What is Freedom?

[Truman]

The long and winding thread that leads...to my home...in the New Jerusalem!

 

[Ziggy]

To me, being free is to be free of attachment to the things of this world.
After He completes my freedom from nicotine, the next thing will be this world!
Unless, of course, He shows me something else.

I'm not proud or guilty of the fact that I smoke cigarettes.
My body has come to accept the motions as if it were eating and drinking.
For me to quit smoking wold be like quitting food.
Some people find certain foods offensive, is it a sin to eat food?
Will not eating pork for instance get you better "merits" into heaven?
People say your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
I say the temple in the wilderness used to burn oil and animals daily.. no smoke there right?
Jesus says it's not about what goes into the body that defiles a man but what comes out from his heart.
Smoking doesn't make one a bad person. Is it unhealthy? probably. Will it kill you? Probably.
Eat enough cholesterol and sugar that will make you unhealthy and probably kill you too.
But you don't hear people pointing at other people for eating fried chicken and chocolate cake.
Just saying..

It's just another thing that is used to divide people.
like racism and politics...
I won't blow smoke in your face if you don't poke your fingers in mine.

Sounds reasonable to me..
Hugs

 

[Truman]

I'm not proud or guilty of the fact that I smoke cigarettes.
My body has come to accept the motions as if it were eating and drinking.
For me to quit smoking wold be like quitting food.
Some people find certain foods offensive, is it a sin to eat food?
Will not eating pork for instance get you better "merits" into heaven?
People say your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
I say the temple in the wilderness used to burn oil and animals daily.. no smoke there right?
Jesus says it's not about what goes into the body that defiles a man but what comes out from his heart.
Smoking doesn't make one a bad person. Is it unhealthy? probably. Will it kill you? Probably.
Eat enough cholesterol and sugar that will make you unhealthy and probably kill you too.
But you don't hear people pointing at other people for eating fried chicken and chocolate cake.
Just saying..

It's just another thing that is used to divide people.
like racism and politics...
I won't blow smoke in your face if you don't poke your fingers in mine.

Sounds reasonable to me..
Hugs

Lol! How about a poke in the eye with a sharp stick? That was a favorite saying of my dad's. I've come to function with nicotine. To stop suddenly is to upset my balance. The Lord's very slowly removing it. Not me. If I try, I get stressed, and vape more. He's saving me from myself.
This is where He is with me. Obviously, He doesn't work the same with everybody.
He is faithful, He is able, He is capable. I trust Him...alone!
Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Psalm 27:10

 

[farouk]

I'm not proud or guilty of the fact that I smoke cigarettes.
My body has come to accept the motions as if it were eating and drinking.
For me to quit smoking wold be like quitting food.
Some people find certain foods offensive, is it a sin to eat food?
Will not eating pork for instance get you better "merits" into heaven?
People say your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
I say the temple in the wilderness used to burn oil and animals daily.. no smoke there right?
Jesus says it's not about what goes into the body that defiles a man but what comes out from his heart.
Smoking doesn't make one a bad person. Is it unhealthy? probably. Will it kill you? Probably.
Eat enough cholesterol and sugar that will make you unhealthy and probably kill you too.
But you don't hear people pointing at other people for eating fried chicken and chocolate cake.
Just saying..

It's just another thing that is used to divide people.
like racism and politics...
I won't blow smoke in your face if you don't poke your fingers in mine.

Sounds reasonable to me..
Hugs

@Ziggy

You said that your mother before you smoked, right?

It was just what ppl did.

A while ago @Pearl said about her mom:

She always had cigarettes in he apron pocket. It was just part of who she was and smoking was not taboo back then. .. It was just what people did.

If ppl can quit, good for them, I say.

But I don't buy the moralizing, "not ladylike", etc., stuff.

 

[farouk]

Lol! How about a poke in the eye with a sharp stick? That was a favorite saying of my dad's. I've come to function with nicotine. To stop suddenly is to upset my balance. The Lord's very slowly removing it. Not me. If I try, I get stressed, and vape more. He's saving me from myself.
This is where He is with me. Obviously, He doesn't work the same with everybody.
He is faithful, He is able, He is capable. I trust Him...alone!
Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Psalm 27:10

@Truman the Levite Great Psalm there!

 

[Ziggy]

Lol! How about a poke in the eye with a sharp stick? That was a favorite saying of my dad's. I've come to function with nicotine. To stop suddenly is to upset my balance. The Lord's very slowly removing it. Not me. If I try, I get stressed, and vape more. He's saving me from myself.
This is where He is with me. Obviously, He doesn't work the same with everybody.
He is faithful, He is able, He is capable. I trust Him...alone!
Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Psalm 27:10

Maybe the Lord gives everyone a flaw that way they can't be holier than thou.
There are none perfect, no not one.
My flaw may be smoking, while another's flaw is gossipping, another has a shoe fetish, another is selfishness...
on and on and on..
I'm not going to defend myself...
what's that Paul? ..

Uncircumcision = smoker, and circumcision = non-smoker?
Because both are an outward sign of man's approval?
Was I called as a smoker or a non-smoker?
If I quit will that be justification by works?
Will I be able to boast that I have earned my way, rather than faith that justifies?
So many questions...

Hugs

 

[Ziggy]

President Biden Outlines Plan on Delta Variant and Vaccinations | C-SPAN.org

See OP...
any questions?

Hugs

 

[Truman]

Maybe the Lord gives everyone a flaw that way they can't be holier than thou.
There are none perfect, no not one.
My flaw may be smoking, while another's flaw is gossipping, another has a shoe fetish, another is selfishness...
on and on and on..
I'm not going to defend myself...
what's that Paul? ..

Uncircumcision = smoker, and circumcision = non-smoker?
Because both are an outward sign of man's approval?
Was I called as a smoker or a non-smoker?
If I quit will that be justification by works?
Will I be able to boast that I have earned my way, rather than faith that justifies?
So many questions...

Hugs

Too bad that I'm flawed. Otherwise, I'd whip the body into shape! If they knew what was good for them, that is! Lol

 

[farouk]

Maybe the Lord gives everyone a flaw that way they can't be holier than thou.
There are none perfect, no not one.
My flaw may be smoking, while another's flaw is gossipping, another has a shoe fetish, another is selfishness...
on and on and on..
I'm not going to defend myself...
what's that Paul? ..

Uncircumcision = smoker, and circumcision = non-smoker?
Because both are an outward sign of man's approval?
Was I called as a smoker or a non-smoker?
If I quit will that be justification by works?
Will I be able to boast that I have earned my way, rather than faith that justifies?
So many questions...

Hugs

@Ziggy

It does help some ppl to relax.

The great preacher Spurgeon smoked. (What this is supposed to prove about his ministry, I don't know. Actually, I do know: it proves nothing! )

My body has come to accept the motions as if it were eating and drinking.
For me to quit smoking wold be like quitting food.

Yes, I'm sure there is some truth to this.

 

[Ziggy]

@Ziggy

It does help some ppl to relax.

The great preacher Spurgeon smoked. (What this is supposed to prove about his ministry, I don't know. Actually, I do know: it proves nothing! )



Yes, I'm sure there is some truth to this.

Although fasting from time to time does a body good as well.


1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

Hmm..

You know, this verse can apply to many things.
For instance: Let's say you decide to go on a diet for 30 days. If your still dieting after the time you set and agreed upon, then you may be tempted to grab the most non nutricious thing out of desperation or desire or lust.
Look it's 31 days I can eat whatever I want...
Funny how your mind works like that.

I have quit on occasion. Sometimes 3 weeks, I've gone as long as 3 months. But it got so overpowering (the desire to smoke)
that I went right back to 3 packs a day. No gradual increase, nope.

Right now I'm smoking about a pack a day. I buy loose tobacco and filter tubes. I manually fill each tube by hand.
Not very convienent I may say, but if I buy a pre made pack I will smoke it in leass than 8 hours.
I usually time my food shopping with when the tobacco begins to run low, about once a month.
If I smoked by the pack I would be buying cartons weekly.
So I have managed to reduce myself to what is manageable without the need for panic buying.
I lived like that for many years. Always worried about that last cigarette.

Fasting isn't usually something people look forward to doing.
And perhaps it's time for one of those seasons for me.
It may not be in a sexy relationship, but a relationship nevertheless..

1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

It may be more difficult to persuade my partner than me lol.

Thank You farouk, for giving me something to seriously consider concerning this topic.
Hugs

 

[Cristo Rei]

I was watching this video last night.
What is Freedom?
Approx. 8 minutes.
Thoughts?
Hugs

Good video Ziggy

 

[farouk]

Although fasting from time to time does a body good as well.


1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

Hmm..

You know, this verse can apply to many things.
For instance: Let's say you decide to go on a diet for 30 days. If your still dieting after the time you set and agreed upon, then you may be tempted to grab the most non nutricious thing out of desperation or desire or lust.
Look it's 31 days I can eat whatever I want...
Funny how your mind works like that.

I have quit on occasion. Sometimes 3 weeks, I've gone as long as 3 months. But it got so overpowering (the desire to smoke)
that I went right back to 3 packs a day. No gradual increase, nope.

Right now I'm smoking about a pack a day. I buy loose tobacco and filter tubes. I manually fill each tube by hand.
Not very convienent I may say, but if I buy a pre made pack I will smoke it in leass than 8 hours.
I usually time my food shopping with when the tobacco begins to run low, about once a month.
If I smoked by the pack I would be buying cartons weekly.
So I have managed to reduce myself to what is manageable without the need for panic buying.
I lived like that for many years. Always worried about that last cigarette.

Fasting isn't usually something people look forward to doing.
And perhaps it's time for one of those seasons for me.
It may not be in a sexy relationship, but a relationship nevertheless..

1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

It may be more difficult to persuade my partner than me lol.

Thank You farouk, for giving me something to seriously consider concerning this topic.
Hugs

@Ziggy Yes, well as a veteran smoking woman you with your metabolism have clearly come to accept - like you said earlier - the motions of regular inhales. It seems like in some ways you have found your level, so to speak.

A young lady wanting to smoke and just starting may even cough her way through 1 cigarette and feel overwhelmed.

But you now as a veteran know that, far from being overwhelmed, you have in theory and practically developed a capacity for 3 packs a day, so the fact that you are on a third of your potential capacity may mean that you have found some kind of personal equilibrium in the relationship between your metabolism and the motions of your regular inhales. (Like you say, far better to be on one pack than suddenly on zero and bounce back to 3 packs.)

While I wouldn't encourage anyone to start, yet like I said to another poster, if you can quit, fine, but no need to beat oneself up. For you as a veteran smoking woman, better just to do it confidently and gently than to beat oneself up and quit suddenly for a short time and bounce back to 3 packs per day, right? (And I really don't buy the eccentric, guilt-manipulative "it's not ladylike to smoke" idea that historically hardly is tenable anyway in terms of smoking customs.)

(The 1 Cor. 7 passage refers to a marriage relationship.)

 

[farouk]

But the gifts that God freely gives us of His spirit, is in total opposition to what the world offers.
Love, Hope, Peace, Joy, Kindness, Goodness, Mercy...
You don't see too many of these kinds of stories posted on Ytube or Facebook.

Just thinking..
Hugs

@Ziggy Reminds me of Galatians 5.22-26:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."

 

[Ziggy]

(The 1 Cor. 7 passage refers to a marriage relationship.)

Sometimes smoking is like a love/hate relationship..LOL
HUGS

 

[farouk]

Sometimes smoking is like a love/hate relationship..LOL
HUGS

@Ziggy Some ppl would go as far as to say that inhales (esp. marijuana, etc.) make them feel more 'spiritual', but I think this is most definitely wrong.

It's more of a personal preference and/or cultural thing, whether one does it or not. When one reads that before the American Civil War it was customary for many women to smoke after church services, I guess that at that time many people didn't see it as incompatible with the purpose of churchgoing.

 

[Ziggy]

@Ziggy Some ppl would go as far as to say that inhales (esp. marijuana, etc.) make them feel more 'spiritual', but I think this is most definitely wrong.

It's more of a personal preference and/or cultural thing, whether one does it or not. When one reads that before the American Civil War it was customary for many women to smoke after church services, I guess that at that time many people didn't see it as incompatible with the purpose of churchgoing.

I still remember the marlboro man.
The doctor's told us it was ok.
I mean...
trust the science...
right?


HUGS

 

[farouk]

I still remember the marlboro man.
The doctor's told us it was ok.
I mean...
trust the science...
right?


HUGS

@Ziggy
Well, @Acolyte's doctor seems to have told her that she is better off smoking cigarettes than vaping...

My parents and grandparents smoked, and my children smoke. My grandchildren do not smoke. .. 1 of them vapes, which I tried but my doctor told me if I had to smoke, smoke. Something about side effects for vaping wouldn't be known for a few decades. Either way its just not worth it...as i light a cig.

Not sure of the science behind Acolyte's doctor's advice...

The preacher Spurgeon smoked - apparently it was partly because it gave him some relief from the gout that he suffered from.

 

[BarneyFife]

This isn't a LEFT OR RIGHT THREAD.

If your tryin to PIZZ me off your doing a good job

Sorry, but all threads here are left and/or right in some manner.
I feel your pain.

 

[BarneyFife]

Maybe the Lord gives everyone a flaw that way they can't be holier than thou.
There are none perfect, no not one.
My flaw may be smoking, while another's flaw is gossipping, another has a shoe fetish, another is selfishness...
on and on and on..
I'm not going to defend myself...
what's that Paul? ..

Uncircumcision = smoker, and circumcision = non-smoker?
Because both are an outward sign of man's approval?
Was I called as a smoker or a non-smoker?
If I quit will that be justification by works?
Will I be able to boast that I have earned my way, rather than faith that justifies?
So many questions...

Hugs

I've found that recognizing others' flaws doesn't make mine go away.

 

[Ziggy]

Sorry, but all threads here are left and/or right in some manner.
I feel your pain.

What's coming down the pike has no political affiliation.
It is going to be global.
It's name won't be Republican or Democrat, it will be Authoriatarian Totalitarianism.
That's a mouthful..
There will be no Left or Right, Only Universal Law.
So arguing about who's ideological political stance makes absolutely no difference whatsoever.

But keep on arguing proving yourselves right. In the end your opinions aren't going to matter.
All countries will come under one rule of law.
So keep arguing about how this country isn't as bad as that country, it doesn't mean anything.

Look beyond the end of your nose...

(not directed at you personally Barny, just the flow of the thread)

Hugs