Northwoods Conservatives

16 hours ago

October 4, 2026, the 277th day of 2026 Choose Your Side On the side of light is the Kingdom of Heaven. The King gave His life to set us free.... View More

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Nelani Nettrour

October 3, 2026 1:57 pm

October 3, 2026, the 276th day of 2026 Never Forgottern and Always Missed Today is Barry's birthday, another one spent in Heaven, another one we can only share with memories and enjoying some of his... View More

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Nelani Nettrour

October 2, 2026 5:27 pm

October 2, 2026, the 275th day of 2026 Can God Trust You? It is one thing to trust God, He is righteous, our Creator, our all powerful God, it is another for God to trust us.... View More

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Nelani Nettrour

October 1, 2026 7:24 pm

October 1, 2026, the 274th day of 2026 Enjoying the Fruit of Labor There is always something beyond the normal feeling of accomplishments that come on a day, when we get to enjoy the fruit of our l... View MoreOctober 1, 2026, the 274th day of 2026 Enjoying the Fruit of Labor There is always something beyond the normal feeling of accomplishments that come on a day, when we get to enjoy the fruit of our labors. Sometimes that is a lot and sometimes it is a bite. God always gives blessings with hard work, and the ones we can eat are tasty ones. During canning season we usually get leftovers to sample that didn't quite fit in a jar. It is always good when we do, because we don't have to wait to pop ope a jar to find out how it turned out. The pan scraping spoonfuls give us a clue, but a bigger sample is always better. Pickled anything is the exception, as it needs to time setting to absorb the flavors in, usually a year after canning. Longer is even better. Pickle relish can be sampled right away though, as it is simmered in the liquid and so gets cooked in. Our pickes are cucumbers, onions and peppers layered raw and the spiced brine is poured over it, then canned. Often when we are canning we chop up extra pieces of fruits or vegetables to make a dessert or add to supper. That is always an added bonus. Every year is somewhat of a surprise to what will be in abundance when we can get it, or if we can get it at all. Friends who have extra produce are always a blessing and we are thankful for them. With varying weather conditions affecting our produce and the produce of the farmers we purchase from, our canning varies quite a bit year to year. Because we want to make apple cider vinegar, which uses the peels and the cores--we have switched from mostly applesauce, except in the extremely ripe apples--and have gone to makeing apple pie filling instead. So, each year can be quite different in what we can, and that makes things interesting. Quite often what we do is related to our timing and supplies. And that is why we decided to make grape jelly yesterday. A friend gave us another batch of grapes, nice and ripe, so we needed to do something with them right away. Because I did not get quart jars yet this year, but had half pint and pint jars, we decided on grape jelly. We first cooked the grapes, simmering them quite a bit, then strained out the peel and seeds. We kept some juice out to drink. It was delicious. Then we simmered the rest down a bit more. Then we made the grape juice into jelly. We still have the grapes we were given, and picked earlier, in my brother's freezer to make into juice later. So it seemed the perfect time to try jelly. This morning I tried it out on toast. It seemed the best way to do it, right before a delicious brunch my daughter had made of poached quail eggs, toast and tea. It has a good flavor. We never make our jams or jellies really sweet, so they retain the fruit flavors. I was so thankful when we found the calcium and pectin mix, because it doesn't require a lot of sugar to gel properly. The traditional jelly and jam pectin requires so much sugar to gel that it tastes more like jellied fruit sugar. Soon...on to the next project. Stay strong! Enjoy the fruit of your labor. NAN

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Nelani Nettrour

September 30, 2026 12:11 pm

September 30, 2026, the 273rd day of 2026 Close to the Kingdom Some people are so close to God, but they are worshipping the wrong thing. Giving glory to one who does not deserve it and did not giv... View MoreSeptember 30, 2026, the 273rd day of 2026 Close to the Kingdom Some people are so close to God, but they are worshipping the wrong thing. Giving glory to one who does not deserve it and did not give life to us is idolatry. It is giving what is meant for God alone, to another. Idolatry is a sin that separates many an otherwise good person from God. These people are almost there. They are at the doorstep, but they are too distracted to see the door, and enter. Jesus is that door. He stands ready to offer admittance, but they need to change their perspectice to see Him. Otherwise they will die in ignorance, mere steps away from eternal life. They believe in being good. They believe in fair play. They take care of their own and do not neglect to help others. They appreciate what they have as they got it through hard work and sacrifice. They appreciate what is given to them because they know another had to work to earn the money, or taken the the time it took to make it. They make vows and remain faithful to them. If it is a marriage vow they are there in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. They would never betray their spouse or neglect their family. They already believe so much. They already do so much of what God commands, but they have not turned to Him. They are looking away from Him. They are so, so close! It is almost painful to see how close they are, and yet how far they still remain. Because they are not looking at the right place. Their perspective is off. Because no matter how good you are, that will not do. No one is righteous enough to pay for the sins of thoughts, words and deeds. And idolatry alone will keep you from the Kingdom of God, because if someone or something else is your god, you are not of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. You see the wonder of creation all around you. It awes you. It inspires you. Instead of looking at nature and glorifying nature, change your perspective and glorify God, the Creator of nature. Instead of glorifying destiny, fate, luck or some other such force, change your perspective and glorify God Who has set things in motion and sustains and keeps the world going until He purposely ends it. Be thankful that He gave you free will and you can choose, not be the slave of uncaring forces. Because besides God's Kingdom are the enemies of God. There are forces of darkness and a kingdom of darkness that disguises itself as light and goodness. But it is a deception, so something is always off. It is hard to feel it when you are in the midst of it, because you don't know the pure light of Jesus, but it can be detected if you seek the truth. There is enough undercurrent of darkness that it can be understood by any seeking truth. Jesus is the truth and will light the way to anyone who truly is seeking. We have free will. It is a blessing because it gives us a choice. It is a responsibility because we must choose. If we fail to choose God's way, we remain under the curse of sin. Our righteousness will never be enough to overcome our sin. Sin separates us from God. Jesus, the only Begotten Son of God--God in the flesh--paid the debt of the sin of the world on the cross. He overcame death in His resurrection. Realizing that we are sinners--even the best of us, with the best of intentions--is the first step. It is the step that makes us realize that we need to be saved, to be redeemed, because we are unable to do it ourselves. We need to repent. And to repent we need to admit that we have sinned against God. Repenting is not just feeling sorry for our sin, but turning away from it and turning toward King Jesus to not only cleanse us from our sin, but to make of us a new creation, an eternal one. But that is not possible without the next step. Completely surrendering our life, our all, to Jesus as our Lord, our Master, our King is essential. If we just feel sorry and want to be forgiven and cleansed, but we do not want to surrender to Jesus, we won't be saved. Jesus can only be our Saviour if He is our King. Many false converts exist because they felt the conviction of sin, they asked to be forgiven and cleansed. They said a prayer that was only words to them, not from their heart. They did not in reality surrender to Jesus. Since they did not fully surrendered to Jesus they remain on the side of darkness and death, not on the side of light and life. The new creation comes with surrender, not before it. The Holy Spirit seals the new child of God after surrender, not before it. It is not hard. The hardest part is done in choosing the truth and stepping into it. God reads the heart and the intents of thr heart. That is why He can save someone who merely says, "Jesus, save me a sinner," because the rest is in their heart. The repentance, the turning and the surrendering are already done in their heart. While others, speaking perfectly prepared prayers, with no heart to follow Jesus, remain unsaved. Jesus wants you to come. He will do all He can to help those who ask for help. He will bring people into your life who have the answers. He can lead you to a post or a channel to help you. He can come in dreams. Jesus is not limited. He is God. But you must be seriously seeking. Jesus will not be deceived. You have to come in truth. You have to mean it! And you have to choose Him! Stay strong! Eternal life is so close to so many who never find it. Seek and you will find! NAN

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Nelani Nettrour

September 29, 2026 6:01 pm

September 29, 2026, the 272nd day of 2026 The Unseen World We live in a world we can see with our eyes. We can smell the scents of it. We can touch it. We can taste of its produce. We can hear t... View MoreSeptember 29, 2026, the 272nd day of 2026 The Unseen World We live in a world we can see with our eyes. We can smell the scents of it. We can touch it. We can taste of its produce. We can hear the sounds of it around us. And yet, it is the least part of what is. It is a temporary place. The eternal exists along side of it. The Kingdom of God within it, as its King has come upon it, and will return to it. So, Earth holds more than any mere physical world holds. Any other planet would still be created by God, but God will not reign in the physical world from any other planet. Jesus had chosen Earth as His base. He choose the people of Earth to be where He would put on humanity. He chose Israel to be the people He came through. He will rule and reign for a thousand years from Israel, once mankind's reign is over. The timing is God's. We don't see when our time is up, but He knows. In the meantime we have a Kingdom we cannot see, but we can reach through prayer, ruled by God. It is called the Kingdom of God, for the ruler, or the Kingdom of Heaven, for the place, but it the same Kingdom. We also have an enemy we do not see, who uses our world as if it were his own, Satan, the deceiver. A war of two sides, good and evil, in unseen battle, for and against us. Light seeks to show us the way to God. The darkness seeks to hide it, to block it, to distract us from it. But light is stronger than darkness. And if one would step from the darkness to the light, the truth would be revealed. What is unseen holds the key to what is seen. If we ignore it, we will livve a life that is lacking in understanding of true reality. We will be living a partial existence, a life of shadows, lacking the crucial knowledge of why things happen in this world, what it means and what to do about it. The Bible, given to us by our Creator, God, brings to light both the physical and the spiritual, unseen world. It explains what happened and what will happen. It explains the reason for what may seem like unrelated occurrences and how they relate. The Bible reveals so much, including creation, the fsll, the way of salvation through Jesus, why it was needed, why only Jesus is the way, glimpses of the past and if the future. Everyone who had repented and turned to Jesus in complete surrender as their Lord and Master, their King becomes a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is open to all who will do the same. But it is not open to those who won't. If we saw what we cannot see, there would be no question Who was the boss, Who was in control. But God shows enough in His creation that we are without excuse if we choose other than Him. We must not only ignore the unseen, but blind ourselves to the seen, and dull our senses entirely not to see that creation needs God. To deny the existence of God is to deny all existence, because there is no way that nothing made everything from nothing. But since they are physical, it is easier for them to accept the impossibly of evolution than the necessity of a Creator. Sin is so much more acceptable when denying God. And sin rules many a heart. Anyone who seriously seeks righteousness will find Jesus in the end, for He is righteous. Anyone who seriously seeks the truth will find Jesus in the end, for Jesus is the truth. Stay strong! The most important place to seek is the place you cannot see, but that you can become a citizen of, the Kingdom of Heaven. Seek and you will find. NAN

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