Beware the Time Robbers

August 8, 2025November 25, 2025Valerie Cullers 14 Comments

Time Robbers…we all know them. Not only do we know them, we are intimately acquainted with them. Have you ever sat down “just for a moment” to scroll through your phone and then looked up to find you just lost twenty minutes or half an hour?

This has happened to me more times than I can count. I stop to check the headlines on the news, and then an article comes up that looks interesting, so I decide to read it. I finish it only to scroll down the headlines again. The next article looks informative, and then boom, I read it and look up at the clock. Twenty minutes have passed, and I really don’t have much to show for them. The Time Robbers have stolen my time once more.

I love my phone, but it is definitely a Time Robber in my life. Can you relate? Do you spend too much time on your phone checking one type of social media or another? How do you feel when you look up and realize you just lost half an hour? I certainly don’t feel any smarter or better informed. Yes, I have read a lot of information, but will I use it anywhere in my life? Not necessarily. Most of it is just a sort of flotsam that gets tucked away in my brain. It usually gets filed under “D” for detritus.

Lately, I have been trying to limit the time I spend checking the news on my phone. Maybe once in the morning and once at night, and hopefully for not more than fifteen minutes at a time. And speaking of checking my phone at night, I can’t tell you the times I checked it right before bed and read some upsetting headline. So instead of going to sleep peacefully, I was left thinking about something negative as my head hit the pillow. Not only had my time been stolen, but also my peace of mind. Sheesh, what a waste!

Do you have any Time Robbers in your life? Time is the only commodity we can spend and never get back from the Robbers. Have you taken the time to identify yours? If so, how are you dealing with them?

Photo by Alexas. Courtesy of Pixabay

The Ultimate Gaslighter

July 10, 2024November 23, 2025Valerie Cullers 13 Comments

Last week I wrote a post about the gaslighting that has been going on by the press and government officials. As bad as it is, did you know that there will be a person that will come upon the world scene who will be The Ultimate Gaslighter? Many refer to this man as the Antichrist or the Beast. He will take the world by storm and have solutions for its problems. Initially, he will come upon the scene as a peacemaker, and people will think he is The Answer. In time, they will come to know who he really is.

Here are a few descriptions of him from Daniel 8:23 – 25 and 9:27. He will have fierce features, understand sinister schemes, and will have power, but it will not come from himself. He will destroy fearfully, he will destroy the mighty and also the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper. He will destroy many in their prosperity. He will rise against the Prince of princes (Jesus). He will ultimately be broken without human means (supernaturally).

He will confirm a covenant for one week (7 years) with Israel. After 3 1/2 years, he will bring an end to sacrifice and offering (in their temple). He will magnify himself above every god and speak blasphemies against God.

How can he do all of this? Where does he get his power? Revelation 13 gives us some insights. The dragon (Satan) will give him his power, throne, and great authority. He will have a mortal head wound and will be (miraculously) healed. This will cause the world to marvel and follow after him. The people will worship him and say, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”

Do you wonder how the world will be duped into accepting this man? According to 2 Thessalonians 2:9, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

This is not the time to freak out because we have been gaslit by the press and politicians. This is just an example of how easy it is to dupe the unsuspecting public. We must make it a priority to seek out the truth and get right with the Lord. The Ultimate Gaslighter could be alive today and waiting in the wings to make his appearance. DO NOT be taken in my him. He will not be the man of peace he pretends to be, but will be just the opposite.

Note: words in parenthesis are mine for clarification. Image courtesy of Pixabay.

Gaslighting

June 29, 2024November 23, 2025Valerie Cullers 20 Comments

“Gaslighting is a colloquialism, defined as manipulating someone into questioning their own perception of reality.” Wikipedia

Watching the presidential debate on Thursday was a clear example of how the press has been gaslighting the American public. Everyone has seen the cognitive decline of Joe Biden over the last three years, and yet the press has been gaslighting the public with a “nothing to see here” mentality.

If there has been a clearer case of gaslighting, I would like to see it. As egregious as this case is , there seems to have been no acknowledgment or apology coming from those perpetuating the lie. I feel for those poor souls who actually believed what the press was peddling. They seem to be in shock when asked about their feelings, and yet how could they have believed the press over their own eyes?

We live in a society where those in power (no matter which political party it is) will attempt to gaslight the public into going along with their policies. They will use the press that is sympathetic to them to accomplish their purposes. The citizens must not be fooled by the psychological manipulation that is going on.

We must have a healthy distrust of politicians and the press, especially if it is slanted in one direction or the other. No political party has all of the truth, answers or solutions to the problems we face today. They are too complex and the world is too interconnected to assume there is only one way to solve its problems.

We must be wary of those who would attempt to gaslight us. The press believes that perception is reality, but that is not true; reality is reality. We must not be swayed into believing something that is absolutely a lie in order to keep someone in power or propagate a policy that would be bad for our society.

It’s time to wake up if you are not awake…we’re being gaslighted, people, and the lies we’ve been told, “the border is secure,” the economy is fine,” “we must social distance at 6 feet apart,” are just a few of the many. They’re just not true, none of it. Let’s stop being gaslighted by the politicians, the press, and even our own government officials. They don’t have the answers. Some of them won’t even acknowledge the problems. Don’t be deceived by those who would tell you that the reality you’re seeing and feeling is just not true.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Children of Regret

April 19, 2024November 20, 2025Valerie Cullers 16 Comments

As a society, we are hearing more and more from young adults who are de-transitioning. We listen to their stories at hearings, on Youtube and TikTok. The National Institute of Health states that about 8 percent of people de-transition temporarily or permanently at some point. That seems like a cause for a lot of regret. For those of us listening to their stories, we wonder, “Why are kids allowed to have sex-reassignment surgery at such a young age when it is so permanent?”

My last post touched on the gender ideology that the kids are being exposed to at schools, but another big promoter of gender transition and sex-reassignment surgery is the medical industry. In August 0f 2022, the New York Post estimated that the market for this kind of surgery was about 1.9 billion the year before. Yes, that’s right…billion with a B. With that kind of profit margin, we find ourselves in an environment where those who should be speaking out to protect our children (doctors, psychiatrists, and hospitals) are not.

In an April 18, 2024 article on Fox News, Jamie Reed, a whistleblower who worked at Washington University Transgender Center of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, wrote an expose about her experiences while working there. Lest you think she is some kind of radical conservative, Ms. Reed is queer and married to a transgender person herself. She was previously in favor of sex-reassignment surgery for minors, but after working at the Center, she has since changed her mind. When asked why she changed her mind, she stated, “We started to see patients who were experiencing very significant medical harms being rushed to the emergency room with lacerations requiring stitches. We had patients contact us who were begging to have body parts put back on within months of having surgeries.” When she stated her concerns to her superiors, she was told, “This is how the industry works. If a child says they’re trans, there’s no questioning it.” No wonder she finds the industry “morally and medically appalling.”

I could go on and on with statistics about how the medical industry is profiting financially off our kids but what moves me the most are the young adults who are speaking out about what has happened to them. We are now listening to the first generation of young people who have gone through this experience and what it has done to them. This is a hot-button issue in our culture but as I see it, no child should be able to make permanent surgical decisions about their bodies that they may someday come to regret. If they still want to transition when they become adults, that is their right; but to not protect them from those who would profit from their youthful decisions is morally wrong.

photo by tobbo, courtesy of Pixabay

Forgiveness Comes Before Freedom in the Dictionary – Redux

September 5, 2022November 17, 2025Valerie Cullers 7 Comments

Remember when you were in grade school and your teacher was teaching you how to use the dictionary? You worked on papers where you had to decide which word came first. You would receive your paper, and there would be rows of words, two at a time, and you had to circle the word that came before the other word in the dictionary. Let’s say the two words were: forgiveness and freedom. Which word would you circle? Forgiveness, of course, always comes before freedom in the dictionary. Just as it is in the dictionary, so it is in life. Forgiveness always comes before freedom. Throughout our lives, we receive many offenses from people, some large and others minute. We have two choices when we are in a position where someone has offended us: 1. We can either choose to hold on to the offense, or 2. We can forgive.

Forgiveness can be a very difficult thing to give in our lives, especially if someone has hurt us deeply. Our tendency is to want to hold on to the hurt and nurse it. After all, we have been wronged. The problem with this attitude is that the unforgiveness that we carry does not necessarily harm the other person; it only harms us. We are a container, and when we hold on to an offense, it is like a toxic substance inside of us. The toxic substance does not do our bodies or our minds any good, only harm.

When it comes right down to it, forgiveness is a choice. We must choose to forgive those who have done us wrong. When we do that, we become free of the offense. Is the process instantaneous…we forgive and then we are free? Sometimes, but not usually. Forgiveness is a process. We choose to forgive, and then we begin to walk it out. The memory may come to mind again and again, but each time we say, “I choose to forgive that person; I am not going to carry this around with me anymore.” Over and over, the process repeats, until at some point, the memory fades and that offense no longer has power over us.

You will say to me, “But you don’t understand what so and so has done to me.” You’re right, I don’t understand, but the process is the same. Jesus told us a great story about this principle. In Matthew 18, he tells us about a servant who owed a king a great deal of money; by today’s standards, it would be several million dollars. The servant could not pay the debt, and the king commanded that the man, his wife, children, and all he had be sold to pay the debt. The servant then fell down and begged him to forgive the debt. The king relented and forgave the servant of the entire debt.

The servant then went out from the king and found someone who owed him several thousand dollars. He took the man by the throat and demanded the man pay him what he owed him. The debtor begged the man to have compassion on him, and he would pay him what was owed, but the servant would not show mercy. He had the man thrown into prison. Soon, it was reported to the king what the servant had done to his debtor. The king then called the servant and demanded to know why he had treated the other man so harshly, seeing that he had received mercy. He then threw the man into prison until all of his debt was paid. The story ends with this admonition from Jesus, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

The point of this story is that we all stand before God owing a great debt; that debt being our sins and trespasses. If we want God’s forgiveness, we must be willing to forgive those who have sinned or trespassed against us. It is a spiritual law of the universe. If we want it, we have to be willing to give it.

You will say to me, “But, you still don’t understand what so and so did to me.” You’re right, I don’t, but God does.

To do this, we also must understand what forgiveness is not:

1. Forgiveness IS NOT saying that what the person did was not wrong. It was wrong and nothing will change it.

2. Forgiveness IS NOT saying that the person won’t have to make restitution for what they did to you. They still may owe a debt to society and may need to go through the judicial system.

Forgiveness IS you releasing them from the wrong they committed against you. They are still responsible before God and society for what they did. You no longer have to live in a prison of hate or despair over their actions. You can be free from them.

You see, in life, just as it is in the dictionary, forgiveness always comes before freedom.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Secrets…”From Their Lips to God’s Ears.”

February 27, 2019October 31, 2025Valerie Cullers 23 Comments

Before I wrote my last post, I began to think about secrets and how they affect us. I read different studies and articles about secrets. Most studies came to the conclusion that many of the secrets we carry are not harmful, but there are some that are not good for us. They usually separate the secrets into two categories: those that we don’t think about and those that we think about a lot. The studies usually concluded that it is the secrets that we continually think about that cause us the most harm. They cause us stress, and we know that stress is not good for us. The studies were very general and a bit vague, so I decided to come up with my own SECRETS CHART and let you know how I try to process them. Photo by Phlim 1310 Courtesy of Pixabay

SECRETS CHART

WHITE:

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

These secrets are usually very nondescript. Someone may say, “Don’t tell anyone about my makeup secrets or where I got this dress.” These secrets do not evoke an emotional reaction inside of me, and they do not affect me one way or the other.

BEIGE:

selective focus photography of white petaled flowers

Photo by Irina Kostenich on Pexels.com

These secrets are usually social and relational. I will hear, “Don’t tell anyone that I like him,” or “We’re going together, but we don’t want anyone to know.” Again, these secrets are just information, and again, usually they do not affect me one way or the other.

YELLOW:

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The secrets in this category are of a different sort. These are the secrets that I may hear in the job I work at. These are secrets that, by law or agreement, I am not allowed to tell anyone. When I work in a medical office, people’s health information is private and is protected by law. When I work in an office where there are corporate secrets, I have signed a non-disclosure contract. If I work in an attorney’s office, ditto, attorney-client privilege. These secrets are usually documented but must not leave the office, or only leave the office if they are requested legally or subpoenaed. A person must use EXTREME CAUTION with these secrets because if you say anything to anyone, you have broken the law and can lose your job.

I know that these secrets can affect you emotionally, having worked in both a legal office and a medical office. The best thing I can do with them after I have processed them emotionally is to give them to God. I can’t change what I have heard and now know about someone, but I don’t want to carry the information around inside of me. I must pass it along, hence, “From their lips to God’s ears.” I can talk to God about what I know and leave the information with Him. After all, He is in charge of the world, not me.

RED:

Photo by asim alnamat on Pexels.com

The secrets in this category are DANGEROUS. They make me STOP and do something about them. If someone is breaking the law, I need to report it. If a child tells me they are being abused, I must report it. If someone is stealing from my employer, I need to report it. These are not secrets I am supposed to carry and do nothing about. They are secrets that must come to the light of day and be exposed.

BROWN:

These secrets are some of the most difficult to carry. People tell you things before they pass, and you are not allowed to share the information. Someone has been cheating on their spouse. A woman wonders if her child belongs to her husband. The secrets in this category are emotionally charged, but again, I probably should not take action about them. What should I do with this information so that it doesn’t harm me? Again, after I process these secrets, I must release them to God. I do not want to carry this information, and most of the time I did not solicit it. Someone may have confided in me because they thought I was trustworthy. So again, I give the secrets to God, “From their lips to God’s ears.” I let Him carry them.

BLACK:

Photo by Karin S on Pexels.com

This category of secrets is the most destructive. These are the “DEEP, DARK SECRETS” that we carry. These secrets consist of things we have done or possibly have been done to us in decades past. There is shame associated with these secrets, and we don’t want to talk to anyone about them. What do we do with those secrets? First, we take them to God and talk to Him about them. My motto changes slightly; it now becomes, “From my lips to God’s ears.”

If we have done wrong, we tell God. The Bible gives us some guidance here: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. We ask for His forgiveness, and we ask Him to cleanse us from the sin we are carrying around. Then we see if there is something we need to do about what we have confessed. Is there someone we need to ask forgiveness from? Do we need to call or write a letter? Have we stolen something? Do we need to make amends? These actions help us become free from the hold the secrets have had on us. If we are not sure about what we should do, we may need to speak to a pastor, priest or counselor. These professionals can give us counsel and guidance about how to proceed if we need to make restitution for anything. Many times, there is nothing we should do but let our secrets (sins) go into the Sea of Forgetfulness. We have done what we could, and we need to release ourselves from them.

What if the secret is about what someone has done to us? These secrets are a bit trickier. Sometimes, bringing these secrets to the light of day will destroy people and families. Is that something I want or need to do? A good place to start with these secrets is with a professional: pastor, priest or counselor. If you are embarrassed, let me tell you, these people have heard everything, and nothing you say will surprise them. They can help you sort through the maze of your emotions and help bring you healing, and help you figure out if you are supposed to do anything with these secrets.

Do you live in a culture where you cannot share these things with anyone? If you do, will you be blamed as the perpetrator instead of the victim? Will you be punished for what someone did to you? Then you must keep your secret, but share it with a loving God who will be there to help give your heart healing and your vindication. Remember, He has seen what happened to you, and He will eventually take care of it in His time. “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord, Romans 12: 19.

Secrets, sometimes they are nothing, sometimes they are everything. Seek counsel if you need it and trust God. He will help guide you through the maze of what to do with them. Most importantly, don’t let the secrets you carry affect you and your mental and emotional health!

Still recalibrating this week. Reposting a fave.

Forgiveness Comes Before Freedom in the Dictionary

February 20, 2019October 31, 2025Valerie Cullers 35 Comments

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Just as it is in the dictionary, so it is in life. Forgiveness always comes before freedom. Over the course of our lives, we receive many offences from people, some large and others minute. We have two choices when we are in a position where someone has offended us: 1. We can either choose to hold on to the offence, or 2. We can forgive.

Forgiveness can be a very difficult thing to give in our lives, especially if someone has hurt us deeply. Our tendency is to want to hold on to the hurt and nurse it. After all, we have been wronged. The problem with this attitude is that the unforgiveness that we carry does not necessarily harm the other person; it only harms us. We are a container, and when we hold on to an offence, it is like a toxic substance inside of us. The toxic substance does not do our bodies or our minds any good, only harm.

When it comes right down to it, forgiveness is a choice. We must choose to forgive those who have done us wrong. When we do that, we become free of the offence. Is the process instantaneous? We forgive and then we are free? Sometimes, but not usually. Forgiveness is a process. We choose to forgive, and then we begin to walk it out. The memory may come to mind again and again, but each time we must say, “I choose to forgive that person; I am not going to carry this around with me anymore.” Over and over, the process repeats, until at some point, the memory fades and that offence no longer has power over us.

You will say to me, “But you don’t understand what so and so has done to me.” You’re right, I don’t understand, but the process is the same. Jesus told us a great story about this principle. In Matthew 18, he tells us about a servant who owed a king a great deal of money; by today’s standards, it would be several million dollars. The servant could not pay the debt, and the king commanded that the man, his wife, children and all he had be sold to pay the debt. The servant then fell down and begged him to forgive the debt. The king relented and forgave the servant the entire debt.

The servant then went out from the king and found someone who owed him several thousand dollars. He took the man by the throat and demanded that the man pay him what he owed him. The debtor begged the man to have compassion on him, and he would pay him what was owed, but the servant would not show mercy. He had the man thrown into prison. Soon, it was reported to the king what the servant had done to his debtor. The king then called the servant and demanded to know why he had treated the other man so harshly, seeing that he had received mercy. He then threw the man into prison until all of his debt was paid. The story ends with this admonition from Jesus, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

You will say to me, “But, you still don’t understand what so and so did to me.” You’re right, I don’t, but God does.

In order to do this, we also must understand what forgiveness is not:

1. Forgiveness IS NOT saying that what the person did was not wrong. It was wrong and nothing will change it.

2. Forgiveness IS NOT saying that the person won’t have to make restitution for what they did to you. They still may owe a debt to society and may need to go through the judicial system.

You see, in life, just as it is in the dictionary, forgiveness always comes before freedom.

Like our GPS, I am recalibrating this week and reblogging a few of my faves!

Forgiveness Comes Before Freedom in the Dictionary

July 13, 2018October 27, 2025Valerie Cullers 37 Comments

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Just as it is in the dictionary, so it is in life. Forgiveness always comes before freedom. Over the course of our lives, we receive many offenses from people, some large and others minute. We have two choices when we are in a position where someone has offended us: 1. We can either choose to hold on to the offense, or 2. We can forgive.

Forgiveness can be a very difficult thing to give in our lives, especially if someone has hurt us deeply. Our tendency is to want to hold on to the hurt and nurse it. After all, we have been wronged. The problem with this attitude is that the unforgiveness we carry does not necessarily harm the other person; it only harms us. We are a container, and when we hold on to an offense, it is like a toxic substance inside of us. The toxic substance does not do our bodies or our minds any good, only harm.

When it comes right down to it, forgiveness is a choice. We must choose to forgive those who have done us wrong. When we do that, we become free of the offense. Is the process instantaneous? We forgive and then we are free? Sometimes, but not usually. Forgiveness is a process. We choose to forgive, and then we begin to walk it out. The memory may come to mind again and again, but each time we say, “I choose to forgive that person; I am not going to carry this around with me anymore.” Over and over, the process repeats, until at some point, the memory fades and that offense no longer has power over us.

You will say to me, “But you don’t understand what so and so has done to me.” You’re right, I don’t understand, but the process is the same. Jesus told us a great story about this principle. In Matthew 18, he tells us about a servant who owed a king a great deal of money; by today’s standards, it would be several million dollars. The servant could not pay the debt, and the king commanded that the man, his wife, children and all he had be sold to pay the debt. The servant then fell down and begged him to forgive the debt. The king relented and forgave the servant the entire debt.

You will say to me, “But, you still don’t understand what so and so did to me.” You’re right, I don’t, but God does.

In order to do this, we also must understand what forgiveness is not:

1. Forgiveness IS NOT saying that what the person did was not wrong. It was wrong and nothing will change it.

2. Forgiveness IS NOT saying that the person won’t have to make restitution for what they did to you. They still may owe a debt to society and may need to go through the judicial system.

You see, in life, just as it is in the dictionary, forgiveness always comes before freedom.