HALF THE BATTLE - THEY MAY HAVE WON THE BATTLE BUT THEY HAVEN'T WON THE WAR
A SHORT TREATISE ON HOW TO WIN BATTLES, IN THE FACE OF APPARENT DEFEAT
I am a writer/ researcher. This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in my eyes. When I was a kid, I was born into a family you could call a hornet’s nest of strife. I found quiet, solace, and inspiration in my own bedroom - where the family library, dictionaries and encylopedias were stored. I read everything, even the dictionaries. That led me to a life of loving reading, and learning, and words.
Over the years, I have also been: an artist, a cab driver, a US Army Interrogator, a Russian Linguist, an Intelligence Analyst, an inventor, and a Biblical Researcher. I have put the same level of passion into every endeavor. As a NYC cabbie.. I could get you from midtown Manhattan to Kennedy Airport in 20 minutes flat during rush hour. No kidding.
The one occupation that I’ve maintained the longest is (besides art) is Bible Study. It goes beyond my wildest ability to imagine (and I have a great imagination).. to fathom how anyone can ‘not want to know God’. I was curious at the earliest age to know Him. Is that why Jesus the Christ paid me a special visit? I was 5 or 6 at the time (I know that, because it all happened at 81 Ontario Avenue, Massapequa Park New York. We later moved to Woodbury, NY when I was 7).
Jesus met me in the backyard there, and spoke to me. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. He said ‘Victoria, hold on, there is something worth waiting for’. I said by way of reply, ‘If you will lead me to your truth, I will keep my eyes, and my ears, and my heart open’.
This life has felt like one long beating - but just that ONE WORD from the Lord in 1962, has sustained me.
Soon after the Lord’s visit, I sunk into a 15 year horror of demonic possession. Not altogether surprising seeing as it was an earmark of my family - dad alcoholic, brother epileptic, sister anorexic,.. But he actually allowed it to happen. (You might think that having visited me, the plan was to keep me from the fire - but like the 3 Hebrew youths, I went into it with the 4th man. The witness was coming out with a tremendous prism into the spiritual world).
A few of the names of some of the ‘syndromes’ that would be assigned to my then-behavior are: Bulimia, and Prader Willi1. There are other syndromes that afflicted me, which I know no names for, and will not describe. There is no reason to talk about the things that people possessed with demons- do. The thing is, for some reason the Lord didn’t keep me from going down to that pit. What I firmly believe, is that he meant to let me see from personal experience, what demons are like, how they can grip a person interminably, writing his thoughts - like a computer programmer writes script - how destructive they are.. Consequently, I learned how to recognize demonic behavior - something which is rampant in our world but attributed to ‘other things’ - taken for quixotically named diseases, or personality abberations - anything but the plain simple fact of the presence of a demon. Without this understanding, of course, many people go a lifetime without deliverance, and even die in their misery.
And much of the demonic behavior, surprise - surprise, comes from laboratory both the developed diseases, (modern voodoo) and their laboratory developed remedies. (modern sorcery) The devil knows better than to divide his own house.
It’s a crisis, because you can’t cure a demonic syndrome, or disease, or virus, with a drug. You need spiritual medicine. Obviously, too, you need discernment - which is a spiritual enablement. So covet earnestly the best gifts, while it’s still called ‘day’.
So much of the needless suffering of people in this country, is a result of the emasculation of the Church, and the elimination of the singular exercise of the main ministry of Jesus’ - healing and deliverance.
VIZ: Two Baptist ministers stayed at my B&B this Spring, one of which had 2 sick sons - one sick 20 years already. When, he told me, I tried to tell him about healing, (the key aspect of Jesus’ ministry, that the Baptists totally eliminate from their doctrines), recounting how - for example - a church elder had only just stayed with me - having suffered Lyme Disease for 15 years, and was now delivered.. The Baptist minister blew me off, sneering that I was being the ‘hero of my own stories’.
So, most likely, his 2 sons are still sick - just because either he didn’t want to know, or he didn’t want a woman to tell him. (Happens often - especially among my own siblings, and my own church associates - as it is written - a prophet is not without honor except in his/her own house).
MY DELIVERANCE FROM 15 YEARS OF POSSESSION
I didn’t climb out of the demonic possession, until nearly 16 years later, when I got born-again in 1978, at age 21. On July 4th, 1978, I started an intensive Bible Class at the home of friends; and graduated on August 4th, 1978. I got born again in the class. On graduation day Jesus met me for the 2nd time, in the kitchen of my rental house - in Syracuse NY, and did me the honors of personally setting me free from all demons - even showing me the Prader Willi spirit as it left me.. (It was the very image of ET - a large face with teeth2).
Two of the 3 things the Lord told me at that second visit was - ‘It will never come back’ referring to the demonic possession. And it never has. Today, I have to remind myself to eat. I sometimes go till evening without a bite, because I’m busy with other things. He was certainly right, that the insufferable drive to grotesquely gorge myself (one of the earmarks of the punishing demons afflicting me for so long) - would never return.
Among the other things at that second visit he told me to ‘join the army’.
How else do you suppose an artist got the idea?
I was an art student at Syracuse University when all of this was happening, and pretty much - in those days - a liberal. The military was not even a nano sized thought. Not even remotely on my screen. But I obeyed him and the rest is HIS-story. Because he used the military to build me up physically, yes, and most definitely, geopolitically.
It was in the Army that I developed the prism to interpret world affairs. I thank God for that. When I chance to see a TV news program at a bus station or nail salon, I cringe at what Americans think qualifies as news. (In fact, he never needed to tell me to ditch TV in this life - I lost interest in television by 1974).
OK.. to the title of this post - THEY HAVEN’T WON THE WAR.
Well, rather than a discourse of the devilish things that the workers of iniquity have done to me in this life - so that I wound up alone like this.. (My own family .. siblings.. cousins, have had nothing to do with me my whole life, ministers have excommunicated me 3 times, (one in particular did me more evil than you can imagine, and the devil and the pharmacists killed the one man who loved me more than life itself, I haven’t seen him face to face in 45 years; but I’ll see Dr. B.K in heaven).. rather, I’m here to tell you that the Lord God has watched over me, and the more I work for Him, the more He blesses me.
I know there are a LOT of ministers and ministries truly and honestly working for the Lord. Make no mistake. This is not a story of comparisons. It’s my story. He constantly watches over me. For ONE REASON…
I never let go of what he said to me in the garden that day.
I am holding fast. We are to take what God says to us and RUN WITH IT. HOLD IT FAST - NEVER LET IT GO. AND IF THE VISION TAKES TIME, WAIT FOR IT, HABBAKUK SAID WHEN THE TIME COMES - THE VISION WILL NOT TARRY.
The verse says ‘Blessed are they that wait upon Him’.
I waited FIFTEEN YEARS to be delivered of the demons.. And he came through. Not only delivering me, but from then on, teaching me the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.
18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. Isaiah 30:18
It’s ironic that one of my favorite verses, Isaiah 30:18, is from the Bible chapter that also provided the signature verse for the book the Lord had me write in 2020. Though I’d never written a book before, he gave me voluminous data for - ‘THE TYRANNY of MASKS - Lambs to the Slaughter’,3 again, whose signature verse is Isaiah 30:1
Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that COVER with a COVERING, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: Isaiah 30:1
I greatly lament the capitulation of the Church in 2020, because the unbelief behind that act of treason, set the stage for all the horrors that followed and are even now unfolding. American clergymen should have obeyed God rather than men..
OK WHY the title HALF THE BATTLE?
There was this SONG that I learned in Kindergarten that came to mind today.. (that is what, over 60 years ago?) ..and the words flowed freely! Let me tell you first - what returned the song to my heart after SO many years..
I run a Bed & Breakfast in NY. It used to be called ‘Moscow Nights B&B’, named for the Russian love song - ‘Podmoskowskye vechera’. It’s a hauntingly beautiful song, you can hear it HERE:
But we had to change the name of the B&B - as we’ve had some peculiar things happen here since the war started in Ukraine, and we decided it would be best to lower our profile. (Americans do strange things when the media riles them up.. Don’t ask). So it’s now called “THE IRON LION INN”> Great name eh? Happens we have an Iron Lion in the front of the house that the seller left for us - For me I see it as our ‘LION OF JUDAH’ statue!
Well anyway, since moving up here, having this Inn has allowed me to do my writing. You see.. I work at home! So, when the calls for a reservation come in, I’m delighted. It’s my ‘paycheck’. !
This morning I was making breakfast for some weekend guests - Scrambled local farm eggs with a Guacamole mash made locally by a talented Mexican friend - Mmmm! At some point, I picked up my cell phone and saw that we had a reservation request for a whole FOUR days! (Stays are normally 1 or 2 days). But I was busy making eggs, so it took a while before I got to my computer to reply to the request.
The reservation request was perfect - for a room we happened to have open for the 4 days requested. But by the time I went to answer the inquiry, the lady had cancelled the request - she was in a hurry to reserve, and found something else.
I was so disappointed, as every reservation is tantamount to needed income - but I did what I always do - rather than let the disappointment linger -(.. i.e.. why hadn’t I responded immediately.. Oh nuts.. oh crimey.. sort of thing..)
Instead I said out loud - Thank you Lord that what ‘he’ meant for harm, you use for good’.
Not ONE hour later → I got a reservation request for that same room, for SEVEN DAYS! I would have lost the 7 day reservation had I taken the 4 day reservation! Haha! But the Lord saw to it that the room was available! :>} (This sort of thing happens frequently in differing ways - and usually comes in the wake of a positive confession).
Anyway - after that VICTORY today, somehow this song floated back to my consciousness after so many years.. (Listen to it HERE)
HALF THE BATTLE IS LEARNING TO SMILE,
TO HOLD OUT YOUR CHEST,
AND PICK UP YOUR CHIN,
HALF THE BATTLE IS PICKING UP THE PIECES AND STARTING OVER AGAIN…
HALF THE BATTLE IS BE TRUE TO YOUR STYLE; IN TROUBLE TO JEST - TO TOUGHEN YOUR SKIN, HALF THE BATTLE IS RISING IN DEFIANCE WITH THE CRY -”I’LL NEVER GIVE IN.”
THEY CAN THINK THEY’VE GOT ME BEATEN-THEY CAN KNOCK ME DOWN, BUT I’LL GET UP OFF THE FLOOR, JUST AS LONG AS I CAN KEEP ALIVE THE WILL TO CLOWN - THEY MAY HAVE WON THE BATTLE BUT THEY HAVEN’T WON THE WAR…
Life is made up of battles.. you win a few, you lose a few, but the man that stands with Christ immoveable, has all the promises of GOD, infallable, to look forward to. And an inheritance eternal, and indisoluble.
So, I know from 61 years of waiting, that the promise the Lord made to me in that day is soon to be fulfilled.. there is something worth waiting for. And it will be forever.
I hope and pray you keep an eternal perspective. The benefits are more than eternal, they are even now.
Victoria
“A child with Prader-Willi syndrome has an excessive appetite, which can lead
to obesity if "not properly managed.” In fact, Prader- Willi is a syndrome in which a person cannot STOP eating. I used to gorge myself. If I even started a modest meal, I was unable to stop. I would eat people I lived with out of house and home. People with a modest case, will chew their nails incessantly. It’s this supernatural need to be ‘chewing something at all times’
Seeing ET leave me.. I learned to spot demons being flaunted before us in popular culture. It’s omnipresent.