Lady Gaga, spiritual hero

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 14, 2023

Are you a hero? I don't mean the type of hero we all think about when we hear that word. I'm talking about the quiet ones that are around us all the time. The type of hero who spends time, not just thinking about others, but acting on what they need and what the hero can give them.

Lady Gaga sang Hold My Hand at the Oscars. I didn't see it until today when I was checking to see who the winners were. I was warmed by seeing her without makeup, or fancy clothes because this fabulously talented lady looked like everyone else. So set aside her fame and wealth, and see the simple fact that she is still just like everyone else. She has had hardship in her life, just like all of us and she has had someone coming into her life to make it a little easier than it would have been without them. Judging by the song lyrics she wrote, it is easy to assume that she helped other people as well. To me, she is a spiritual hero!

Hold My Hand

Lady Gaga

Tell me you need me

Hold my hand, everything will be okay I heard from the heavens that clouds have been grey

Pull me close, wrap me in your aching arms

I see that you're hurtin', why'd you take so long

To tell me you need me? I see that you're bleeding

You don't need to show me again

But if you decide to, I'll ride in this life with you

I won't let go 'til the end

So cry tonight

But don't you let go of my hand

You can cry every last tear

I won't leave 'til I understand

Promise me, just hold my hand

Raise your head, look into my wishful eyes

That fear that's inside you will lift, give it time

I can see everything you're blind to now

Your prayers will be answered, let God whisper how

To tell me you need me, I see that you're bleeding

You don't need to show me again

But if you decide to, I'll ride in this life with you

I won't let go 'til the end

So cry tonight

But don't you let go of my hand

You can cry every last tear

I won't leave 'til I understand

Promise you'll just hold my hand

Hold my hand, hold my

Hold my hand, my hand

I'll be right here, hold my hand

Hold my hand, hold my

Hold my hand, my hand

I'll be right here, hold my hand

I know you're scared and your pain is imperfect

But don't you give up on yourself

I've heard a story, a girl, she once told me

That I would be happy again

Hold my hand

Hold my hand

Hold my hand, hold my hand

Hold my hand, hold my hand

Hold my hand

I heard from the heavens

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Michael Tucker / Stefani Germanotta

Hold My Hand lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

It is so easy to dismiss others and walk away. After all, they didn't matter to you in the first place. Yet, when you do care about others, it would be harder to walk away without trying to help them. Most of the time it is because you knew what it was like to need someone, suffered until someone stopped to help you and then felth as if your heart became full again with hope. That is a magical thing!

If all of us do what we can to help someone else, this world would be a better place for all of us, but right now it seems as if hatred has taken over so many. The words of claiming fellowship with Jesus and claims of being "Christian" flow from their lips, but their actions prove otherwise. For the wise, we know they only use faith as a weapon, just as others throughout the couple of thousand years have done.

Maybe that is the biggest reason why most people do not claim to be religious but spiritual instead. To tell you the truth, I think they are living what others only claim to do, when the truth is, they never understood what it is supposed to cause us to do.

Do you judge others?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 26, 2023

Do you judge others and if so, by what standards? By their actions, what they say, or how they look? By the color of their skin, income level, or where they live, or the language they speak? What is it that makes us form a judgment of anyone we do not really know?

People are claiming to be witches but are also Christians. It isn't up to me to judge what gifts God gave them or what they believe. As long as they are doing good for others, trying to help them, I'm good with that. Considering I've never really felt I fit in with what others consider "normal" I find them unique and fascinating.

If you have a problem with anyone calling themself a Christian Witch, then consider what the Bible says about gifts of the spirit and the list of things God chose some people to have.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:1-11

12 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 2 You know that at one time you were unbelievers. You were somehow drawn away to worship statues of gods that couldn’t even speak. 3 So I want you to know that no one who is speaking with the help of God’s Spirit says, “May Jesus be cursed.” And without the help of the Holy Spirit, no one can say, “Jesus is Lord.”

4 There are different kinds of gifts. But they are all given to believers by the same Spirit. 5 There are different ways to serve. But they all come from the same Lord. 6 There are different ways the Spirit works. But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people.

7 The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all. 8 To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others, the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. 9 To others the same Spirit gives faith. To others that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. 10 To others he gives the power to do miracles. To others, he gives the ability to prophesy. To others, he gives the ability to tell the spirits apart. To others, he gives the ability to speak in different kinds of languages they had not known before. And to still others he gives the ability to explain what was said in those languages. 11 All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides.

When the Bible addresses "witches" it is good to notice that when they are considered evil, it is because they are doing harmful things. When they are doing good, they are given acceptable titles like a healer,  or any of the above other gifts of the spirit.

One such person I follow on Facebook is called TruthSeekah. He doesn't look like what fits in with what some consider godly, but he speaks about the love of Jesus and God. 

Maybe people judge him because of what he looks like. Others may judge him because of the people he interviews. The thing is, he accepts others because we are all children of God.

I used to be part of a motorcycle group. Not as a biker but as a rider. I remember hearing people speak badly about bikers, especially when we were riding in packs. Sure I get how intimidating that can be, but we were judged by what we looked like and not what we were doing. Every time I was in one of those packs, we were heading to a fundraiser to help someone, or a charity to be able to help other people. Often they were patriotic rides, like escorting the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall to honor those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of this country. Oh, I forgot to mention that every member of the group was either a veteran or a member of law enforcement, or a firefighter. We were judged by what people saw.

I hope that you remember this the next time you are given the opportunity to learn about someone new you encounter and then wonder if they are judging you by the same standards you judge them by.

Judging Others
Matthew 7:1-5

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Free gift to readers of Wounded Times

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 25, 2023

When I was writing The Ministers Of The Mystery series, I was thinking of all of you. All the people I've met over the years struggling to heal #PTSD and then turning around to help other people heal too. I am in awe of each and every one of you. I wanted to find a way to let you know that.

The Scribe Of Salem is the first book in the series. I've been auditioning narrators for audiobooks. I found several that delivered the emotions of this rollercoaster ride, as well as had a voice that fit. I had a woman do one chapter from each book and liked it. However, I've decided to go back to my original thought of having a male read it. The main character is male, but there are at least 30 characters in the three books and heavy dialogue going on. It seemed more important for the voice to carry the overall flow. 

Anyway, when I was uploading this video of Chapter 3, The Trials, I decided it was time to thank all of you and anyone else interested in reading these books.

All of us know the way our story happened. It started out with shock, confusion, and feeling lost in our own bodies. For most of us, someone came along to help us find our way back to seeing ourselves when we look in the mirror again. That is the way the first book starts. It is also for all of us, no matter what caused PTSD in us. Remember, the only way to get hit by PTSD is to survive the trauma that caused it, and the only way out of it is to be shown the way to heal. The fabulous thing about us is, we aren't selfish and love to pay it forward, helping someone else the same way others helped us. 

By this chapter, Chris's old friends came back into his life when he needed them the most. He also met Alex and Mary Michaels. They are book publishers he agreed to show around Salem. They are walking around when this story begins to get really strange.

Read The Scribe Of Salem for free until January 31!

Please leave a review of what you think wherever you read it from. It will help me as I write the 4th book. Right now I am still researching it and a good time to discover what hits people the most.

Travel to Salem in This Deliciously Macabre Tale of the Occult

BookTrib
Monique Snyman
January 18, 2023

The Scribe of Salem by Kathie Costos

In The Scribe of Salem: Ministers of the Mystery, the first book in the Ministers of the Mystery series, Kathie Costos takes readers on a wild fictional journey that has one foot in reality. Filled with suspense, historical intrigue, magic and scripture, get ready for an edge-of-your-seat novel that’ll leave you wanting more.

A Darkness Looms Over Salem 

Most people who have the slightest interest in the occult, hard-to-believe historical occurrences, or early settlers of North America will be familiar with the Salem Witch Trials. While specifics may not be easy to recall, it’s difficult to forget how so many people were brutally tortured and executed due to hearsay and gossip.

In The Scribe of Salem, we are introduced to Chris Papadopoulos, who has seen his fair share of life’s horrors. Having traveled across the world as a newspaper reporter, he covered quite a bit, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then, his life fell apart …

We first find Chris in the bar of The Bishop Hotel in Salem, which has become somewhat of a place of comfort since moving back to Salem. There, he hears the name Mandy, an enigmatic woman who had supposedly saved the life of his friend, a veteran soldier, Bill, and some others in the bar from teetering into darkness.

It is here, as he is invited to the Puritan Lawn Cemetery, where Chris’s life will take another terrible turn … You’ll have to read to find out!

A Supernatural Thriller With a Cultish Feel

From early in the novel, readers will realize that Kathie Costos’s writing has an atmospheric quality to it. The sinister feeling that forms in the pit of your stomach as soon as Bill calls his companions “Brothers” or quotes scriptures to make a point is intensified as the story continues. The feeling soon turns to dread as this whirlwind, dark tale mixes witchcraft, history and Christianity together and offers it up to readers on a silver platter.

There’s almost a cultish quality to the book, especially in the way that Biblical scriptures are sprinkled throughout the dialogue. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of looking up the various verses and finding the deeper meaning in what was being said by the characters. Having verse juxtaposed with talk of witchcraft gave the novel a slightly unsettling edge.
read more here

I hope you read the rest but what I find intriguing is that everyone in the series has #PTSD from different causes and they joined forces to help Chris. This fabulous review never mention PTSD because she didn't have to. It isn't a typical PTSD book. As a matter of fact, it isn't a typical "any" kind of book. This is the kind of review that means this author, did what I set out to do!

The Scribe Of Salem is also on Amazon

Christian religious leader from 7th century was a woman!

U.K. archaeologists unearth 7th century treasures owned by a woman who may have been Christian religious leader

CBS News
DECEMBER 6, 2022

"We are now looking at places we would never typically have looked at, and as a result, we are finding genuinely unexpected things." Simon Mortimer

Liz Barham, senior conservator of the Museum of London Archaeology, displays an early medieval gold and gemstone necklace during a photo call, in London, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. KIN CHEUNG / AP

The Harpole Treasure – named for the village where it was found, about 60 miles northwest of London – was unearthed in April by archaeologists working with property developer Vistry Group on a neighborhood of new houses.

Researchers say the burial took place between 630 and 670 A.D., the same period as several other graves of high-ranking women that have been found around Britain. Earlier high-status burials were mostly men, and experts say the change could reflect women gaining power and status in England's new Christian faith.

The Kingdom of Mercia, where the Harpole Treasure was found, converted to Christianity in the 7th century, and the woman buried there was a believer, maybe a faith leader. A large and ornate silver cross was placed on her body in the grave. It is adorned with tiny, astonishingly well-preserved likenesses of human heads with blue glass eyes, who may represent Christ's apostles. Clay pots from France or Belgium, containing residue of an unknown liquid, were also found.

Remember the Bible passage about women should be "silent" in church? The following is from 1 Corinthians 14

34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.

Or how they left out women who also had the gift of prophecy?

14 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

Yet also in 1 Corinthians 14, there was this.

10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.

The truth is, there were many women with Jesus and thought history, as the ancient woman above, that were leaders in Christianity. Never, ever, doubt the gifts of your spirit are of any lesser value just because some think it is. 

Which Witchcraft Is Acceptable?

Why Do Witches Ride Brooms? The History Behind the Legend

From pagan fertility rituals to hallucinogenic herbs, the story of witches and brooms is a wild ride.
History.com
SARAH PRUITT
OCT 29, 2021

History.com

By the time of Edelin’s “confession,” the idea of witches riding around on broomsticks was already well established. The earliest known image of witches on brooms dates to 1451, when two illustrations appeared in the French poet Martin Le Franc’s manuscript Le Champion des Dames (The Defender of Ladies). In the two drawings, one woman soars through the air on a broom; the other flies aboard a plain white stick. Both wear head scarves that identify them as Waldensians, members of a Christian sect founded in the 12th century who were branded as heretics by the Catholic Church, partly because they allowed women to become priests.

One notion put to rest about witches. Now, if we could only put to rest the one about no one can be "Christian" and "witch" at the same time. To me, it is easy to figure out since all the passages about "bad" witches in the Bible are about those that use their gifts to harm, are not using their gifts from God but serving Satan instead. Those who use their gifts to heal or help, use their spiritual gifts from God to serve God.

Let's take a look at some thoughts that happened in Salem when other Christians got it wrong.

History of the Salem Witch Trials
Rebecca Beatrice Brooks
August 18, 2011

As the years went by, the colonists felt ashamed and remorseful for what had happened during the Salem Witch Trials. Since the witch trials ended, the colony also began to suffer many misfortunes such as droughts, crop failures, smallpox outbreaks and Native-American attacks and many began to wonder if God was punishing them for their mistake. On December 17, 1697, Governor Stoughton issued a proclamation in hopes of making amends with God. The proclamation suggested that there should be:

“observed a Day of Prayer with Fasting throughout the Province…So that all God’s people may put away that which hath stirred God’s Holy jealousy against his land; that he would…help us wherein we have done amiss to do so no more; and especially that whatever mistakes on either hand have fallen into…referring to the late tragedy, raised among us by Satan and his instruments, through the awful judgement of God, he would humble us therefore and pardon all the errors and people that desire to love his name…”

The day of prayer and fasting was held on January 15, 1698, and was known as the Day of Official Humiliation.

In the same article, one of the accusers offered her apology.

In 1706, afflicted girl Ann Putnam, Jr., also issued a public apology for her role in the Salem Witch Trials, particularly in the case against her neighbor Rebecca Nurse. Her apology states:

“I desire to be humbled before God for that sad and humbling providence that befell my father’s family in the year about ’92; that I, then being in my childhood, should, by such a providence of God, be made an instrument for the accusing of several persons of a grievous crime, whereby their lives were taken away from them, whom now I have just grounds and good reason to believe they were innocent persons; and that it was a great delusion of Satan that deceived me in that sad time, whereby I justly fear I have been instrumental, with others, though ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon myself and this land the guilt of innocent blood; though what was said or done by me against any person I can truly and uprightly say, before God and man, I did it not out of any anger, malice, or ill-will to any person, for I had no such thing against one of them; but what I did was ignorantly, being deluded by Satan. And particularly, as I was a chief instrument of accusing of Goodwife Nurse and her two sisters, I desire to lie in the dust, and to be humbled for it, in that I was a cause, with others, of so sad a calamity to them and their families; for which cause I desire to lie in the dust, and earnestly beg forgiveness of God, and from all those unto whom I have given just cause of sorrow and offence, whose relations were taken away or accused.”

While 1698 was a day they publicly admitted shame, it took over 300 years to clear the name of the last accused witch.

Last Conviction in Salem Witch Trials Is Cleared 329 Years Later
New York Times
Vimal Patel
July 31, 2022

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. is — officially — not a witch.

Until last week, the Andover, Mass., woman, who confessed to practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, was the only remaining person convicted during the trials whose name had not been cleared. 

Though she was sentenced to death in 1693, after she and more than 20 members of her extended family faced similar allegations, she was granted a reprieve and avoided the death sentence.

The exoneration came on Thursday, 329 years after her conviction, tucked inside a $53 billion state budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. It was the product of a three-year lobbying effort by a civics teacher and her eighth-grade class, along with a state senator who helped champion the cause.

And yet, here are some examples of what was done that were considered witchcraft but acceptable. Witching Sticks, also known as Dowsing Rods, and Divining Rods were acceptable for thousands of years. Some said the word divine was given to them because the power to find what was being looked for was found by the divine intervention of God.

Which witchcraft is acceptable? Of all the places I thought I'd find something, the FBI was not one of them.

Law Enforcement Bulletin FBI January 11, 2022
Forensic Spotlight
Dowsing for Human Remains — Considerations for Investigators

Unproven Method

Dowsing, also called “divining” or “witching,” refers to the practice of observing a pointer — often a forked stick, rods, bent wires, or a pendulum — move in response to some type of influence or transmitter. Some consider it a reliable method for locating underground items of interest, including water, oil, and ore. There are even those who believe that dowsing can help locate buried remains (sometimes called “grave witching”).

On the other hand, there are those claiming it is the work of Satan. This is from GotQuestions What does the Bible say about dowsing?

There are only two spiritual forces at work in our world: God and Satan. They are both real, both spirit, and both powerful. But they are not equals. Satan is merely a created being, a fallen angel whom God allows to rule this world within the boundaries God has established (2 Corinthians 4:4; Luke 10:18). Any supernatural power that does not originate with God is evil. There are no neutral spirits, friendly guides, or positive energies. There is no “power of the universe” behind supernatural occurrences. We are either experiencing the mighty power of God or dabbling in Satan’s playground.

2 Corinthians 4:4 reads "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God," but they use it in this case? Huh? Luke 10:18 was just as confusing. "He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.'"

How do they explain the miracles that were happening with the gifts of the spirit?

Luke 10:17 "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Because Jesus sent them to heal the sick and cast out demons with their spiritual gifts.

Guess they skipped over 1 Corinthians 12:7.

The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all. 8 To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. 9 To others the same Spirit gives faith. To others that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. 10 To others he gives the power to do miracles. To others he gives the ability to prophesy. To others he gives the ability to tell the spirits apart. To others he gives the ability to speak in different kinds of languages they had not known before. And to still others he gives the ability to explain what was said in those languages. 11 All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides.

If you're confused about which witchcraft is acceptable, I hope by now you see that if it is to do bad things, the gift itself came from God, but they chose to use it to serve Satan. If it is to help, heal, and deliver the miracles God is trying to deliver, then they are using their gift from God for God.

I am not a witch, nor do I pray to anything or anyone other than God and Jesus. When I light a candle, it is simply to light a room during a power failure or to add some fresh scent to a room. I don't use Tarot cards but I have prayer cards. I am a firm believer that while some people believe women do not belong preaching the word of God, the Bible clearly states women were among those Jesus sent to heal others and also among the 120 that chose Matthias as the replacement for Judas. (One of my best friends is a female pastor.) Above all, I believe that God sent us all here with gifts within us to do good in this world, but some, choose to do harm instead.

About Kathie Costos Author of Minister Of The Mystery Series