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Music link:      https://youtu.be/RW2RnJPavVw

   Today, is the fifteenth day of February and I would just like to give God glory. On the third of February, I flushed down the toilet a hundred or so, sleeping pills for which I have been taking almost every day for the last five years and more. 

When I began taking them, I was going through some radiation treatments from being diagnosed with a severe case of 'Sleep Apnea,' and then my Prostrate Cancer for which I had begun "Radiation," treatments. 

Well, during the treatments, my mind would just not "fall into a sleep state," and I spent days awake, until I was finally prescribed the "Sleep Aid." Afterwards, I had taken these things for a few years, but then when I wanted to quit it was very difficult and I would again be up for a day or two before I could fall asleep, so ultimately, I would fall back on the usage of them. 

Well, when I finally received a Queen size bed and the room to bring it in a small apartment, I started getting much more rest. 

And as posted on another site on the third day of February, the Lord had awakened me from a sleep and told me to go ahead and flush my 'sleep aids,' down the toilet, as he did about fifty years earlier when I had an addiction to Valium. 

Well, that night, I was a little tired and I laid down only to wake a few hours later. I got up for maybe an hour and then went back to sleep where I slept for another few hours. I think it happened only one other time, but eventually I had slept for a total of eight hours or so and felt really rested the next day. 

Well, the next few days were like that, as most nights I would just sleep for three- or four-hour spurts, but I felt as if I was getting full night of sleep. 

This has continued right up until last night. Nonetheless, what I am saying is that I haven't been able to sleep that much and with the quality in which I have felt, even in those short "spurts," of sleep in many years.

When I fall asleep now, it is as if I have awakened from deep sleep, and possibly from "REM," quality sleep which I haven't experienced in a long long time. 

So, anyway, as long as this 'healing,' continues, I will never take another sleeping pill again, as I had come to hate them. You see, they are only effective temporarily and then they become less and less effective. Next, you get to a point where you wish you had never started taking them, or at least that was how I was feeling. 

So, Praise God!

Who knows, it might just be possible for me to become a normal human being again, though I wouldn't hold my breath. I have a way to go. 

Nevertheless, don't you think that it is a great "Valentine's Gift?" 

Thank you, Jesus!

Psalm 127:2       The Message

127 1-2 If God doesn’t build the house,

    the builders only build shacks.

If God doesn’t guard the city,

    the night watchman might as well nap.

It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,

    and work your worried fingers to the bone.

Don’t you know he enjoys

    giving rest to those he loves?

Music link:    https://youtu.be/mpj9xC3J050?list=RDmpj9xC3J050 

Ephesians 4:11-16     New Living Translation

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

    You know, I find it amazing on how the "world media," (Christians believe that there are two existences in this life. The World, and The Kingdom of God.) just always conveniently happen to "FORGET," about events dealing with or supporting the existence of the "Kingdom of God." 

Are you tracking with me?

It's like if you listen to conservative talk shows or networks when they report on the policies which for 'most of the time' are very supportive of a "godly Society." I mean they are for locking up prisoners, whereas the 'Left," would much rather allow criminals, such as rapists, murderers, embezzlers, and dirty politicians to be left to their own devices, and so long as they can avoid the authorities or the Prisons, then they feel justified as if they did something good for society?  

"Hey, we didn't have to take an illegal individual who had snuck into the country and has only practiced criminal activity since he arrived, but since they are still "walking the streets," or safely hidden in a "sanctuary city, "then it must be "God's will for those individuals to remain and to apply their craft."

Or take the practice of 'abortion.'

Since we believe that a woman has "rights,".....well, That automatically negates her child from having any "RIGHTS." Because everybody knows the Parents are the guardians of the children therefore it ought to be justified when they wish to murder their off spring? 

"See, how it all makes sense?" 

Or, for example, this idea of voters having to show I.D.

That is just one of the ways in which the favored policies of the "Left," are simply age old traditions to cheat on the public rosters, so the illegal's are able to vote for those who not only bring or brought them here, but also allow them to embezzle billions of dollars from our government sponsored programs that have been set up in the last hundred years to care for the orphan, the elderly, or the hungry. 

I mean, I could go on and on and on speaking of the deceitfulness of those who have a "worldly," mindset and who love to keep the "Truths," hidden or forgotten or swept under the carpet.

 And then should these policies in which they are always trying to turn in order that 'Good looks evil' and 'Evil looks good,' somehow come to the forefront, well then they will create distractions such as encouraging individuals to go after ICE agents. 

Meanwhile, they will paint a whole different persona of who these agents really are or of their motives. And it is no mystery, as to who their biggest supporters are, as it is their leftist politicians, who have so mis-represented or distorted the stated purposes of this law enforcement agency.

Another example of these politicians working on behalf of the dark world is that they are constantly trying to shut down the government which has been working hard toward "godly" policies.

I can guarantee you that if this administration was not determined to rid the country of rapists, murderers, and the insane, as well, as many illegal's who are looked at by the "Left," as potential Democratic votes, then there would be no issue on whether the government was going to shut down. 

But, you see, it really shouldn't be such a mystery as we watch these things unfold. 

Nevertheless, all of that was just a 'lead in,' to the rest of my paper below. 

I was just listening to the news when I heard about the death of a favorite Hollywood actor.

His name was Robert Duvall. 

Well, I do not watch a lot of TV and Movies. I could listen to scripture without ever having to turn it off, but I just can't get into movies anymore. None of them will grab my attention and hold it long enough until the movie is over. 

A lot of people like watching car chases. So, you know, I might be interested in that, "I mean, there is nothing on this Earth, that will excite me more than to see a "99" Camaro turn a corner street, and to lose a front headlamp or something? 

But even in those kinds of exciting scenes, I will admit, sometimes, those scenes just don't do it anymore as they used to. 

Can any one follow me here? 

Nevertheless, let me get to the point. Today I heard the reports on Robert Duvall and they told of some of his major movies, then some of his lesser movies and I believe they even mentioned an Award which he had won. 

Well, I kept waiting to hear someone mention the fact that he made a movie called, "The Apostle," and yet no one mentioned it. 

Well, I went on "Google," ready to ask a question, but the response was like unbelievable to me, as AI explained just how much the project had meant to him.

So, after reading the answer I got, I just feel as if I have to post this, because I believe that the man would've wanted to be remembered for this, as well, as it seems to me from reading AI that it was a "PET," project of his. 

Enjoy:   

AI Overview

Robert Duvall made The Apostle out of a deep, long-standing passion to authentically portray the power and vitality of Pentecostal preaching, a uniquely American art form he found compelling after witnessing it firsthand in Arkansas, and to counter Hollywood's typical depiction of preachers as hypocrites, ultimately financing the project himself after studios refused to fund it. He felt it was his responsibility to bring this story, about a flawed but sincere preacher seeking redemption, to the screen with the respect it deserved, using real-life ministers and congregation members for authenticity. 

Key Motivations & Inspirations:

Authentic American Art Form: Duvall saw Pentecostal preaching, with its rhythm and cadence, as a significant cultural expression, an "important part of American culture" that deserved serious cinematic treatment. 

Disgust with Hollywood Stereotypes: Tired of seeing preachers portrayed as hucksters, he wanted to show the genuine joy, vitality, and deep faith he witnessed, even in flawed individuals like his character, Sonny Dewey. 

Personal Experience: His fascination began in the 1960s when he visited a small Pentecostal church in Arkansas, experiencing a service that left a lasting impression. 

A Story He Had to Tell: The project was a passion piece he'd worked on for years, even writing the script in the 1980s, and it became his "everything" because he felt compelled to make it. 

The Struggle & Solution:

Studio Rejection: Hollywood producers didn't believe audiences wanted a religious film, leading to years of fruitless attempts to get it made. 

Self-Financing: Duvall eventually put up $5 million of his own money and collateral to finance the film, taking control to realize his vision. 

Authenticity in Casting & Filming: He cast real ministers and church members, including a one-legged preacher, and shot in Louisiana's bayou country, mixing them with professional actors to capture the raw, truthful spirit of the subject. 

*****