with cinnamon – set aside Thinly slice the apples and place in a medium bowl Add brown sugar and cinnamon mixture to the apples and allow to sit while you prepare the base and filling

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Base:

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preheat oven 425*F 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1/3 cup white sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup flour Beat butter with sugar and vanilla Add flour and mix until light and crumbly Pour mixture into an 8 inch spring - form pan, bringing 1/4 inch up the side of pan

Filling: 1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Beat until smooth and creamy, spread over base Arrange apples in a circular fashion on top of the filling.

Place in preheated oven for 10 minutes Reduce oven temperature to 400*F and bake for 20-25 mins Serve warm or chilled with whipped cream

SHRIMP AND CRABMEAT WITH RICE

2 onions, chopped...

2 stalks celery, chopped 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon Granulated Garlic 2 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup flour 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, or to taste 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce 1 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 1/2 lb lump crabmeat 1/4 cup green onions, chopped 1/4 cup fresh parsley or 1 1/2 tablespoon Dried Parsley 3 cups cooked Basmati or brown rice

Directions: In a large stockpot, sautĂŠ onions and celery in olive oil until softened, about 10 minutes, stir in garlic granules.

Combine chicken broth and flour and stir until smooth. Add to celery mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes.

Add lemon juice, cayenne and Tabasco sauce. Add shrimp and cook about 5 minutes.

Add crabmeat, green onions and parsley and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Makes 8 servings

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Ingredients:

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Creamsicle Cake

Ingredients: 1 Pkg Ginger Evans® Yellow Cake Mix 2 Pk Ginger Evans™ Orange Gelatin 1 Pk Ginger Evans® Vanilla Instant Pudding 1 Cup 2% Milk 2 Coburn Farms® Grade A Large Eggs 2 Tsp Marcum® Imitation Vanilla 1 Tub Coburn Farms® Whipped Topping

Instructions: Bake the cake as directed in a 9x13" pan. Let cake cool completely.

Poke holes in cooled cake. Mix 1 package orange gelatin dessert with 1 c. boiling water and 1 c. cold water. Pour over cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Mix pudding mix with cold milk the other package of orange gelatin dessert and vanilla. Beat by hand with a whisk until thickened. Fold in the whipped topping. Frost the cake with the pudding mixture.

By Save a Lot Food Stores

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Mini Pumpkin Pies

Instructions

1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp Spice Islands Pumpkin Pie Spice 2 eggs 1/2 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup 15 oz canned pumpkin 12 oz evaporated milk 18 standard baking cups (small cupcake size) 18 vanilla wafers (like Nilla Wafers) Garnish – whipped cream (optional)

Mix sugar, salt and spice in a bowl.

Add the eggs and beat slightly.

Stir in the corn syrup, pumpkin, and evaporated milk; blend well.

Place one vanilla wafer in the bottom of each baking cup.

Fill each cup 2/3 full with pumpkin mixture Bake at 300°F for approximately 25 minutes, or until center is set and inserted knife comes out clean.

Cool in pans for 5 minutes; remove baking cups to cooling rack.

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Ingredients

Cool a minimum of 1 hour before serving.

Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s) Cooking time: 50 minute(s) Number of servings (yield): 18

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Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken tenders or 4 large chicken breasts 2 sleeves Ritz crackers(the vegetable Ritz are delicious if u can find them.)

1/4 teaspoons salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup whole milk 3 cups cheddar cheese, grated 1 teaspoon dried parsley

Sauce: 1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup 2 tablespoon sour cream 2 tablespoon butter Crush crackers. If using chicken breasts and not tenders, cut each chicken breast into 3 large pieces. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the salt and pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk and then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Then press the cheesy coated chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in.

Spray a 9Ă—13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.

In a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it 68 over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken

Jell-O Strawberry Parfait

1 package (3oz) Jell-O-o brand gelatin, any flavor 1 cup sliced fresh fruit 1 cup thawed Cool Whip whipped topping

DIRECTIONS Prepare gelatin according to package directions. Chill until slightly thickened. Set aside 1/3 cup. Add fruit to remaining gelatin; spoon into 4 to 5 glasses. Chill glasses at an angle until Jell-O is set.

Meanwhile, fold whipped topping into measured (1/3 cup) gelatin.

Spoon topping mixture into glasses of set Jell-O. Chill.

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

INGREDIENTS

Garnish

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Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

Ingredients 5-6 cups Powdered Sugar 1 Cup Sugar 8 oz cream cheese (softened) 1 packet of Duncan Hines Cotton Candy Frosting Creations (you can also use different flavors to get different flavored cookies).

Whipped Cream (for topping)

Instructions Mix together Cream cheese, frosting creations packet and powdered sugar (add the powdered sugar slowly and mix well).

Place this "blue dough" in the fridge for about 30 minutes In the blender, blend your regular sugar (pulse about 5-6 times) until the sugar is fine and almost like a powdered sugar blend.

Take your dough and make patties out of them (you will want to use your blended fine sugar as "flour" because the dough will be very sticky so sprinkle it on a board and on your hands when working with the cookies.

Place on a sheet of wax paper and use the whipped cream for a topping along with sprinkles if you'd like *These do melt pretty quickly so you can store them in the fridge and eat them quickly (although, they most likely won't last long ;-) Enjoy!

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Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Blessed Magazine December 2013, January 2014

2 cups yellow cornmeal 2 cups all-purpose flour $Click to see savings 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups milk $Click to see savings 2 large eggs $Click to see savings 1/2 cup vegetable oil $Click to see savings 4 pounds hot breakfast sausage 1 large onion, chopped $Click to see savings 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped $Click to see savings 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper 6 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth $Click to see savings

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in milk, eggs, and oil. Pour batter into a lightly greased 13- x 9inch pan and bake at 425째 for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Let cool in pan; finely crumble into a very large bowl.

Brown sausage in a large skillet, in batches if necessary, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain, reserving 3 tablespoons drippings. Return reserved drippings and sausage to skillet, and stir in onion and next 2 ingredients. Cook over medium heat 7 minutes or until tender, stirring often. Add sausage and vegetables to cornbread in bowl, and stir well. Pour chicken broth over cornbread mixture; stir well. (Mixture will be wet.)

Spoon dressing into a lightly greased roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350째 for 1 hour or until set and browned.

Note: If you like your dressing a little more firm, reduce the amount of broth by 1/2 cup 71