Are you an apple tree?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 26, 2023

After watching this video I realized I am an apple tree. When you watch this, you'll understand that you very well could be one too.


If you are then understand, there are a lot more like us, going through the same things and feeling lonely. My problems are not solved but I sure do have a big smile on my face after being remined I'm not alone!

Are Ekklesia Witches Helping You?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 23, 2023

Why would anyone be offended by the term Christian Witch? The fact is too many are. Is it because they don't understand the Bible they claim to follow? Is it because they avoid what history has to teach them?

It seems that I have offended a lot of people because I am writing things they never heard of in the churches they attend. The problem is, it is all from the same Bible and scriptures not included in the services they attend. After all, reminding people that God did not want a building and Jesus preached outside to a crowd for free doesn't fit the rules they have established for membership in their assembly.

An assembly does not have to be gathered under a roof with a board of directors making all the rules everyone has to abide by. It does not have to include a sum of money everyone must give to the church. It does not have to include a dress code either. It does not ban people they don't like from joining them.

This assembly is open to all. Where the only rules are those laid down by Jesus. This assembly is filled with those filled with gifts from the Holy Spirit to do good in the world. It is based on the assembly Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to along with the famous disciples everyone knows. Few remember that there were 120 men and women gathered together to vote on replacing Judas with Matthias.

It is true that Jesus sent out 12, but He also sent out 72 and they would have been among the 120 but no one knows their names or where they went.

There is what "the people" know and what is unknown to them that becomes the mystery known only to those gifted with the knowledge of such things.

Start with what does Ekklesia mean?
This is from Got Questions:

The word in the New Testament was also used to refer to any assembly of people. In his address to the Sanhedrin, Stephen calls the people of Israel “the assembly [ekklesia] in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). And in Acts 19:39, ekklesia refers to a convening of citizens to discuss legal matters. However, in most contexts, the word ekklesia is used to refer to the people who comprise the New Testament church.

It is important that the church today understand the definition of ekklesia. The church needs to see itself as being “called out” by God. If the church wants to make a difference in the world, it must be different from the world. Salt is different from the food it flavors. God has called the church to be separate from sin (1 Peter 1:16), to embrace fellowship with other believers (Acts 2:42), and to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14). God has graciously called us unto Himself: “‘Come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you’” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

I prefer the Bible Study Tool answer:

a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating the assembly of the Israelites
any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously in a Christian sense
an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting
a company of Christians, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake
those who anywhere, in a city, or village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth
the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

When we hear the word "church" we envision a building but we need to remember that Jesus preached outside. He was not welcomed in the temple because the leaders hated Him. The Pharisees accused Him of working on Satan's side and not God's.

23 And all the people were amazed and said, “Is not this the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This fellow doth not cast out devils, except by Beelzebub, the prince of devils.”

25 And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. (Matthew 12:23-25)

Most of history also points to people using faith and the word Christ or Jesus as a weapon to control the people. The Pharisees did it and so did almost every other "leader" of the faith they claimed to represent. Apparently, the witch trials were just a small manifestation compared to the wars fought, claiming the leaders wanted to spread the "love of Christ" and convert the people they intended to kill before slaughtering them. It made sense to them anyway!

No matter what church people go to, there is so much that is never preached within its walls. The Ministers Of The Mystery Series was my way of preaching what I live.

I chose to make the secret society of the characters Ekklesia Witches because if you know anything about the Bible, the miracle workers were all accused of sorcery and witchcraft. With "proper" Christians claiming that no one can be both Christian and a witch, it appears they have never contemplated the differences between those doing harm and those doing good because of the gifts of their spirit from God.

The funny thing is that my family called me a witch most of my life as a joke. I laughed because part of me agreed with them but they didn't know what I was thinking. Not everyone is "religious" and not everyone attends the same type of church but everyone can be spiritual.

Jesus said "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” Manmade rules have no basis in what was established by the One God sent to teach the people.

If you take those facts, then you'll know why I wrote the Ministers Of The Mystery series. Think about what you know and then wonder what else happened. The Holy Spirit came to the 120 so that they could speak to those they were sent to. We can only imagine where they went and what they did. We can only imagine what the people thought when they encountered these truly spiritually gifted supernatural workers of miracles. We don't have to imagine why people with power over the people feared them and hated them. 

Are Ekklesia Witches helping you too?  Did you encounter someone you were sure was sent by God to help you after you survived whatever caused #PTSD in you? Please share it to give others hope and a greater understanding of what they need to know so they stop imagining the worst.

Kathie Costos author of The Scribe of Salem, The Visionary Of Salem and the 13th Minister Of Salem.

What is the worst thing you can say to someone after they survived

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 23, 2023

What is the worst thing you can say to someone after they survived something horrible? God only sends us what we can handle. Did it ever enter into their mind that they just told you God caused it to happen to You? What's even worse is that they just told you they think you must have done something to deserve it. Did they think it would help you to hear that?

The problem is, they didn't think at all. They didn't think of how God works miracles all the time and the fact you survived whatever you did is a miracle itself escapes their thoughts. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM!

Don't turn away from God because people are stupid. Don't turn away from Him because in their twisted thoughts, their faulty prayers have no clear basis in facts. Don't turn away from Him because someone else thinks you were judged. 

There is evil in this world and terrible things happen to good people all the time but those things were not sent by God. The help that came was sent by God because He does no evil. Satan does. Hateful people do. Selfish people do. Good people come rushing to help someone they care about just as they help strangers they are sent to help.

It is time we stopped allowing people to cause us to regret we survived and let them cause more misery when we should be listening to people to help us heal.

Sorry for this short post but considering what I've heard way too many times, it is a good time to remind other survivors we should never regret what we survived and always be grateful that good people came to reassure us that God is watching over us, instead of doing bad stuff to us!

#PTSD was no judgment from God but His mercy sent us healing!

Here is a reminder of that from a long time ago. No one thought God did anything other than send good people to help a homeless veteran heal and a Marine finally find out his long lost father was loved!

Wouldn't it be wonderful

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 16, 2023

If you hear someone serving as an elected official or seeking a position and they do not give a speech like this, then consider what they are not saying before you give them the power to decide how you will have to live your own life.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in a country where people of faith were free to praise God out loud as they believe, as much as others are free to choose not to? Free to be able to choose the faith they want and be equally protected under the law because no one group has been given authority to enforce their own beliefs on anyone else?

To live in a country where everyone was able to decide to have a family and how to raise them, as much as others can decide when to have a family or even to not have one.

To live in a country where the law applied to all people living here without regard to power, wealth, or position. Where people are entrusted with fulfilling the laws and valuing the laws for everyone. Where we never had to be concerned with a return to the darkest times of persecution without evidence.

Where we are all free to read and write the books we want to and never have to accept the masquerade of books being promoted as factual, when in fact, they are fiction. Where history books were not banned simply because they made some people uncomfortable because of what others were allowed to do.

Where people were not judged by their physical appearance but by how they treated others.

Where freedom meant that all people are free to make their own choices while it may offend some because they claim to be opposed to their own religious beliefs. 

After all, when they claim to be people of faith, then they know that God granted all souls to be free to decide for themselves and make their own choices. The Founding Fathers understood this. The 1st Amendment proclaimed the premise that no one religion would be established as the law of this country. 

If they are trying to get your vote, consider what you will be rendering unto them before you give it to them. If they are not fighting for everyone to have the power of freedom, then they are only fighting for their power to rule over everyone!

Have you ever wondered what is in a book that is for you?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 13, 2023

Have you ever wondered what is in a book that is for you? What will it provide you with that you are hoping for? I know I do that all the time. Sure I read the back of the book and reviews by others, but I am always looking for that "thing" that I want to read.

Do you want a different outlook on your own life? Struggle with wondering why something happened to you? Wonder why you are suffering and help is impossible to find? Do you wonder why God allowed it to happen, or worse, did God do it to you?

Let's start with the last question. If you are dealing with #PTSD, then that is the usual question all of us ask afterward. Once the gratefulness wears off, we start to search for why it happened to us. I know I was grateful I survived every time. I felt God was watching over me. I was also grateful for the people that came to help me after it was over. That's a lot considering I survived over 10 times!

Then came the struggle to get past the fact it happened to me at all. Why me? I'd read books on how other people survived and thought God had greater plans for them, so He saved their lives. I wanted to believe that. I also read books on how some thought it was all part of a test like Job went through.

People get that lesson wrong all the time. Sure, God allowed Satan to attempt to destroy Job by taking away everything he had. All the things that He had thanked God for, became a struggle wondering why God was doing it to him.

We're not Job. I know my faith isn't as strong as he was and I am certainly not special. The part all of us miss is that God gave Job what he had and it was Satan taking it away. It is the same thing with us.

God has plans for all of us when He sends our souls here. Our souls come into us when we take our first breath. In it is all that makes us what we are, or what we were intended to become. When we know what that is, we know what we're supposed to do on this earth. When we don't, we struggle. When we don't understand the nature of our souls, we take on more trouble than we need to carry.

This passage explains something we need to know the true meaning of. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 That gets interrupted wrong a lot of the time and adds to our wounds. The plans from God are good but what does not enter into our thoughts is the simple fact that Satan wants to mess up with God's plans all the time. He gets in the way as much as possible and uses others to do it. They do the evil stuff to us. On the flip side, those who have not surrendered what is good within them, are the ones showing up to help us.

When they come to help us, they come to help us do whatever it is we're supposed to do here. When we show up to help someone, we use everything we learned to help others. Why? Because we know what it is like to fight off evil but above that, we know what it is like to win!

Throughout the series, all the characters are survivors and struggled with their faith. They are spiritual people, not religious ones. Sure they are Christians but follow the Jesus type of Christianity and pray as they live, by the spirit. They do not attend church services but pray outside. They do not simply quote scriptures as if they have no meaning at all, but live by them. Most of what is in these books are things you'll never hear in church because no one wants to hold power or control anyone. They leave that in God's hands. They seek to do good and join forces to achieve what no one expected could happen.