Gina Ann Watkins Day - Tennessee Toddy

 




A Collection of my Poetry taken

from my newest book Tennessee Toddy.

This book contains my old and 

new works, 

short stories, images, and scripture.


The Key to Heaven




The key to heaven is to believe in God, first
Other things follow, linked from Him to you
And back again, you to Him, to not thirst
Nor hunger, as your love roots to pursue

Trust is intricately woven in with action
Everything directed in prayer so well
fruits of the spirit, will provide traction
never walking with evil, sin in your sail

Drawing in obedience, from His word
and commandments as well as laws
leads closer to Him, not astray with herd
where surely leads you to death, no pause

Of all, love everyone liken to you, my friend
be it human, beast of all sorts, fauna too
His creations to be respected, and to tend
season for everything, without Satan's woo.






Just as God “chose” to betroth Israel to himself, God also chose us, the church, from among all peoples in all generations to be his people, his bride. Christ redeems us (i.e., bride-price) not by money or temporal things, but by his own righteousness and blood (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19; Eph. 5:25).
Del Pilar Academy, General E. Topacio St, Imus, Cavite




~~Prelude~~

THE CHURCH AS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
(HOSEA 2:16-20
AND REVELATION 19:6-8)

There has been a lot of challenges and changes
since the time of COVID. And in this we
continue to look at some of the nature, character,
and names of the church and its relevance
to how we should be thinking and
living as God’s people even in the midst of crisis
around the world (e.g., COVID, war, etc.)



And so far, in this short series since last year, we talked
about:
The church as the body of Christ
The church as the ground and pillar of truth
The church as the manifestation of the
kingdom of God, and
The separation between the Church and the
State

Today, we will end this series by learning about
the Church as the Bride of Christ.


Now how is the church called the bride of Christ?
1.) THE CHURCH IS THE BELOVED BRIDE OF
CHRIST

Throughout Scriptures, God identifies his people not
only as a people he rules and leads, but also a people
who will be the object of his love and faithfulness. The
people as his beloved wife, and himself as their
husband. And here we see the the church existing
since the Old Testament. God called and redeemed
Israel out of Egypt 
To be his own people (possession)
To be his wife (beloved by him)

There were times when this Bride was unfaithful to the
Husband, and God would confront her of her
unfaithfulness through the prophets. But even so, the
Husband would not give up on his Bride. Even by
bringing adversities and punishment for their sins, he
seeks to restore his people—his Wife—to himself.

We see this through the prophet Hosea. God instructed
Hosea to marry a woman, who is a prostitute, Gomer.

And this serves as an example for Israel who is has
been unfaithful to God by committing spiritual adultery
(e.g., idol worship, trusting other nations). But like
Hosea still restoring his wife unto himself
unconditionally, God also promised to restore Israel to
himself.

Hosea 2:16-20Why “My Baal?” Was there a time that God is
“My Baal” of Israel? The Hebrew word “Baal” simply
means lord or possessor. And it was only proper for Israel
to call God as their “Baal,” for he is their lord and owner.
But as time passed by, the surrounding Canaanites
instituted a formal cult of worshiping an idol whom they
consider as the lord of their lands, which they call as
“Baal.”

This became a threat to Israel, and caused them to think
that this “Baal” of Canaan is just the same as their God,
Yahweh. Hence, Israel as God’s people needs to clearly
distinguish God from Baal. And Yahweh promised that he
will purify them so that they will no longer worship Baal.
Instead, they will know God himself, as their Husband.
And this also affirms God’s intimate relationship with his
people. He will not be their lord, but their husband.

Then, God promised to betroth them to himself “by
righteousness, justice, faithfulness, etc.” “forever”. These
are his bride-price. These are the qualities that mark the
relationship of God with his people. It will be a permanent
relationship.

This has a grater fulfillment in Christ and the church. Just
as God “chose” to betroth Israel to himself, God also chose
us, the church, from among all peoples in all generations
to be his people, his bride.

Christ redeems us (i.e., bride-price) not by money or
temporal things, but by his own righteousness and blood
(cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19; Eph. 5:25). By his love and faithfulness, Christ
gave himself to possess us not only to be his people but
also as his Bride.

And he gave us the Holy Spirit not only to renew our minds
so we know God and his salvation, but also to guarantee
our enduring relationship with Christ as our Husband
until the end.

As we move forward, what does this imply for us? We’ll
discuss it more later, but it’s sufficient to say now that:
If we belong to Christ as his Bride, let us not seek after
other “lovers” (spiritual adultery) like Israel did. Christ is
not only our Lord, whom we follow. He is also our
Husband who loves us, and whom we should love as well in
gratitude. No one else can love us like Christ does.
If we belong to Christ as his Bride, let us consider the love
and faithfulness we receive from him even despite our
unfaithfulness (i.e., unconditional love)

Now, we may ask, if we are already Christ’s bride, why
doesn’t it look like a reality today?We’re not yet in
unhindered fellowship/communion with Christ

We’re still struggling and suffering here on earth
2.) THE BRIDE WILL SOON BE PRESENTED IN
SPLENDOR AND BEAUTY

Understanding the context of marriage in the Biblical times will help:Betrothal – Legally binding 
commitment for an upcoming marriage (giving of bride-price, dowry)The woman already deemed to belong to her “husband”
(violation of another man [sex with the woman] will lead
to stone to death)

Example: Matthew 18:19 – Mary betrothed to “husband”
Joseph Wedding – But there is still a future wedding,
which is the consummation of the marriage. The actual
union of the husband and wife.

Similarly, we are already “betrothed” to Christ, but we
still await our future “wedding” with him (read
Revelation 19:6-8)“Already but not yet.” It is like the
kingdom of Christ. Death and Satan have already been
overcome and Christ is reigning now. But there’s a
greater and perfect consummation of his kingdom.

Likewise, we now belong to Christ and united to him by
his Spirit. But there’s more to come: The consummation of our union with him where we will have perfect and unhindered fellowship with him.Revelation 19:6-8It 
will be a marriage feast in the last days (i.e., joyful celebration)
Rev. 21:2 – “Adorned” for her groom; Rev. 9,11 – The Bride “having the glory of God”
To better understand and appreciate the meaning of these texts, throughout Revelation, the church is met with various problems (e.g., sin within the church), tribulations, and persecutions by God’s enemies
We see the same principle in Ephesians 5:25-27The church here on earth will always have its “spots and wrinkles” Sin within the church Heresies within and without Adversities (persecutions, crisis)
That is why We’ll never find a perfect and secured local church!

But nevertheless, despite all of these trials and imperfections of the church, Christ will continually sanctify and purify her until the end when God destroys all his enemies and welcomes his Bride as “holy and without blemish,” “adorned” for her Husband, having 
the glory of God in herself

What is its relevance today? The COVID crisis caused 
a lot of adjustments for us. But the entire crisis revealed 
a lot about the condition of the church in large today.
Low regard of the Lord’s Day and physical gathering
Filipinos are not so religious & “maka-diyos” after all. Compare with the massive crowd in political rallies today.
This crisis helped purify the church and sanctify those who are truly his.

At the same time, the COVID crisis and even the war in Russia and Ukraine (and its global effects) also shows 
that the church will never be “settled” here on earth The invisible and universal church (the true believers) will never be destroyed. There will always be the church throughout the world, as Christ promised. And not one will be lost.

But the visible/local church will always be subject to adversities and imperfections and “losses” For instance, where is the church in Ephesus or Philippi now? (Ruins) 

Consider the churches and seminary destroyed in the present Russian war.
We desire to have our own church building and to be organized (and it is prudent to do so! It’s for our welfare). But we are also reminded of the reality that the church will never be fully settled and secured in this life. The visible church will always be affected by the imperfections of this life and keep adjusting, and will remain as long as the gospel continues to be preached and sanctify us.

Whether God provides us our own church building, or we stay under the tree, or in a smaller house… it’s okay as long as God’s Word continues to be preached and sanctify us together. “This is not our home! We are just pilgrims, passing by this fallen world towards the celestial city.”

But take heart believers, God gives the church the comfort that at the end of it all—after everything we will have faced in this life—
we shall all appear to him in glory, “without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing.”[ILLUSTRATION] A bride who is imperfect and ordinary woman, and all her stuff (dress, make-up, brush, etc. which appear meaningless in itself). 

But after all the careful preparations and beautification—behold the beautiful, flawless bride!
It will not be easy. But though the church be wounded and
bruised in this life, Christ will keep her, love her, and turn her into a lovely, glorious, and perfect Bride.

Now, since this is the future marriage of the church with Christ, what should we do?
3.) THE BRIDE PREPARES HERSELF FOR THE FUTURE MARRIAGE FEAST

Revelation 19:7 – “… the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.” Rev. 21:2 – “prepared as a bride”

[ILLUSTRATION] – Imagine a bride on the day of wedding still sleeping, hanging out with friends, busy in the office, etc?

Likewise, if we expect our wedding, our blessed union with our Savior and Lord—our Lover—we better make sure that we are ready and adorned for him! 
When Christ returns, are you ready?

Apparently, there’s a gap/difference between the early church Christians and the modern church. They don’t have the so many privileges that we have today (e.g., When you’re sad or anxious, you have the the screen 
for entertainment/relaxation, and you already forget or ease your problems).

In contrast, many of the early church believers were persecuted. Old and children alike. Persecuted and slandered, not on Facebook, but publicly. No human rights yet. They were burned, fed to lions, torn, executed, etc.

Hence, their cry, “Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus!” And their struggle was being patient for the return of Christ. Apostles encouraging them to be patient and endure a little more.

In contrast, I believe the challenge of believers today is the
privileges and distractions that may prevent us from being
deeply conscious and longing for Christ’s return. (E.g.,
Somehow, technology helps alleviates our problems/needs).
Yet we must be reminded that Christ will return and will return anytime.

Scriptures are full of warning and exhortations concerning the second coming of Christ.It seems that many people today have become less concerned about spiritual and eternal things are more concerned about physical survival. But Christ warns us in that he will return like in the days of Noah, when people are too preoccupied with their earthly lives (Matthew 24:36-39).

The parable of the virgins also in Matthew 25:1-13. (Not to be allegorized). The only point is that we must be like the wise virgins, and always be ready for the coming of the groom (whether now or delayed).

How then, should we be prepared for the coming of Christ?
Simply put, by being faithful people and servants of Christ:
Faithful in holy and righteous livingRevelation 21:8 – The
bride is clothed with fine linen (i.e., the righteous deeds of
the saints).
Romans 13:11-14
Let us not commit spiritual adultery, and think that sin and the world will “love” us
Let us continue to exhort one another, encourage one another, watch over each other, and pray for each other. If we hope for that time when Christ will present us as a holy and spotless Bride, let us purify ourselves even now.

Knowing the imminent return of Christ should make us holy.
Faithful to the Word of God Watchful over heresies (inside and outside the church) and outright twisting of Scriptures.

Watchful over worldly philosophies and ideas that may
challenge our theological and biblical worldviews (e.g.,
Biblical anthropology vs. Transhumanism, Dataism, AI,
Digisexuals, Virtual reality)
As the world and society continue to change, let us keep
God’s Word as our primary and final authority, knowing that it is the truth of God that shall stand. And let it saturate our minds and sanctify our lives, instead of being influenced by the world.

Knowing the imminent return of Christ should keep us
watchful with our minds.
Faithful to the mission of the Church (i.e., gospel ministry)
The tendency of the modern church to be biased and
abandon (deal away) completely the things they didn’t like
in the previous churches. Roman Catholic infant baptism,
use of art —> No infant baptism, no art
Concert-like worship services —> No instruments, acapella
lang
Emotionalism —> Bawal umiyak o masyadong madala
within the church (like during times of revival)
Evangelistic explosions —> No more evangelism, no more
deliberate plans/programs
There are always tendency of error and abuse in these things
(e.g., church leadership), but evangelism and discipleship
remain a mission of the church (Matt. 28:19-20).

We must therefore seek ways to spread the gospel of Christ as a Reformed church. Pray for the lost (family, neighbors, friends, strangers)
Pray for ministers (Praying for “laborers” to be sent out –
Luke 10:2; Romans 10:14-15
Pray for ourselves (though not all are called to be ministers, we can help physically, financially*, spiritually)
Do we invest our time, efforts, and resources for the kingdom of God?

Knowing the imminent return of Christ, where he will destroy this world and judge the living and the dead, should awaken in us the concern for others (not just ourselves) and the zeal for his kingdom.

CONCLUSION

Friends, when we see crises and changing times all throughout the world, it should all the more make us mindful and expect that Christ may come anytime soon.

When Christ comes today or tomorrow, where will he find
you? In sin and rebellion to him? If so, repent now and come to Christ, or else you’ll perish!
Being faithful and waiting for him? Let us pray that God will help us to be so.

As we face these trials of our time, let us cry out, “O Lord, haste the day!” and put our hope in him. God will “grant”—by his grace—the church to be clothed in perfect righteousness in the end, to be the pure and holy and blameless Bride of Christ.

May this blessed hope cause us to stay awake!, preparing
ourselves and striving to be found faithful by our Master
and Husband, Jesus Christ.

The Bible contains several references to the church as
the bride of Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul writes,
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.
I promised you to one husband, to Christ,
so that I might present you as a
pure virgin to him” 

Similarly, in Ephesians
5:27, Paul writes, “and to
present her to himself as a radiant church,
without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish, but holy and blameless”

Finally, in Revelation 19:7, John
writes, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give
him glory! For the wedding of
the Lamb has come, and his bride has
made herself ready”
 
These verses suggest that the church is the
bride of Christ, and that Christ
is the bridegroom. The church is to be
presented to Christ as a pure virgin,
without blemish, and holy. This imagery
is used to describe the intimate
relationship between Christ and the
church, and the love that Christ has
for his people




~~Poem~~



Refreshing as Spring rain in the sun
The Groom and Bride glisten in pure white
Embracing their love, giving glory its run
The wedding prophesied, lavishly bright.

Diligent, coming of age, timeless treasure
The Church wrapped in aurora of
Faith & Hope
Hearts on fire, praising the Groom
without measure
Extraordinary excellence heavenly bound,
as promised, in they float.

Oil lamps lined the path, wine and lamb
Angels celebrating with flute, drum and harp
vines, flowers, covering heaven's door jamb
sun, moon, stars trailing at dusk, view so sharp.

®© 2024







His Love

In my lifetime I was always wondering why
It seemed nobody loved me despite my need
I tried so hard to be good. doing my best to try
to give to others from my heart__the Christian seed

Through thick and thin through life I trod
making choices, learning along the winding path
carrying burdens so heavy over the sod
Surely God was piling on my back His wrath

With age comes wisdom, with wisdom comes power
the power of knowledge, and the power to know
Those you want in your life to love you, live in a tower
with hearts so cold and minds in gear on low.

God loves me, and this is all who matters at the end
So I learn to praise Him and thank Him, He is all I need
and all that I have is enough love for me, I shall send
to you in prayer this holy love, sharing His will in deed.

♥(¯`'•.¸(¯`'•.¸*♥♥*¸.•'´¯)¸. • ' ´¯)♥
Gina Ann Day 2013






In loving memory of Hope, Faith, Fancy, Monet,
Radar, Buddy, Inky, Jazz, Baron, Rebel, 
Rosie, Dita, Beau, Annie, & Polly, though poem or story not completed yet....
~~~~~
You all are deeply missed, traumatized I'm so sad
I am so sorry my daughter took you away from me
It was all wrong, unjust, and evil greed she had
I had covid and wrecked coming back you see

They called it bottoming out, of which I didn't know
I was starving, and drove to Nick's up the road
bought a pizza at the drive thru so
as not to infect others in the abode

On the way back, I passed out, vomited, peed,
pooped all over myself, running off into the lake
off on swampy Helms, the ambulance took heed
I didn't wake when hearing the glass break

Rolling into the ambulance, they called out my name
I was still in confusion, they drove past you
I wanted to tell them to take me home, for your sake
of getting back home to you, thinking of you true

I have moved my short story about my babies and the hell we both went through to my MICROSOFT WORD, removing it from this page, in order to better document the entire story in book format. I will repost it when I have it fully edited and completely finished for publishing my book Tennessee Toddy, (Poems, scripture, & short stories) instead of writing emotionally and sharing by email.  Here is the link for those of you I have email addresses for at the new page Heartspun Dreamscape: Gina Ann Watkins Day - Tennessee Toddy (heartspundreamscape2023.blogspot.com) and it will resend you to my main page of my poetry, which is under full reconstruction mode.....  I am compacting my works into one page instead of individual poetry  pages to allow for more pages for others and their works.......Others will have to check in when they please to see if I've finished this horror, gut wrenching factual short story. Thank you for your patience and understanding.  God bless and keep you. Please keep me in your prayers.



Read this. By Theresa Murphy 
When you take your pet into your local "shelter" as an owner surrender because you have a baby coming, he is too old, he is too much puppy, he jumps the fence, he digs under the fence, she pees on my clothes, he is too old and we want a puppy, we don't have the time to spend with him, he got bigger than we thought, we want to go buy a specific breed now, or any other lame excuse that can be helped by SO many other means than dumping one at the shelter, then I wish they would make you go back to the kill room and witness a needle being plunged into the heart without sedation in hopes that they will die fairly quickly, but if not, let's see if poking it in the lungs also will help and let you hear your animal scream in pain as it suffers while dying. NO animal deserves this whether it is an owner surrender or a stray!! I hear it all the time from breeders that their dogs are specifically bred for one job or another and I really have to say that I don't care and I think that for everyone one breeding that they should have to witness this barbaric torture also. There are entirely too many animals being killed daily and until that is under control then breeding should stop completely. There should be more laws requiring spay and neuter and more low cost clinics funded (maybe by profits from breeders) and set up. 
This happens when the county is over a facility and no one is paying attention, employees are under paid and there are not enough of them, when volunteers are not allowed in to help, rescuers are not allowed to help more or called when crisis arises, and adoption events are not allowed to happen on site. This has happened before and will continue to happen if something drastic is not done. It has to start with the county commission office and obviously meetings are to be attended constantly to help keep someone going out to check and action to be taken. Even then, I know from experience that things are not done properly. 
This absolutely makes me sick to my stomach to think of how many animals, once again, have suffered needlessly and in such a cruel way, completely preventable. 
It really does start with everyone's more steadfast responsibility. First of all, SPAY & NEUTER!!!!! Then if you find a stray, please post on your FB page, make it public, post to friend's pages, post to local lost/found/adoptable pages, post in vet offices, pay for vetting to be done and try to find them a home. Contact rescues to see if they can help. Foster (a small room), donate, volunteer to transport, or anything else that could help them. If more people would do this, then shelters would not be needed!! 
If is it your animal that you are thinking about turning over to be killed, then maybe you can try a LOT harder to fix the problem. Research how well animals and babies can coexist together, how you can overcome your allergies, how to fix the fence (high or low), how to help them in old age, how to train a puppy, what products are out there to calm one and help stress and problems coming from it, how to first take one to the vet and see if a medical problem is causing bad behavior, how NOT to declaw a cat EVER!!, how mixed breeds usually have less medical problems and deserve to live and so on. You can also try finding a better home yourself if none of these options appeal to you.
Animals cannot speak and we have to do better!!! They suffer in silence behind closed doors, in the road, in the woods, hiding from people that are supposed to be helping them. We are failing them and it must stop!!!




Gina Ann Watkins Day












Piled high shifting with the 

wind a picturesque view

t'was so elegant a frigid, 

luminescent sun-kissed scene.


Falling so fast and furious, 

snow icing all on cue

appearing lacey on foliage 

and shimmering ice so keen.


Burrowed into the big rocking chair

t'was sitting next to a large window 

in Granny's billowing 

quilts without a care


Fireplace blazing nearby crackling

was a toasty luxury oh so grand

each tall flame wrapping around a log

was indeed a scene to applaud and stand


But, lo and behold, I simply sat rocking

slurping up hot chocolate with smores

And watched the snow pile even more

contented as temps inside soars.


Wind alone made noise to send

chills through to your bones

and the tapping of the icy snow

visions of snowcream, and 

got the groans.







Many friends, one or three , precious & cool
Mingle & give you support as a tool
Loving you and journeying faithfully true
Never turning their backs on like-minded you. 

Count them as blessings, bro or sis
Inspiring your soul, going forward to never miss
A fruitful, peaceful and loving camaraderie of life
Delighting your senses & soul without strife.

Copyright 2000 - Current, Registered 

Gina Ann Day








♥(¯`'•.¸(¯`'•.¸*♥♥*¸.•'´¯)¸. • ' ´¯)♥

© Gina Ann Watkins Day 
Established 1995 through 2025

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