Emerald Star of Texas

JANUARY 2012

2012-01-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, we've already got one week of the new month of the new year under our belt! How did it go??

Just a wild observation on my part...am I the only one who has had no trouble adjusting to writing the year 2012? Most other years, I've struggled for a week or even as long as a month to remember to write the number of the new year. :)

I'm LOVING the arrival of 2012. I see so many dreams, I see so many possibilities, I see so many goals to set and meet. It's amazing.

That is not to say that 2011 was a totally bad year. Actually, I don't see it quite that way. Was it a year of hope? No, not really. Was it a year of smooth sailing? Lemme assure you...ABSOLUTELY NOT! Last year, for me, was a year of many transitions. The Bible talks of Israel going through birth pangs just before a transition is complete? Last year was my year of travail.

I've got a new job. I've got new decisions to make for my teenager heading into high school next year (AAAAACK!!!!!). I've got new personal goals. I see myself meeting those goals. I see the beginning of a new life for me and my family. :)

I've given up on making "New Year's resolutions." I have open-ended goals that I hope to check off at the end of the year or the beginning of next year.

Our weather is basically "back to normal" this year. By this time last year, we've already had a couple of "major" winter storm systems move through, with more to come--VERY strange weather for North Texas! : D I hope we get our cold spells this year. I would like to see some real snow this year. I love what the Bible tells us in Isaiah 1:18: "...though your sins be scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool." We are blessed to see cardinals during the winter time, and when you see them against the stark white snow, the contrast and the picture of that verse comes to life.

I enjoy the cold. It could be that I am blessed to be at home and don't hafta get out in the messy cold if I don't want to, but I enjoy the reason to wear sweaters, sweatpants and shirts, and jeans, and jackets (we didn't really need a "coat" until last year!) for this very short time of Texas year. Our hot days will be here sooooooon enough, and last as forever long, lol. :}
This is our time of soups, hot chocolate, roasts, and all kinds of cozy treats that only happen during this time of year.
This is our time for indoor activities such as reading, sewing (which I've gotta relearn, lol), art, playing games, etc. When I am outside, a walk in the crisp cold is more fun to me than sweltering in the summer heat.

I pray that each one of you have a wonderful year this year, complete with prosperity of health, wealth, and happiness.

It's CHRISTMAS Time!

2011-12-05T07:21:00.001-08:00

Okay, so we've established that fall is my absolute favorite season. Now we're heading into my most favorite holiday....CHRISTMAS!! :D

Keeping in mind that CHRISTmas and Resurrection Day are heart celebrations for many of us Christians, and we don't "need" the calendar day to determine whether to celebrate it or not (Romans 14:5-7). Indeed, Jesus was most likely not born "on" what we call Christmas day. However, I L-O-V-E seeing various manifestations of the Christmas holiday; and if the ancient Christian populations chose this day to do so, then I'm gonna roll with it, Baby!

There are decidedly Pagan elements of Christmas that we see today, but celebrating the birth of our Lord has a different avenue than what is secularly celebrated during this wonderfully conglomerate holiday season (again, Romans 14:5-7). The musical scene is different, the peace is different, the beauty of gifts is different, even the honorary attendant is different...if, indeed, there is one.

I acknowledge that, for some, this is also the most depressing time of year. They have experienced heartache that can't seem to mend, bitterness that can't seem to be broken, loss that they can't seem to recover, rejection they can't seem to challenge, addictions they can't seem to overcome, illness and sickness from which there seems to be no healing, oppression they can't seem to conquer, and loneliness they can't seem to fufill...the list goes on. My answer to this is not only to physically do what I or we can to help bring momentary comfort to these suffering people, but to encourage these people to also seek the Gospel and to personally receive It. It is indeed the greatest Gift for all of mankind. I readily admit that I have gone down the road of Been-There-Done-That, and going down Gospel Lane has been the greatest blessing in my life and continues to be so to this day.

I find myself singing Christmas hymns throughout the year, but I think that when you hear these hymns during the celebration season of Jesus' birth, there is a spirit that is particularly stirring within the heart of a Christian. There is a magical quality about it. It's as if the host of heaven is singing in yet another Christmas concert. Can you imagine the delight of the shepherds who were chosen to attend the first Christmas concert over 2000 years ago?? There are more details (heavenly as well as earthly) about Jesus' birth than for virtually any other person of the Bible.

I greatly enjoy Christmas. I enjoy the music. I enjoy the trees. I enjoy the decorations. I enjoy the goodies. I enjoy the company of those I love. I enjoy the fellowship of other Christians who celebrate Christmas with me. And, yes, I enjoy the gift exchanges.

One of my favorite activities is to drive around and see the lights. I love seeing homes lit up in the spirit of Christmas. Jesus had a particular star which pointed the way to Him, but it was hardly the only star in the sky! Our lights on houses remind me of the celestial stars that had to have shown particularly bright that night a couple of thousand years ago.

My favorite Christmas hymns and songs?
Carol of the Bells
God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman.
Joy to the World
The First Noel
Angels, We Have Heard on High
Mary, Did You Know?
What Child Is This?
Silent Night
Little Drummer Boy
O, Little Town of Bethlehem
We Three Kings of Orient Are
Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
Where's the Line to See Jesus?
The Twelve Days of Christmas
((the list goes on.... lol))
Not only do I love the songs themselves, but I love many of the various renditions of them, too! The Vienna Boy's Choir, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Celtic Woman, and a wonderful lady I'm blessed to be friends with is a beautiful singer, as well.

I found an interesting take on the Twelve Days of Christmas. This is one of those things that is not proven to be true in historical fact (a "truly" coded message for early Christians who could not openly worship as Christians), but Hugh D. McKellar in 1979 promoted a practical teaching opportunity and lesson as a means of teaching the catechism to young Catholics. This can help make learning about Christianity more meaningful, especially for young or new believers.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
"true Love" referring to God, Himself, bearing gifts to mankind.
"to me" is thought to mean the baptized believer.
A partridge in a pear tree..........Jesus.
Two turtle doves..........Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens..........Three kings bearing gifts.*
Four calling birds (or colly--blackbirds)..........The Four Gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Five gold/en rings..........Torah or Pentateuch, first five books of the Old Testament, Laws of Moses.
Six geese a-laying..........Six days of Creation.
Seven swans a-swimming..........Gifts of the Holy Spirit**
Eight maids a-milking..........The Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:3-10)
Nine ladies dancing..........The fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Ten lords a-leaping..........The Ten Commandments.
Eleven pipers piping..........The eleven faithful disciples/apostles.
Twelve drummers drumming..........The twelve points of the Apostles' Creed.

This is a wonderful time of baking and cooking, too. There are favorite cookies we tend to only bake around Christmastime, Russian Teacakes and Ginger Cookies being more heavily requested. We bake a birthday cake for Jesus, as well. I love reading about, and seeing many traditions that take place around this world in celebrating Christmas. Almost every year we try to do a little something different. I also make a point of reading and/or seeing A Christmas Carol amost every year, too.

In remembering Jesus' birthday, there is also a sober reminder of WHY He was born--to save mankind from the sins of the world and to reconcile the relationship between God and man. As a Christian, this is the most beautiful gift for which none of us can repay.
Happy Birthday, Jesus.
Merry Christmas! "And God Bless Us, Every One." ~~Tiny Tim, from A Christmas Carol

*[personallly, I think this should better represent the three GIFTS of the kings--the King James Bible indicates that "kings", not "three kings", brought gifts to Jesus--however, the particular gifts mentioned are gold, frankinsense and myrrh--each representing each stage of Jesus' calling.]
** I admit I am not sure exactly what are counted as the 7 specific gifts of the Holy Spirit. I will need to research this further.

Aaaaaaaaah....AUTUMN!!

2011-09-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

If you can't tell by the title of this entry, fall is my absolute favorite time of year! What's not to love about fall?? ((just humor me and agree with me, okay? lol))

THIS autumn, in particular, is an extremely WELCOME season this year! What, with 70-some-odd days of 100+ degree heat during the summer, highs of 89 would be a "cold front" enjoyed by me and many others!

Fall leads into the holidays. Once we get past Halloween (which is NOT my favorite holiday), it's all a slide downhill from there! :) It's time to break out the recipes for cookies, cakes and goodies usually reserved for "layering" weather. Christmas presents from me are usually baked goods. People seem to like them! Fall leads to hot chocolaty winters, too! My family is ready for the various soups and chilis that fall weather calls for, as well as creative snacks not usually bothered with any other time of year.

The colors of fall are spectacular. God's paintbrushes are super busy this time of year, dotting each tree with splashes of vivid color against the most brilliant of blue skies. It's a playful time for children and those who are children at heart! Leaves are for jumping into, crisp and vibrant. Pumpkin patches galore! Harvest festivals bring out the kid in you. All of it representative of God's amazing bounty for us all.

This is the season of sports, too! We're in the midst of football season, wrapping up baseball season, and soon to start basketball (if it hasn't already). Don't forget about hockey, too! This is a fun season to be outside. Of course, the most sporty I get is a walk, but those are a joy, too! :) Oh, what wonderful things you can see on a walk! :) Still, any reason to celebrate a sporting event, I'm pretty sure I can rustle up some enthusiasm! : D

It's about this time of year that I really start thinking of holiday plans. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my most treasured holidays. I love seeing my family and watching my boys get to know their grandparents and their local cousins, aunts and uncles. My nieces and nephews have pretty much grown up by now. I'm happy to watch them grow into adults.

When I was younger, my favorite things to do during the fall was draw or do some kind of art or craft. I wasn't particularly talented in these areas, but at the time I liked my sense of creativity. The most favorite thing to do during the fall was to curl up with a weekend's worth of books!! : D THAT was my thing! Sigh. I don't have as much time for that anymore. I sure do miss it. :}

No matter. Times change. Times morph into longer hours of darkness and fewer daylight hours. It's a time of transition into a more cozy and intimate time of year. It's time to embrace hibernation! : D But not for a few days yet. I've got more fall days to celebrate!

My Damascus Road, and My Journey Beyond

2011-08-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today marks 17 years as a born-again Christian. Many fellow Christians have asked me about my born-again experience. They've asked for years, and I've never taken the time to write it down...until now.

Micro, Reader's Digest's Seriously Condensed Version~~I was lost in sin, tho I didn't really and truly understand that beyond mere words. A new friend took the time to not only witness to me Christ's Love that I felt in her home but patiently stayed with me as I got my bearings as a new creature in Christ. I received Jesus on Aug 28, 1994, less than a month before I got married. I've not looked back. I've experienced some highs and lows of being a Christian, and I honestly wouldn't trade a moment of it because it has all contributed to the person I've become. Christ has begun a new work in me, and I want to continue to improve.

Novel Version (and I DO mean "Novel", might wanna grab a cuppa som'n b/f you sit down to read this, lol)

We travelled a great deal as a young family, so settling into a church was not exactly a high priority while growing up. Couple this with parents who witnessed so much hypocrisy in the churches they grew up in that they figured my sister and I were better off not being exposed to such an environment (assuming it was everywhere). Occasionally I'd hear a verse that Mom said was in the Bible, or she'd repeat something her mom (my grandma) said came from the Bible, but I honestly don't remember a time when I actually read those words for myself...not as a youngster, anyway. Kind of ironic b/c I was an avid reader. I was a visual learner. You could tell me anything, but I didn't "get it" until I saw it for myself. The only Bibles I remember at my parents' house were the ones completely stuffed with family commentary...obits, stories, awards, etc. Translation? Look but don't touch. :(

In our travels, we'd find the customary Gideon Bibles along with the Book of Mormons (in some hotels, not all). I would pick them up and try to read them, but it was like reading Shakespeare, something that was not at all appealing to me (at the time). Where were the coloring books, huh? Where were books about butterflies, birds or fishies or treasures?? (lol, little did I realize I could've found these very things in the Bible then had I but known!)

I grow up a little bit, and I run into people who called themselves Christians. Some of them were pretty nice, but unfortunately, others were just as mean as they could be. Also unfortunately, the mean ones were the ones I remembered most. :( I have lost count how many times I "received Salvation" only to feel confused, abandoned and frustrated, not necessarily in that order. Only later did I learn that I experienced a variety of soil in my life! (see Matthew 13 to see what I mean) I've been scared into faith with the fire/brimstone, wrath-of-God messages...but they forgot the HOPE; I've been enticed into faith with "When you become a Christian, EVERYTHING in your life will be honky-dory!"; I've been seduced by "God is Love" messages only to receive a sucker punch in the spirit from professing Christians claiming that God's Love is completely conditional according to my works; I've been intellectually intrigued by "scholarly" Biblical topics like Rapture, Prophesy Revelation, Angels, etc, tho the seeming conflicts were extremely confusing. (I DID, however, always feel as though we just might meet Jesus in our lifetime, no other religious figure...strange, huh?) It seemed like I was supposed to have known everything there was to know about being a Christian right off the bat (I'm a new creature in Christ and all that). I had questions about things I've read in the Bible, and I felt like I was dealt the 5-second rule (moms know what I'm talking about here, lol)..."well, it's in the Bible in blah-blah-blah verse or passage." Okaaaaaay, I have a question ABOUT what I'm reading in the Bible! A bell sometimes goes off in their head that I'm not reading the Bible quite the way they are reading it. Occasionally, someone will slow up and try to explain something to me, but sometimes I left even more confused. When I tried to bring it up another time, I received the cold shoulder or the look down the nose like I was a total idiot. I don't mind not knowing something, but I don't take too kindly to being called or treated like I'm stupid or an idiot. So guess what? I turned my back on Christianity...or so I thought. Looking back now, I turned my back on professing Christians, not Christianity. My heart was indeed hardened.

You know that bullies (typically) hurt other people because they themselves are hurt, right? Well, basically I became a Christian bully. Looking back at this time now, I realize that I became a wrathful scorner, a scoffer, a reviler, and ultimately....a fool.

I spent some time spiritually wandering around...not really looking for anything (I didn't think at the time, anyway).... I've met some people who were Pagans (even witches), hung around them for a little while, learned some things, was fascinated by them, then moved on. Met some Native Americans who talked about their spiritual lives with me. Met some Buddhists who seemed to exemplify peaceful living. At any given point, I could've probably become a member of various religious experiences. All had pieces of truth with which I could identify, but none of them really felt particularly complete for me. It's only later that I can put a finger on what was going on with me at this time...God was allowing me to be an outside observer while removing any desire within me to partake of these seemingly sound ideologies.

In the middle of all of this, I have a few friends who I knew are Christians, and for various occasions I'd get them a Bible as a gift, and a King James Bible, at that! I didn't "seek" to get them KJ Bibles because at the time I wasn't aware of the differences among professing Bibles. Do you see God's Hand in this?? I do now. :)

I went through various phases of "trying" to be a Christian. I didn't like most Christians, but I was smart enough to know that there is something unique and special about their professing faith. I attempted to read the Bible many times. I'd read Scriptures quoted in various places; sometimes I got it, most times I didn't understand. I didn't know it at the time, but I was reading Scriptures through human eyes. The Scriptures basically read no differently than the hundreds of other books I've read, and I was an avid reader with a very vivid imagination. I thought I said Christiany things, did Christiany things, acted the way Christians are supposed to act. Although I'm glad I tried, I had no idea at the time that my human efforts were basically done in spiritual vain.

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Matthew 7:11

I've spent a couple of years scanning groceries for one particular customer who seemed to seek me out when she shopped. After some time, I got to know her and her two very young children. She commented with amazement that both of her children were very shy and reserved around strangers, but that they seem to really like me and would even look for me when they enter the store. She got to where she was kind of comfortable inviting me to her home.

This was the start of my turning point.

I walked into her home and felt a presence I had NEVER felt before in my whole life. Her home was full of peace, full of joy, full of love...full of home. Her children were obviously happy there. Evidence of her Christian faith was throughout her home, a small token here and there. Her home was truly inviting in every sense of the word.

We had lunch, and we chatted about a variety of things, and then she guided the conversation to Salvation. She wanted to know where I stood as a Christian...or not. Can you say, "Put on the defense armor?" Oooooh, ye-ah, I did. Arms crossed over my chest, attitude, everything. However, as guarded as I felt about the topic of MY personal faith, I found myself actually trying to listen to her. She spoke with me as a fellow human being, not as an object or a poor sucker cornered for preaching.

I didn't get the sense of judgment from her. We talked for a good couple of hours (maybe 2 or 3), and she gradually got the sense that I had plenty of puzzle pieces, but I was unable to fit too many of them truly together. She sensed that I had been hurt by professing Christians, and she picked up that while I "knew" of Jesus, maybe even "believed" Jesus, but because of the actions of so many people in my life, I never came to TRUST Him. She illustrated trust and faith using a chair. If I didn't trust or have faith in that chair's ability to hold me, I would either sit down timidly (belief, but no trust) or not at all. However, if I am to put my trust in that chair's ability to hold me while I sit down, I would confidently sit in that chair without a second thought for security. She explained that Jesus is a FRIEND who supports us like that chair. We can rest on Him.

She also explained the gulf between man and God through sin...the sin beginning with Adam and individual's personal sin. Jesus is the bridge that reconciles man back to God. Jesus is the means by which we are cleansed of our sins. Those sins are removed from our lives when we allow Jesus to enter into our hearts. I've lost count how many times I've been "witnessed at" (trust me, there's a difference between being witnessed "to" and "at.") This time, Jesus was witnessed THROUGH me. Jesus was finally able to breach a stone wall that I didn't even know surrounded my heart. I now understand the passage in Ezekiel 36 where God says he will remove the stony heart and replace it with a fleshly heart. The burden of all that I have gone through in my life suddenly left me. I felt the weight of my world lifted from my heart, my body, and my spirit. I had no idea such a burden oppressed me! I melted from the sudden removal of that weighted burden. I could not dam the flood of tears that poured from my eyes, heart and soul. My friend's sowing occurred finally on "good ground."

Imagine my astonishment as I picked up the Bible to read it that night. I wasn't reading it just to read it. I wasn't even reading it just to acquire knowledge from it. I finally read the Bible as God spoke those words. Amazing words. My spiritual eyes became opened as I wore spiritual glasses for the first time in my life. His Words literally became ALIVE in my own soul. I finally understood what it meant to be "Spirit-filled." That doesn't mean I became "Super Sister Christian" with a big ol' fish or cross plastered on my chest and a white cape draped about my shoulders doing goody-goody things...that's nice and all, but I suddenly understood David's struggles in his life even as a man after God's own heart! I don't believe God expects us to be perfect, especially in the sense of how man would measure perfection, but He wants us to trust Him and His wisdom which is expressed in His Word. I understand that God indeed meets us where we are, and begins again the walk from where I left Him.

I've looked back over my life from time to time, and I've seen the Footprints of God in my life where I never noticed them before, not enough to acknowledge that it was Him, anyway. I've been told, and indeed I've read, that God does not answer a sinner's prayer. Personally, I beg to differ. I only love Him now because He first loved me! He showed mercy when I deserved consequences, He showed me grace at the most amazing times in my life. I genuinely believe that God preserved me from harm where I could easily have destroyed myself in sin. God sought me. I finally received His Son.

I had since married my husband. He is not a believer. Instead, I see myself in him before I finally gave my life to Jesus. I believe it is simply a matter of time before he becomes a believer, too. We've had struggles from being unequally-yoked, make no mistake about that. However, when I do my part as the wife of the family unit, I see the Lord's hand upon my husband's life for my sake. It took me a few years to understand the concept of submission. I was one of those women who balked at the idea of "obeying the husband" and that was even taken out of our wedding vows. Now I understand that I'm not submitting to my husband as an invitation for being a doormat, but when I do my part, God has a very interesting way of turning my husband according to His will which complements His will for me to obey him. Submission can indeed work in a marriage. Our strengths complement each other's weaknesses, proving to create a strong single unit...just as I believe God invisioned for us.

We have since had two sons, both of them being raised with Biblical training, and I take them to church with me. I do my best to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It has been rough going at times because my husband does not understand my convictions, but I do believe that God has His hands on my children (AND my husband!), just as He had his hands on me. No matter what tests my boys go through, they are developing testimony. No matter what trials may lay before them, I expect them to become triumphant! If they are ever victims of anything, they will eventually obtain victory.

Just Wilted

2011-07-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I'm complaining about the summer heat. I HATE SUMMER HEAT!!! And no, I DON'T stay in the kitchen in the summer~~I DO get out of it until about fall!! I hibernate to the best of my ability. I'm indoors doing inside things. The longest you'll see me outdoors in the summer is to walk across the parking lot.

We are experiencing a dreadfully hot 2011 summer. It's only July 21, and we've had over three straight weeks of over 100-degree temperatures, and this has been by far the hottest summer since about 1981 or 1982. I wilted then, I'm wilted now. :P For the last couple of days, the weather people have been talking about the largest "heat dome" we've had in a loooong time. Even the people NORTH of me, near CANADA, are even hotter than we Texans are at the moment! :O I'm not taking the time to investigate those kinds of records...that would be even more depressing to me. I do pray they have the means to get cool. Those poor people are not used to this kind of weather. :(

Another thing that greatly upsets me and many people during this hot weather is that sometimes we don't think about our pets, children and elderly. I've seen each shut in hot vehicles, often with devastating results. Not only is this disgraceful, but this is very costly carelessness. Babies and pets have literally died because the driver was "only going to be gone a minute." Even with windows rolled down, the vehicles just get too blamed hot for survival. Check on your elderly neighbors and friends. Sometimes they're not able to think about turning on the air when they truly need it.

However, some people thrive under these circumstances. My best friend is one of them. She can't stand the cold (and it can get pretty cold in our part of Texas) and hurries summer along. Me? I'm revelling in the cold because I know that, aaaall too soon, whatever cold we experience will end.
It's been said that Texas weather is either hot, hotter, hotter than hades, and oh...with only a couple of weeks of real cold, and that doesn't last too long because within 48 hours, most snow we might experience goes away. Thankfully, so does the ice (which we get more of than snow WHEN it gets cold enough). (as a side note, though, I TOTALLY enjoyed last winter!!!! :D anyone who knows me knows this, lol) My T13 claims to love being out in this heat. Only for this reason do my husband and I question that he's really our son. :P

Some of my summer buddies crave a reason to go swimming. Unfortunately, this year the pools have been too hot to enjoy. :( Even ice cream and snow cone sales are stagnant because that means people need to leave their homes to go get them.

Okay, okay, so what are the pluses for summer? You can save on oven heat by cooking on the grill...or the sidewalk. You can save on your dryer bill if you hang your laundry out to dry...prob'ly be dry in less time it takes you to put it up! :O You can do that sun-tea business that was so popular back in the 80's. Put the water out in the sun in the morning, and I'm sure you'll have perfectly brewed, strong tea by lunchtime. Your bath temperture will probably be perfect.
You can also.....
Well, there's......
And then there's......
Well, I'm sure my summer-lovin' fun folks can fill in the blanks better than me. ;}

What brought me to writing this blog entry is that Salvador Dali came up in conversation. If you're not familiar with his name, I'm sure you'll recognize his work called The Persistence of Memory. Well, I think he must've experienced an even hotter summer then than we do now. Why else would he be so inspired to paint this?? ;)

We humans don't stand a prayer, do we? lol

Disclaimer:
(Yes, for the serious artists and art students reading this blog, I'm well aware that there is a far deeper and independent meaning than my immediately flippant observation of art according to circumstances.)

An Admittedly Odd View of Casey Anthony Trial

2011-07-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

First, I want to say that Caylee Anthony is in a better place, feeling no fear, pain or sorrow. She has been in the arms of Jesus these 3 years since she was killed, allegedly by her mother, Casey Anthony.

On July 5th, 1:15 PM EST, Casey Anthony received an acquittal for Caylee's death. This stunned many Americans who diligently watched this trial unfold. I was not one of the watchers but read commentary throughout the trial from time to time.

Even I am convinced of her guilt. So why and how on earth did she receive an acquittal from the jury?? If there is one thing I've learned since becoming a born-again, Bible-believing Christian, it is indeed that God has "unconventional" ways of doing things and intervening on behalf of human life's issues.

By many accounts, Casey is as guilty as sin of killing her darling little girl who has captured the hearts of so many people. The first unforgivable rule of a mother broken by Casey is the delay in reporting her daughter missing! MOST of us mothers would report our child/ren missing within MINUTES (if we could!), and definitely within HOURS, of discovering that our child is missing! :O But yet, she was merely a "negligent" mother because it took her 31 days to report her. I'm sorry, I admit that I can't seem to get past that one fact alone.

The rest of the evidence presented in the case was basically ruled "circumstantial", including HER OWN CAR smelling horrible, like a dead body was there. How do you get PAST that?? I don't recall anyone suggesting that someone "borrowed" her car and returned it to her smelling bad. I guess trash bags are too generic? Duct tape found on the toddler is a generic, "normal" thing to find on a dead child? Most people can forgive an accident, but this is purely murder.

Unfortunately, her "lot" in life seems to be that of a liar and a sociopath, as well as (allegedly) a murderess. Her credibility with the public has become nil, void, zero, nada, zip before she even got started with this trial, now most of the world hates her. Why a mother would lie to law enforcement who are trying to help her "find her child" is beyond my comprehension. I hope this was panic mode speaking, but I'm afraid I don't believe that's the case here.

What caused the jury to acquit her? There are a few technical reasons that have been presented over the last few hours and days (after the shock kind of wore off, that is). The defense celebrates a victory because they did such a "great job" countering evidence with lies that happened to be believed by the jurors. The prosecution did not do an adequate job in either submitting the evidence or the how behind them. The defense encouraged Casey to appear in the trial as a dowdy, frumpy "poor little me" victim. Somehow the evidence presented in the trial became merely circumstantial, rather than proven physical ties to the defendant.

No matter, though. One of the main reasons I didn't pay such close attention to the trial is because it truly doesn't matter what verdict she would receive. Either she would experience life sentence or death row; or she would be free, but her freedom would become costly.

Think of Cain in the Bible. After killing his brother Abel, he "walked." Granted, jails and prisons did not abound then, but upon reading his sentence, he probably wished he was in jail or prison. After all, Cain received a mark as a warning to other men not to kill him. He may have been free but he was never free from the judgment he received for killing his own brother.

Think of David, who killed a man so that he could marry his wife. He was a man of God, but he committed some horrible sins! He may not have been physically imprisoned, but the weight of those sins nearly crushed him. Read through Psalms...read his conversations between God and himself!

Think of Judas Iscariot, the DISCIPLE who betrayed Jesus! True, he didn't actually kiiiiill Jesus, but he might as well have! He was a man who knew what he was doing all along, but it wasn't until later before the true impact of what he had done set in. We do not read of him being buried in a dungeon, prison or jail somewhere, but he hung himself trying to free himself of that tormenting guilt. Jesus would've forgiven him if he had let Him. Jesus knew what he was going to do before he did it.

Think of the thief who hung on a cross with Jesus. Yes, both he and another thief were crucified with Jesus. One did not understand why Jesus would not free himself physically from the crucifixion (and free him, too!). The other, however, knew who Jesus was and correctly answered that Jesus did no wrong, and yet he is being crucified. He knew the magnitude of his own sins (who did wrong) and asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus said that he could join him in Paradise.
Think of Saul/Paul, who killed Christians under orders. Jesus met him and asked him on the Road to Damascus, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul had no idea that he was not "just" killing a people who opposed the religious order of the day, but he was hurting (persecuting) Jesus with each and every follower he killed. Jesus transformed him into one of the greatest apostles of the Bible. He truly had much to overcome in order to convince those very Christians that he has become one of them.

Jesus died so that we can be set free of our sins. Jesus paid the price of death with his own blood so that we can live without the wrath of God and instead live an eternal life. Jesus was made sin so that we can be made righteous. Jesus became poor so that we can be blessed and to bless others.

Sin is sin is sin. We have a tendency to put sin on a sliding scale, but the Bible is clear that God views sin the same way. We have all sinned to some degree or another. But yet God's grace and mercy abounds more than sin. Most of us have already pronounced sentence upon Casey Anthony, believing that she is guilty of murdering her darling little girl and deserving of death. Jesus tells in a passage that anyone who harms one of His little ones would be better off with a millstone tied around his neck and tossed into the sea. Obviously, something happened to prevent her from human juror conviction. Does that mean that they messed up? I don't think that's necessarily true. But for now, the trial is out of any one's hands...what's done is done.

From what I can see, God has a different judgment in mind for her. IF she is indeed innocent of killing Caylee, then the truth will eventually prevail, although it may be too late for her to be personally vindicated. IF she is indeed guilty of killing Caylee, she will not have a free walk in life...she will eventually pay for the murder. The ostracization will become overwhelming unless she can somehow renew her life (think of Cain). God will either let her be destroyed by other means (Judas), or God may have mercy on her and give her a new reason to live (Saul/Paul). Even if she is doomed to a sentence she must endure, she can still receive forgiveness from God. (thief on the cross)
God is not slack concerning his promises as men count slackness.
We are told in Psalm 37:1-2 (and Prov24:19):
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Casey may be free, but she has a long, potentially lonely road ahead of her. I do pray that she may one day come to repentance and salvation, if she hasn't already. Jesus sent the Comforter, who is ready to care for her and be by her side every step of her new life. Once He is in her life, she will never be left or forsaken, and it will not matter what man would attempt to do to her in order to seek justice for the murder of precious Caylee Anthony.

Dust Bunny Party on the Ceiling Fan

2011-06-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

"We gotta fight...for our right...to paaaaaaaarrrty!!" (imagine that Beastie Boy song sung in Alvin and the Chipmunks squeak, lol)

I mean, seriously. I crashed a heck of a dust bunny party on my living room ceiling fan. I just cleaned all my fans a couple of weeks ago! I feel like the parent who goes out of town for a weekend, only to come home early to a house sardine-PACKED with teens and strangers I'd never seen before in my life with the music volume at a decibel loud enough to be heard in the next state.

Okay...maaaaaybe I'm exaggerating a liiiiittle bit! ;) That's part of the fun of writing for me. :)

On a slightly more serious note, though, we did have a somewhat serious gray dust storm this afternoon! I came home to a hot house this afternoon, and it dawned on my older son, T13, that we haven't changed the direction of the fans in the house yet. We started in the living room because that's just where our center is located as soon as you open the door. Son climbed up on the coffee table to change the direction. He stopped the fan, switched the little switch, turned the fan back on, and while it was still on the "high" setting, we suddenly became inundated with dust bunnies EV-ER-Y-WHERE. It looked like Tom came to visit our house and shed his fur everywhere! Great, now I'm lookin' for Jerry. I sure hope Miss Kitty doesn't find him! Unlike Tom, she is no respecter of mice!

After T13 and I had a good laugh about all this, I got out the vacuum cleaner to vacuum the floor, the ceiling, the furniture, the table, the books, etc. I happened to glance down at my coffee that was sittin' on my desk a little ways off. Hmmmm, I don't see any evidence of dust bunnies in a mini hot tub, but I'm not taking any chances. Down the sink it goes. I've always told my hubby that I don't drink nearly as much coffee as it looks like I do, there's proof of it right there. :}

I had other cleaning issues to attend to today, but evacuating dust bunnies from the ceiling wasn't part of my intended agenda today. Evidently I need to get that filter changed, and we need to do a better job of keeping the outside doors shut! I'm sure the deceased dust bunnies have youngsters who will mature into more dust bunnies next week or so and will attempt the same party, probably a different "crib", though...like under our beds! No problem, I'll just bring out the vacuum again...to drown out their music and to transport them where all dust bunnies eventually must go.

A Morphed Tangent of Horton Hears A Who

2011-06-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

LOL, leave it to me to have a metaphorical observation of Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who. :}The story has been around for decades, but a movie has been made a few years ago of this beloved classic. I watched this movie earlier this week with amused fascination.

How often do we think God doesn't or can't hear us because we are so small? Have we ever thought that we are all there is? How often do we think God can't exist because He's so huge we can't see Him? We are a smaaaaall community on a little clover in a huge patch, and we're still an even smaller speck than what can be seen, when you pull out the telescope and see more of the galaxies that exist! Our life literally is but a vapor. :O But yet, each of us are important to God, we are so important that He knows the count of each hair upon our heads!

I believe God created us with a an innate desire to be with Him. I believe that we are sometimes limited in how we try to see Him because we become cluttered with our own immediate vision of life. I believe that God calls out to us, but we don't hear Him because we are, again, cluttered with the mere act of living in our immediate world.

Unlike what some believe, I believe God knows and cares more about our intimate details of life than we can ever imagine. That's where the comparison between Horton and God leave off. Horton hears only one voice and knows very little of that voice, or even that an entire "great" community exists! Horton must prove to others of his world that the Whos exist! I believe God created our very world, and the worlds beyond what we can see with the naked eye, and even beyond what we can see w/ our most powerful telescope we possess!

Can you imagine what early mankind experienced as they tried to figure out who or what God is? This is if they even cared! Can you imagine the true marvel that must've flowed through Abram when God finally spoke specifically to him? Generations have passed since God had made Himself known to Noah, and generations had passed between him and Adam! How about Moses? What caused these men to BELIEVE in the invisible God who presented Himself to them as THE one and only true God? How much ridicule these men must've faced from their contemporaries! What caused the Mayor of Who to believe that he heard Horton as a being so much larger than he could ever imagine?

Is it any wonder some fellow Christians have a difficult time convincing other people that God is indeed real? Is it any wonder that some people think we're nuts that we can hear from God? Is it any wonder that some people mock and scoff at Christians who stand so faithfully upon God's instructions that run so contrary to the world's way of thinking?
But what happens when the fruit of all that faith finally manifests itself? Eventually, that grows into curiosity and desire to share that fruit! It took a collective effort of the Whos to prove to Horton's friends that they exist. It took a desire from the Mayor to share Horton with the rest of his community! The Bible says that one day EVERYONE will know who Jesus is! The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ IS indeed Lord.
God wants all of us to know Him! He knows about us already. He's been knocking patiently on the door of our hearts for some time, waiting for us to recognize that His voice is different than that of any other voice we'll hear and that we can indeed hear Him! God is not a being so large that we attempt to put Him in a box. He can't be boxed! But He is so expanse that we can't comprehend him in His entirety. He loves us! He desires to protect us and to bless us. All we need to do is let Him.

*****DISCLAIMER*****
The words expressed in this blog are not at all shared by Dr. Seuss.

May 22, 2011...Back to Business As Usual

2011-05-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, yesterday the world didn't stop quite like Mr. Harold Camping and his followers predicted..... The bad part is that he thinks he "miscalculated" and that it'll be sometime in October 2011.

He and his followers evidently missed some passages from Scriptures, especially Jesus' own words in the Gospels that said that no one on earth or in heaven knew the hour in which He will return, NOT EVEN JESUS HIMSELF, only the Father knew and knows. Last I checked, the only earthly being that had any divine powers was Jesus. If He didn't know, NONE OF US CAN KNOW.

That is not at all to say that He is NOT coming. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that He will indeed return. Scripture also makes it abundantly clear that a Rapture DOES take place. It just is not taking place according to mankind's schedule or blueprint. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, as men count slackness." Jesus gave events and signs that need to be fulfilled before His return. Ancient prophets saw signs and visions they personally did not understand, but some our current generations can. Our greatest prophetic compass is to watch the events unfold for the nation of Israel.

While every day I keep wondering if we have yet to see the days like those of Noah, and of Sodom and Gomorrah, obviously we have not gotten "worse" just yet. Given time, we will. It may be before I'm finished typing this entry, or it may be another 2000 or more years before this takes place, but I believe in my heart of hearts that it WILL take place. It's something that has been in my heart even before I became a born-again Christian.

My greatest concern regards Mr. Camping's irresponsible "prediction" as catastrophic for weak-spirited Christians. The rest of us, believers and nonbelievers alike, can laugh at his folly and crack jokes about his missing the mark and his scrambling around to save face in the midst of his failed prediction. However, some serious consequences have been paid for his careless and irresponsible declaration that the end of the world happened according to his calculations. A few suicides have been reported because these people who trusted and believed him did not want to be judged among those left behind the proclaimed "rapture." They have been deceived, greatly deceived. :( Contrary to the seeming attitude of many congregations, we individually are responsible for our own salvation. We are responsible for our own personal relationship/friendship/fellowship with the Lord. We cannot trust every word that comes from the pulpit at face value, we must verify and learn it for ourselves by reading our Bible, listening to God's voice behind His Word.
This is why the Bible says very clearly, "Let God be true, and every man a liar." That doesn't mean that we can't know the truth, but that what we know needs to align up with what God says is true. Our hearts can be deceived if we don't guard it against falsehoods. There are many things that belong to the Lord until He reveals it to mankind, and we can have the mind of Christ as we read God's Word, but we are still not God. God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our own. We may possess greater wisdom than another person, but God's foolishness is still far greater than any wisdom we can have bestowed upon us.

We should not be attending church or reading our Bibles so that we can have a religious experience, like we might have attending a concert or a sporting event. God's Word has an awesome capacity to transform us into the likeness of Christ, and like Christ, we can make a difference in others through Him. If we are attentive to the Lord's voice, we can know what He means for us to know and to have confidence even in what we don't know while still having faith in it. No one can know the moment in which the Lord WILL return, but we can know what to observe until He DOES return, and we can know when He HAS returned.

In the meantime, I do pray that, if he hasn't already, Mr. Harold Camping comes to truly know God's son, Jesus Christ. I pray that, before it's too late, that he accepts Jesus' gift of eternal life, and lets Him be his Lord and Saviour. May he accomplish this before he passes away, whenever that day or hour for him is.

A Royal Wedding Fit for the Prince and His Bride

2011-04-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Ah, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana of Wales, is finally getting married. The bride to be? Catherine Elizabeth Middleton. We have watched these two come together for years before this moment, and I don't know about anyone else, but I look forward to their future together as Prince and Princess of Wales, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

I watched his parents' wedding on July 29, 1981, nearly 30 years ago. I was merely 14 at the time, extremely impressionable during that time, that's for sure. :) The magic of that day lives on in my mind. The splendor of that wedding was enchanting, representative of a true fairy tale wedding.

Fast forward 30 years. It is utterly amazing how different these weddings are!! Oh sure, both were very grand weddings, but there is a different feel, a different air, about today's wedding.

It could just be me, but I honestly don't remember Prince Charles and Lady Diana' wedding being so spiritually endowed and protective as Prince William's and Catherine's today. I greatly enjoyed the service. It was said that Prince Charles chose most of the musical arrangement, including a piece or two from his own wedding to Lady Diana. I found that intriguing and was pleasantly surprised.

The music, from the numbers, the choir, the band, the orchestra. STUNNING. Absolutely magnificent.

I had quite forgotten what Westminster Abbey looked like on the inside. Oh my goodness!!!!! How immense!! There was a "ceiling shot" of the wedding at one point, and the people looked like ants!! I realize that Prince William and Catherine are athletic, but you wouldn't hafta join a gym if you walked the abbey once a week. Wow. Stunningly beautiful, too. If the walls could talk of the history made there. The acoustics there are brilliant. The choir sounded angelic. The music reverberated with powerful presence.

Speaking of presence. I'm glad to see so many recognizable faces among the crowd. I'm glad to see the support of each of their families present. There had to be a slight bittersweet moment for Prince William as he is painfully aware that his mother is not there with him, but is with him in spirit. She would be SO PROUD of both of her sons, and I'm beyond sure that she would welcome Catherine with open arms. So much of Princess Diana is evident in Prince William. I'm sure that's probably one of many reasons Catherine finds him attractive. :) To have his brother, Prince Harry, by his side adds to the magnificence this wedding brings to the royal family.

Catherine's mother, Carol Middleton, is an elegant lady in her own right. It's easy to see where Catherine gets her beauty. Her father is notably handsome, too, as is her brother. Her sister was drop-dead gorgeous as the bride's maid, almost overshadowing the bride, though it became evident that Catherine can hold her own. Many thought that Catherine would show up wearing a dress more like Pippa wore. I'm glad to see her look more elegant and stately in the dress she chose instead. Her fashion sense will undoubtedly transform the nation as Princess Diana did before her.

Let's talk about that dress for a moment. STUNNING. So simple, so elegant, so regal, so Catherine. Nothing super extravagant. Very modern with a touch of tradition. A dress representative of HER own wedding. A dress that just may convey genuine love for her prince. Prince William? Oh my goodness. So handsome in his red Irish Guard uniform, he clearly stood out as the groom.

The cry for the balcony kiss was answered with a nice quick peck on the lips between husband and wife...prince and princess. If you had blinked, you missed it. Some seemed disappointed that there was not more public consummation than that. Considering that royals before Prince Charles and Lady Diana never publicly kissed each other, I think they should be content with what they got! Some traditions are difficult to make new. However, I do believe that Prince William and his wife, Catherine, now Princess Catherine, are off to a most wonderful start in their new life ahead of them.

I wish Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Princess Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, the most blessed future in Christ's timeless love.

Most Devastating Tornado Season

2011-04-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by this unusual rash of tornado activity this spring...this APRIL...we've got until October, if I remember correctly! There have been soooooo many tornados just in these last few weeks, and this particular tornado season has been by far the most destructive in years.

I am deeply concerned about my family and friends who live in the south and southeast. Some of these tornados have appeared without warning. Buildings have been destroyed, people have died. As one person has reported, there are towns in Alabama that have virtually been obliterated. None of us are truly safe. We've had our share of tornado warnings, too, but thankfully they've not been too destructive, just scary.

Oh, to be like Jesus, who could sleep on a boat in the middle of the stormy sea. Jonah did the same thing...he had to be awakened to calm the fears of his companions. Praying for safety for my self, my home, my family and their homes, my friends and their homes during this turbulent season. He is indeed our shelter in the time of the storm.

The Birth Certificate, Revealed

2011-04-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

FIN-AL-LY!!!!! The most coveted birth certificate of the nation is finally revealed today. All I've got to say is that it's about time.

I'm glad President Obama finally got around to revealing his birth certificate to the nation. It's an issue that should've been settled at the beginning of his campaign, not well into two-and-a-half years of his presidency. He KNEW his birth certificate has been an issue since the beginning. He produced something that was for some reason questionable in the eyes of a good portion of America (not necessarily majority, but a lot of people were not satisfied). Not that it's up to idle Americans to determine whether a birth certificate is authentic or not, but when there were more questions as to its authenticity, especially when other documents indicate that he was born outside of America, why did he not address them THEN and get this issue RESOLVED?? One of the fundamental principles in our Constitution is that a president must have been born in the United States of America. If he truly had issues in presenting his birth certificate, as supposedly he was not permitted to handle the original, why could he not just say so and have Hawaii confirm the issue??

Why were there rumors that President Obama spent over $2 billion dollars to HIDE his birth certificate?? Why were there Internet rumors floating around, seemingly unchecked, that he truly has a birth certificate from Kenya, making him utterly disqualified to be our president?? And again, why did it take President Obama so long to answer the public??
I'm sorry, but I can't help but think that he brought this soap opera upon himself by seemingly ignoring the people who believe this is an important issue. He calls this silliness, a distraction, carnival side show, but yet he basically brought this upon himself by not standing up and putting this issue to rest much sooner.

I agree that there are far more serious national issues that demand attention than seeing our president's birth certificate, especially this late in the game. However, when a president seems to balk at the request, cause growing unnecessary and mysterious controversy, and instead dismisses and criticizes the very people who deserve straight-forward answers...oh yeah, I believe the word is "transparency"...America is going to take notice and even demand answers. Americans can be like children who keep asking why 'til the parent throws up their hand and says, "BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!" Okay, now supposedly he has released his birth certificate. Are we happy now? That remains to be seen, but I'm happy to see SOME kind of closure to this issue, even I was getting quite annoyed with this issue, but not because of the birth certificate itself but the seemingly reluctance to produce it, even again. Sure, there may be more charges of controversy, but answer them and move on to the more important national issues that demand greater attention. In case he hasn't figured that out yet, ignoring the people he serves does not give him brownie points and it will tie him down to move forward to more pressing issues.

I hope this becomes completely resolved. He DOES have greater issues that need his attention.

Favorite Hymns That Remind Me of Resurrection Day

2011-04-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

As I completed my last blog entry, many hymns and songs came to mind as we worship on Resurrection Day. I'm sure many of you know and love these, too!

He LIVES! He LIVES! Christ Jesus Lives today! He walks with me, and talks with me, along life's narrow way! He LIVES! He LIVES! Salvation to impart, you ask me how I know He lives...he LIVES within my heart!

There's within my heart a melody, Jesus whispers sweet and low. Fear not, I'm with thee, peace be still, in all of life's ebb and flow. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know!
Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.

What can wash my sins away? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
O, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow,
No other fount I know! Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Jesus paid it all! All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!

Since I have been redeemed, since I have been redeemed, I will glory in His Name; since I have been redeemed, I will glory in my Saviour's Name!

Oh, what a Saviour, that He died for me! From condemnation He hath made me free; "He that believeth on the Son," saith He, "Hath everlasting life!"
"Verily, verily, I say unto you." "Verily, verily," message ever new;
"He that believeth on the Son," 'tis true, "Hath everlasting life!"

Alas! and did my Saviour bleed? And did my Sov'reign die? Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?
Was it for crimes that I have done, He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree!
But drops of grief can ne'er repay the debt of Love I owe; Here, Lord, I give myself away, 'Tis all that I can do.
He loves me, He loves me, He loves me, this I know; He gave himself to die for em, because he loved me so.

Obviously, these are just a few and hardly scratches the surface of songs to sing! But on such a wonderful day as this, how can I stop singing??
Have a most blessed Resurrection Day!

Resurrection Day, the Most Blessed Day for Christians

2011-04-23T01:39:00.000-07:00

We are heading into one of the most sacred season of a Christian's life, the remembrance of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ~~commonly called Easter or Easter Sunday. So many old hymns flood my mind as I think of this time. : )

This season always brings to my mind Ecclesiastes 7:1 which says "...the day of death (is better) than the day of one's birth." This sounds very odd to our natural ears as we live in this world, but Solomon has something here. While Jesus' birth brought the Promise into this world, it was His death, His burial and, most importantly, His resurrection that fulfilled that Promise of reconciliation between God and man.

Living He loved me,
Dying He saved me,
Buried He carried my sins far away,
RISING He justified freely forever!
One day He's coming, O GLORIOUS DAY!

The prophesy of Salvation is threaded throughout the Bible from Old Testament through the New Testament. Mankind has been looking forward to this Salvation since the fall of (Eve and) Adam. The promise of Redemption has been on the mind of God since He pronounced sentences to Eve, Adam and the serpent. God has always given man a spirit that longs and seeks Him, though not all do.

Many Christians call this time Easter, although our traditions and customs greatly differ from those of the original Pagan celebrants of the holiday Easter. Easter eggs and bunnies and baskets with all the trimmin's have nothing to do with the joyously solemn occasion of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. There seems to be a growing movement of Christians calling this Resurrection Day instead, leaving the more frolicsome customs back to our secular participants.

There is nothing wrong with this, nothing at all. What a way to experience the fullness of the Resurrection in our lives! We are reconciled to God and living in the age of grace! All we need to do is accept His gift! He is the ultimate and perfect sacrifice, and He did this willingly, with us on His mind. We are living in the New Testament because He IS the New Testament. We have new life (eternal and earthly) because of His willing sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:8-28
The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the holiest of all
was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet
standing:
Which was a figure for the time then present, in which there were
offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the
service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Which stood only in the meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal
ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of
this building:
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for
us.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?
And for this cause he is the mediator of the NEW TESTAMENT, that by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the
TESTATOR.
For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no
strength at all while the testator liveth.
Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without
blood.
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to
the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool,
and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people.
Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto
you.
Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the
vessels of the ministry.
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no remission.
It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens
should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these.
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are
the figures of the true; but unto heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us:
Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth
into the holy place every year with blood of others;
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but
now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that
look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Jesus' message of hope and salvation for us all would not exist if it were not for His Resurrection. Look at 1 Corinthians 15 to see what I mean. This hope is the Christian's Easter Story. He is our solid rock from old. He, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we can have life everlasting, removing sin, reconciling God and man again. God so loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son, that whoseover believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

These are just a couple of hymns that pop into my mind. There are many, many more. I daresay that we could not finish singing by the end of today. The Lord wants us to worship Him, that's an easy "assignment" for me. My heart is filled with such praise and thanksgiving that it can't be contained. Enjoy this special time with the Lord, your family and friends; and if that includes an Easter egg hunt and a spiral cut ham for dinner after a sunrise worship, remember to do all of these things for the Glory of God. Last night my sons began our remembrance with Resurrection Day Story Cookies. Enjoy!

Happy Easter! Have a most blessed Resurrection Day!

It's EARTH DAY Today

2011-04-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have some thoughts about Earth Day.

Do not judge those who esteem one day above another and, likewise, don't judge those who esteem all days the same. Today seems to be a day we need for remembering everything in balance, moderation and perspective. I see a lot of extremism in regard to honoring Earth Day. This is not a nonChristian or Christian issue at all, but mankind's issue. However, from my observation, attitudes have been based on visible and sometimes stark response to this general task. This finger-pointing ought not to be.

Do Christians participate in Earth Day because it's become a socially mandatory observation? Do nonChristians believe Christians are morons who don't make the same fuss about Earth Day that nonChristians seem to make? Do we celebrate together opportunities that make our planet a better place to live? Do we acknowledge and appreciate each other's efforts, however great or small, to maintain this wonderful world we call Earth?

Does the Bible say anything about how we should care for this Earth? Indeed it does! And, you don't need to read much further than Genesis! God Himself led the example for recycling human bodies after our spirits are done with them by returning ashes to ashes and dust to dust. The cycle of life is evident every day in every plain on earth. We can learn a great deal just by watching a rotting tree in a forest or watching insects devour carcasses. Animals instinctively know what to do with what they are given. Those who are destined to "waste" are usually surrounded by scavengers to clean up what's left. Ever watch a snail clean a fish tank? Nothing is left to chance in the animal world. Our world, however, seems to be seen a bit differently.

God gives us a creation to enjoy, from the dirt to the waters to the plants to the animals to fellow mankind. God gave us this Earth to use as we needed it, whether it's through study or admiration or even mundane living (??, lol)

Leviticus is chock full of advice as to how to care for our world around us. Granted, it's mainly for every day living back in those days, but prudent followers of God's Word reaped benefits by following sound advice. We are taught how to rotate our soil so we can get the best increase. We are taught when is the best time to buy and sell property based on the qualifications of the particular year. Many cycles of various kinds are observed so that we can look forward to our routines, giving different aspects a certain share of glory.
We are called to care for our animals, both our own and those of our neighbors. Abuse was not tolerated. A righteous man regardeth well the life of his beast. At times we become aware what happens when disease is not contained and instead contaminates the food we eat and the waters we drink and bathe in.
Miracles were performed using vessels already present in the neighborhood. Remember the widow who had a neighborhood container drive so that a prophet could help her have enough oil to sell, saving her sons from slave creditors? Remember Jesus' miracle of the wine? He needed vessels filled with water and he turned it into wine. Today we use re-usable plastic bottles and home water filters to (sorta) accomplish the same feat. ; )
Remember the gold jewelry that was melted down and made into other items? From calf idol to plating the tabernacle furniture, recycling had its moments in Bible history! Indeed, recycling has its moments in virtually every culture that has ever lived.

So what about today? I think it's good that we, as a general society, have become aware of some of the idle waste that has been happening for some time. I'm thankful that we have many opportunities to make a difference in making this world better than we have found it over the years. What sometimes irritates me is when Earth Day is treated more like a man-made religion than a productive way of life. I think we should encourage each other to do what we can to reduce, reuse and recycle. I believe that we need to be attentive to our surroundings where plants and animals are concerned and do what we can to preserve that environment; however, I don't believe that we need to save the animals at the expense of humanity (I know, gets me in a heap o' trouble, I get it, lol). God has a natural and cyclical process in dealing with human and animal population; sometimes lands seem to get destroyed beyond our control, or even despite our control. And yet, the rebirth of that land and populations becomes more amazing than ever known before. I believe that we need to intelligently use resources as we discover them. I think changing our lifestyles to fit a more Earth-friendly environment is admirable, but sometimes we do what we need to do to live in this world we are living in now.

I must say that I am quite disappointed in (particularly speaking here) Christians who are simply "waiting upon the Lord's return" and nothing else~~they feel there is no need to participate in keeping things running smoothly because they feel the Lord will be here "any minute." I believe this attitude is misguided and foolish and plain unhelpful to fellow man. Also, this attitude actually can contribute to the stresses our world experiences from time to time. Yes, the world may not be a beautiful place at the moment, and heaven sounds, well...heavenly...but we have a God-given responsibility to have dominion, to replenish and to subdue this planet we call Earth. Jesus was about His Father's business until it was time for Him to be crucified. We need to be about Jesus' business, too, until He is ready to call us home, WHENEVER that may be...it could be before I even finish this post, or it can be another coupla thousand years from now. No man knoweth the hour, not even Jesus then. Can we really afford to just let things go because we're waiting for the Lord's return? Hollywood's got a pretty good imagination of what our world would look like if we neglect it. We are part of the process in preserving life as best as we can. We are to be at our work when the Lord returns, anyway...why not work at making this world a better place while we pay our rent here? We need to do our best so God can do the rest.

I got tickled at an article I read earlier this week. It's about an elderly lady who wasn't quite up on the news about plastic bags not being good for the environment. She apologized and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." It's a very good article, citing examples of just how green our former generations really lived long before our recent disposable generation was born.

Here's to a celebration that has been going on for many years longer than officiated.
Happy Earth Day!

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor

2011-03-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

America...indeed the world...has lost yet another major Hollywood icon today...Elizabeth Mary Rosemond Taylor, best known as Elizabeth Taylor. May she rest in peace.

She lived life sometimes more dramatically than the roles she played. She was portrait of elegance and mystifying beauty. She had eyes, violet-colored eyes curtained with double lashes, and she knew how to use them. God graced her with hallmark traits many seek to duplicate.

She was gifted as an actress. Sure, she was a product of high society, and she used that to her every advantage; one could see that she was not a puppet to toss into a corner or played at will. She took her advantages and made her mark in a volative industry. Even as a child actress she knew what it took to succeed. She may not have been everything that one studio wanted, but what she DID have she drove full throttle with another. As she grew more experienced with life, she grew more experienced with the big screen. Acting was her life's canvas for living.

For all of her wealth and privileges afforded her in life, she suffered bouts of loneliness, ill health, loss, addictions, and trials that could break any one person. Through them all, she refused to remain down and out for any great length of time. After all, she was Elizabeth Taylor! She was an actress, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a businesswoman, a spokeswoman, a humanitarian and any other human role she took on.

Whatever she did in life, she enjoyed to the fullest possibility. She deserves the adulation she receives. May she be remembered at her best and forgotten at her worst.

PRAYERS FOR JAPAN

2011-03-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else, but watching the phenomenal videos of the earthquake and immediate tsunami that demolished much, if not almost all, of Japan seemed utterly surreal. It simply could not be happening!! It's like watching a movie, expecting to see action but still hoping for a wrap-up happy ending. Unfortunately, Japan's nightmare has JUST begun. :( Top this with a rippling effect into Hawaii, and even California and Oregon's Pacific coastline, and you've got ONE of the greatest natural disasters in recent recorded history. The multiple and intense aftershocks of the original earthquake to hit Japan have already surpassed anything the rest of the world has experienced in recent years.

Prayers must go out to these devastated people. Help must go out to these devastated people. No mere words can express the overwhelming suffering this nation is enduring at this time, with more to come. Millions, not thousands...millions of Japanese lives have been shattered over the last 72 hours. Numerous are killed, even more are unaccounted for and feared dead. My heart broke for this one lady who was hoping to find her elderly mother at home, and the only thing she found was desolate emptiness. Still, they must move on. Already they are facing damaged nuclear reactor facilities that could easily destroy whatever is left. Are we prepared for any similar events here in the United States? I daresay not.

Is there any way we could be prepared?? I don't know that it's truly possible to be totally prepared for natural disasters, wherever or whenever they may strike. We can learn from past mistakes, build things stronger and better, become educated in possible remedies, stockpile foods and supplies (which can still be destroyed), but to have foresight to withstand what can come from the movie scripts and screens into real life? I truly don't think there is any way we can preserve what we have if the balance of nature remains off kilter. However, that should not discourage us from trying.

Hollywood has been making movies about the end-of-the-world type disasters for years. Some of them seem a bit far-fetched, but are they really? Not according to Biblical prophesy. Natural earth rages have been going on for several thousand years of recorded history...every land has experienced some form of devastation. While many will dismiss these events as either flukes, man-made stupidity (is any one of us that smart and powerful??), Nature calling out w/ a Rebel Yell, Earth just doin' her thing; still others take this unfortunate moment and declare that God is passing judgment on the nations...the rains fall upon the just AND the unjust...and, like that is helpful to those who need food, water and meds. :/ I'm not definitively saying that is or is not truly happening. What is interesting to me is that these events are becoming more intense and with greater frequency in a way that I can't ignore. Biblically speaking, I believe the time of the Second Coming of Christ IS drawing nearer and nearer. I'm not concerned about whether it will be another 2 days or another 2000 years before this happens. I honestly believe that God is not slack concerning His promises, and I see this as a time for man to try his own soul and make sure he's right with God. Has he received Salvation, the free gift of eternal life from God through His Son, Jesus Christ? Will he be with Him in heaven or will he be facing (indeed) greater wrath from God? As a Christian, I cannot imagine anything more secure during times like this. I may lose my physical life here on this earth, but that is nothing to be compared to the glory of eternal life with my Saviour as a returning spirit.
Hollywood has got a fantastic imagination where end-times are concerned, but NOTHING compares to, and nothing can prepare you for, the reality of abysmal fear and loneliness such as these people struck by earthquakes, tsunamis, disease, starvation, etc, are experiencing. These people are not interested in the entertainment industry. These people are probably not interested in the religious "industry." These people are not interested in who holds political powers at the moment. These people don't give a care if McDonald's is better than Wataburger or other such petty and vain things. These people are trying to merely survive a horrible and unimaginable loss and figure out how to start their lives over. They are in desperate need of comfort and hope. In the meantime, if the Lord has opened a heart, I pray that a Christian is there to lead them to Salvation and a new life, acquiring that peace that surpasses all human understanding.

Prayer is a powerful support for these people; it's something we can ALL do. God DOES answer prayers, even in the midst of unspeakable tragedies.
I encourage you to help however you can. Two organizations that I already know are helping Japan through donations are Samaritan's Purse and Red Cross.
God bless Japan. God bless other nations who are still recovering from their destruction from natural disasters. God bless those who can help them all.

Video

Parroty

2011-02-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

"Stella wants a cracker, SQUAAAK!! Stella wants a cracker, SQUAAAK!!" ((not really, unless you have those cute little oyster crackers...you can pass those to me, lol))

I have noticed these last few years that I tend to repeat myself, especially within a conversation. I don't know why, it's as aggravating and embarrassing as it can be, but I don't seem to be aware enough to stop it.

Maybe it's too many episodes of Winnie the Pooh or Dora the Explorer. Maybe it's reading the Bible too much (just read through Genesis, and see what I mean!). Maybe it's just being a mom. : P I dunno.

All I know is that sometimes when I think back over a conversation, I become acutely aware of how I sound after the fact. It's like my mind is stuck on a point, and not necessarily an important point, and I don't get past it until I'm finished. Sometimes it's only later that I realize that I've "harped" or "parroted" so much on my particular point that I have forgotten to say something else that might've contributed to a good conversation.

Sometimes this shows up in my writing, too. However, the blessed thing about writing is that I can edit it before sending it off to wherever it needs to go.

Needless to say, speaking is NOT one of my favorite things to do in life. Well, guess what? While I have a mouth that can speak, I need to do so.
Thankfully, my friends don't seem to mind this trait about me. I don't know if I've always had it or if I've only just become aware of it. I think sometimes my bosses get a little annoyed with me, but they've not said anything to me.

I don't know what my ultimate purpose in life is supposed to be just yet. I've been told quite a few times I'd make a good teacher. A teacher DOES need to repeat herself from time to time. Then again, I keep thinking about how God has designed each of us with special traits and unique features that fulfill a specific job like NO ONE ELSE CAN. I know I need to find that purpose. Maybe finding it is not the objective, but to act upon that objective when I discover it.

I've noticed these last few years that I tend to repeat myself, especially within a conversation.

Mary Had A Little Lamb, EV

2011-02-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

I really don't know why this nursery rhyme came to mind this afternoon, but I actually meditated on this, believe it or not, and a stray thought broke away from the concise explanation of a mere nursery rhyme for children.

Mary had a little lamb.....Mary and lamb, outside the nursery rhyme, have something in common: Jesus.
Jesus is ultimately the Lamb of God, and a Mary was chosen to give birth to Him.

Whose fleece was white as snow.....Jesus, as the Lamb of God, was as pure as snow, sinless.

And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.....Jesus, for the most part, obeyed his mother (and father) growing up.

It followed her to school one day, which was against the rules.....it was unusual for the students to be the teacher, but Jesus spoke with such amazing authority about the Scriptures, and then Jesus read the scrolls to them He told them the Scriptures had been fulfilled that day. This was initially met with wonder and amazement; after a while this caused some religious leaders to attempt to kill Him.

It made the children laugh and play.....Jesus loved children, and the children loved Him.

And so the teacher turned it out.....to a Christian, this is a sad commentary of the world today. Jesus is not welcome in school or social life today, but neither was He welcomed in his own land among his own people then. Pharisees threw Him out of the temple with false accusations. What people DID receive Him, however, He gave them eternal life.

But still it lingered near.....Jesus has never left us, even when we leave Him. He still loves us!

And waited patiently about.....God wants none of us to perish. He is patient and long-suffering for us to come or recommit our lives back to Him. He loves us, even while we were yet sinners!

Til Mary did appear.....Mary His mother and Mary Magdalene (another prominent Mary spoken of in the Gospels) were regularly attentive to Jesus. Jesus will appear again for His bride, the church. We, as members of Christ, should be practicing the Great Commission until Jesus deems us ready to "appear" before the ceremony of the wedding supper.

Why does the lamb love Mary so.....God is Love. God the Father and God the Son are One. God loves all of us.

The eager children cry.....the multitudes were full of questions and curiosity about who Jesus was and what He taught.

Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.....a mother's love never dies. Mary Magdalene experienced salvation and expressed her love anointing him with the expensive oil.

The teacher did reply.....I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.

Obviously I could've taken many different biblical angles to express this. These are just off the top of my head. I haven't taken the time to note the Scriptural applications I've made. It's entirely possible that I've made an observation that doesn't exactly make sense with someone else, but these are my current musings about a nursery rhyme that's over 180 years old.

Here is the original rhyme:

Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb
whose fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
And everywhere that Mary went
the lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day,
school one day, school one day,
It followed her to school one day
which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
laugh and play, laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play
to see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
turned it out, turned it out.
And so the teacher turned it out
but still it lingered near.
And waited patiently about,
patiently about, patiently about.
And waited patiently about
til Mary did appear.

"Why does the lamb love Mary so,
Mary so, Mary so,
Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cried.
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,
lamb you know, lamb you know.
Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The teacher did reply.

There have been many applications of this poem for many years. I know I'm not doing anything original, not by any means. :) I just thought I'd say what was on my mind about Mary and her little lamb, Estelle's Version. :)

Lovely Love

2011-02-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

Well, today is the hangover of Valentine's Day roses/flowers, chocolates, dinners, wines, cards, candies, hugs and kisses.

Not to say that the above are not nice treats to have on an appointed day...not at all, but why keep these things on Valentine's Day? Why make such a to-do on ONE specified day of the year? The Bible tells us that some of us will esteem one day more than another, while the others will esteem one day the same as the next. I admit I do a little of both. Mine just don't always fall onto the calendar-esteemed obligations of the days.

Last year, my church's yearly focus was on God's Extreme Love that He has for us. The focus passage came from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 with the supplemental verse of John 15:13-15, more specifically verse 13:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

God exemplified Love because God IS love. He is aMAZing Love. He is amazing Love that WE can not only HAVE but BE when we are His and He is our friend. Love is indeed a universal language most of us understand, know, and can share.

Charity=Love

Love should be on the forefront of our being. The Bible tells us to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of virtue, and worthy of any praise~~Philippians 4:8-9.

Love does not require time. Love does not require space. Love does not require matter. There is no limit to Love and there is no restriction against Love. Love not only makes the world go 'round but it also harmonizes the world. Love seeks peace. Love seeks to build up other people. Love sees the best in every thing and every one. Love forgives where pain exists. Love is so patient, gentle and encouraging. Love brings with it traits desired by people from all walks of life and from any era known to man. Love is eternal.

Traditionally, Valentine's Day is literally celebrated only one day of the year. It is reportedly a specialized day to express Love to each other. However, eternal love needs to be celebrated every single day of our lives. Love makes us faithful. Jesus Christ is my Ultimate Best Friend Forever. He loves me so much that He had already called me friend when He died in my sins, was buried in my sorrows, and rose again to let me live eternally in love with Him.

Love...so amazing...so universal...so eternal...and so priceless.

Ginner'nap Cookies

2011-02-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

I was at work straightening candle shelves when I came across a stray Christmas candle, which should've been in the Christmas markdowns. I smiled when I picked it up. It was Iced Gingerbread scent. One of my J8's favorite cookies is gingersnap cookies. He has long since corrected his speech, but while he was learning to talk he had trouble with his consonant blends and multiple syllables. I smile at the memory of those learning days. :)

For both boys, I have written down a lot of their mispronounciations (with translations). T13 is not too interested in how he learned to talk as a youngster. However, J8 constantly asks me how he said _________ "when I was a baby"...never mind that he didn't talk until he was almost 3 years old and that some of his mispronounciations happened when he was 5 or 6. He gets the cutest missing-two-front-teeth grin on his face and asks me to say it again. :) Then he'll say it for a little bit, then he'll ask me, "Did I really say it like that??" Yes, Sweetpea, you did. :)

Y'know, with Valentine's Day arriving in just a few days, I think I just might surprise the little fella with some heart-shaped ginner'nap cookies. You know I'll be smilin' while I bake them, too. There's nothing quite like momma memories of little folks. :)

Just 7 More Minutes, Please....times 3, 4, 5, ....Off

2011-01-07T07:20:00.001-08:00

Ugh. This has been one tough week for getting out of bed. The sad part is that I've been going to bed earlier than I have in a couple of years! So what is my problem??

This is the first week back to school since Christmas break. During that time, we got up about 30 minutes later than we would've if the boys were in school. So really, not too bad. Plus, we've been sick almost during the entire break, so I guess we're more or less still recovering. We've been going to bed earlier b/c we couldn't keep our eyes open much longer.

We've only been back to school for 4 days now, and every single day, we've gotten up later than I'd like. Unfortunately, even my usual alarm clock, J8, has been fast asleep and difficult to get up in the mornings. Also, every single day this week, I've awakened a full hour and a half earlier than we need to be up. I look at the clock, chastise myself, and go back to sleep....evidently a DEEP sleep. I set my alarm about 20 minutes before I need to be up. I usually only hit the snooze 2 or 3 times and I'm wide awake and rarin' to go. Not this week. :(

This week, I've either hit the snooze 3 or 4 or more times, or I accidentally hit the OFF button, and then I'm REALLY in trouble! I think Wednesday, we only had about 10 minutes to get dressed and walk out the door! No breakfast. No vitamins. No MEDICINES (for the colds we've had). No drink. It's a wonder teeth have been brushed. :P
Of course, we pay for this at the end of the school day. Those little after-school snacks turn into MEALS before the dinner! Of course, they're exhausted by the end of the day b/c they've basically been fighting to keep up with their day, and we go to bed earlier than usual, and away we go. It's amazing how much that little button affects the rest of our day, isn't it???

Here's hoping next week will be much better. Here's hoping that my alarm clock will get up on his own again, and that I can make my own alarm clock function the way it's supposed to...with just one or two hits of the button.

Childhood is Calling

2011-01-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

It's a tag line in a commercial for Rice Krispies, but it's a very appropriate line for many of us moms, dads, teachers, anyone else who deals with children in any way. :)

I love that I have a reason to watch some classic Disney movies...it's because the KIDS wanna watch it, don'tcha know? ;) Some of my favorite classic Disney movies are Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, AristoCats, Robin Hood and Fun and Fancy Free. There are some new ones I like to watch as well. I have to say that my favorite "modern" one is the computer-animated Cars...my J8's favorite as well. :) Oh, can't forget Ratatouille! :D

I have boys, so whatever girly things I did when I was little has to be kept in the attic of my memories. Thankfully, I was a bit of a tomboy back then, tho. Somehow I lost my physical aspect of tomboyhood, but I can get down w/ my boys and play with Legos and Hot Wheels and have a great time w/ them. T13 is getting into shooting BB and pellet guns. I'm not too bad a shot, if I say so myself! ;) They are into more advance video games than Tetris, Pac-Man and Mario Brothers, so they kinda leave me out in the dust...it's okay, tho. :) I'll let them have their area of expertise and whup up on them with MY games! >:)

One of the things we always did when I was growing up was play games...card, board, dice, you name it, chances are we played it. I got pretty blamed good at them, too! A friendly rival game of Monopoly can add some spark to your life, y'know? Even Candy Land was sooo much fun when I played it with my boys! We got to where we'd call the colors by their Spanish names, too. J8 won many games, but I'm so happy he's a good sport when he doesn't. I'm looking forward to the day when I can break out my collection of Trivial Pursuit games to play. :) I have 4 0r 5 different TP games. He's finally chronologically old enough to play some of the bigger games we have. Oh, and Bingo?? Look out!! J8 and T13 rack up cookie prizes when we play Bingo! :) The boys beat me almost every time at Uno...I keep forgetting to say "UNO!" when I get down to that last card. : } We'll be trying to play the grown-up version of Yahtzee soon, too. With J8, I played that game more like Bingo when he was younger. He's growing into a math wizard in his own right, so we'll be learning how to keep better scores now. :)

Food. What can I say about childhood food?? There are just certain tastes you expect as a child. Sure, you can adultify macaroni & cheese and fish sticks or chicken nuggets, but there's nothing quite like the flavor you grow up with, especially if you're feeling sick, lonely, or just in need of comfort. T13's absolute favorite cuisine is Tex-Mex (we call it Texican sometimes, lol). If I want to specifically put a smile on his face, mentioning Texican food makes him light up the room. I'm serious! Believe it or not, J8's specialty seems to be soup or spaghetti. Trouble is, we haven't quite mastered a consistent flavor w/ homemade spaghetti, so that has slowly grown out of favor...unless we get Chef Boyardee cookin'...NOW we be smilin'! We don't rely too heavily on prepared foods, but there are some foods you just can't duplicate, and when you want them, you want them and the memories that go with them. :)

I think it's time to plan another childish day with the boys this weekend. Maybe I'll make some pizza and get a Battle or War card game going! Or maybe Checkers. Whatever we play, someone is gonna be Sorry about the Domino effects of playing Chutes and Ladders! :) Yes, childhood is indeed calling. :)

Commitment

2011-01-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

C-c-c-comm-mm-mm-it-m-m-m-ment. Why is that such a scary word? Why is it that being firmly planted to a process is so daunting for some people, including me?

I dunno 'bout anyone else, but I think my answer lies in fear of failure. Not that fear of failure makes much sense, even to me, because commitment can diffuse failure. If you are committed to anything, you WANT to succeed. You WANT to see things to the end. You WANT desirable end results because of the effort you put in...COMMITTED...as an investment into those desired results.

C-c-comm-mm-it-m-m-ment....

Okay, it's a little easier to say now.... Why is it that we can be in the perpetual process of any given thing, but to commit to that process somehow means an end result? Why am I so afraid of those end results? I kinda get the guys who have a fear of commitment to marriage. They are "fine" in the circumstances they're in, happy with a gal they're even willing to spend the rest of their life with, but for anyone to suggest "marriage" and the guy goes into "commitment arrest."

C-commit-m-ment....

Gettin' a little easier....

Commit comes from the Latin word committere meaning "to bring together" or "to send together." (com = together with, mittere = to send)

Commit has many definitions, but for the purpose of this entry, commit means to "entrust", "consign", "engage", and "pledge." Commitment is merely "the act of entrusting, consigning, engaging, pledging to, or with, anyone or anything." When we commit to a marriage, we are entrusting our care to another person and that person to you. When we commit to a promise, we are pledging our part of that promise. When we commit to do something, we are engaging in a promise.

I admit I have an extremely difficult time committing to anything. I have had many opportunities to enrich my life through various commitments. But fear gripped my heart, possibly due to undiagnosed ADD. What if I fail? What if I can't live up to the standards of the commitment? What if I can't endure to the finish (my usual fear)? I've got to learn how to put aside the "what ifs" and JUST DO IT!!! Yes, Nike has som'n there. ; } I have to meditate on and remember 2 Timothy 1:7 : "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind."

Commitment. There. I said it.
I want this year to be a year in which I develop in the area of commitment. I know God has given me opportunities in the past that frightened me...not so much the commitments themselves, but how I saw myself in carrying out those commitments. I feel like Moses did when God called him to be His people's leader. For all his education and knowledge of the ways of the Egyptians AS WELL as the Hebrews of those days, he still felt inadequate to lead. He also let the condemnation of murder stand in the way of God's calling in his life. However, God merely overrode Moses' protests with demonstrations of His power and might through him.

God knows what I need to carry out whatever commitments He may put in my life. I need to trust in the Lord that I can carry them out instead of wallowing in my fear and sense of inadequacy and weakness. I see it in the Bible, now I need to apply it to myself. 1 Corinthians 1 is an awesome chapter to remind us of our capabilities through Him, and how each of us plays a part in His purposes.
From 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called?
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, year, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are;
That no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption;
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

I need to relearn to see myself as God sees me. God sees me as able. God sees His Son, Jesus, in me. God has given Christians gifts, and we need to put those gifts into practice. We need to commit ourselves to accomplishing that which He has called us to do. God gives us the ability, we need to act upon those abilities.

My commitments for 2011, not necessarily in any particular order:
To renew my body into a capable and strong vessel.
To read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation at least once this year.
To find the open door to a job God has lined up for me, and to do that job well.
To OBEY and HONOR God in all things, no matter how difficult I may believe the task to be.
To LOVE God by loving my neighbors with all of my heart, with all of my soul, with all of my mind.

"I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."

1~1~11 for This Christian

2011-01-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

'Tis the first day of 2011, the newest year after Jesus the Christ's time upon this earth.

My favorite Bible verse for introducing the new year is 3 John 2:
Brethren, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in good health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Who can go wrong praying that your family and friends, Christians or nonChristians, have a great year full of prosperity and health??

I have another Bible passage that I like to use for directing my focus from Philippians 4:8-9:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
The new year brings a fresh reminder for a fresh start in how I see things in this world. That is not to say that I'm oblivious to bad news, that I am not affected by negative influences or emotions, or that I don't feel pain when others hurt, but I find that dwelling on such negativity serves no positive purpose in anyone's life, my own or that of my family or friends. The best I can do is whatever I can to alleviate whatever sorrow I can help alleviate, and to pray for whatever I can't personally affect...the latter being far more powerful through God's hands than my own. I do believe that what is impossible for man is possible with God. I have experienced the peace that surpasses all human understanding, and I pray that more people can experience that, too.

I pray that today marks a new beginning for my family and friends who are struggling in any area of their lives. I pray that they can make changes that make for better lives. Take control of what you can control, make changes you can make, practice what you have determined to do, and watch a new and better life emerge. God does not want us to be miserable. He wants us to be prosperous. Prosperity is not so much material blessings but overall peace. We should find ourselves blessed so that we can be a blessing for others. When you are blessed, accept that blessing from another and pass that blessing on to yet another...the Christian version of "pay it forward."

I do pray that my family and friends are able to have a great year in 2011. Jeremiah 29:11:
For I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jesus tells us that God calls the end from the beginning; we can call those things that be not as though they were. We have an empty slate starting today. What will you put on yours? I'm not much of an artist, but God can take my stick figures and flesh out a wonderful future for me and mine and yours. Will you let Him?
I'm looking forward to beginning this year with the ending in mind; I'm looking forward to a great year in 2011.

Come Oooonnn 2011!!!

2010-12-31T07:14:00.000-08:00

Not that 2010 was such a horrible year. It really wasn't too bad for me and mine. However, I know soooooo many people who have experienced yet another heartache, another financial struggle and loss, another sense of hopelessness and despair, another illness, and yet another death. This year has been devastatingly cruel to some people, it seems. :( For those suffering so greatly this year, I am truly sorry. I pray that 2011 marks a turn-around and breakthrough and true recovery for their lives.

I am thankful for 2010. Not that everything went hunky-dory or anything like that, but I have grown in some ways that could not have happened otherwise. Previous years have been trying for me, and 2010 has given me a step in a better direction. I have developed some better habits in 2010 that I believe will carry me into 2011 and beyond.

New Year's Resolutions.....

Hmmm, I'm not really one to make New Year's Resolutions. I've been out of that habit for years b/c it seems like I break most of them them no later than the complete month of January. It should be called New January Resolutions, y'know? ;)

Having said that, I DO have some goals that I want to accomplish for 2011. In Habakkuk 2:2-3, this minor prophet was encouraged to write down his goals/vision and, while it will take some time for it to come to pass, it WILL come to pass. Pastor John Hagee used this message for his sermon: Write it down and make it happen! It is a practice that I have developed over the last couple of years, and I must say that it has been helpful to me. :)

Some goals I'd like to meet in 2011.....

I will read the Bible from cover to cover. While I've read the Bible almost every day, and have indeed read almost all it, I've never consecutively read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. There are so many nuggets of wisdom that I've missed over the years b/c I've yet to truly read those words. The only reason I've gone past those words before is b/c I was focusing on whatever study I was engaged in at the time. I've found that when I'm "casually" reading (lacking better word here~~reading w/o it relating to a specific lesson) the Bible, some words just jump out at me and it fits a situation I've discovered within the past week or so.

I see a much smaller version of myself. I've allowed last year's excessive heat get the best of me. My food choices have been not-so-great lately, and I've been sick b/c of it. I've got goals in mind and print for this year, and I'm already putting plans into practice. I had almost reached my goals a couple of years ago, and I've virtually undone all my work just last year. This is one of those areas in which you just gotta do it. Creflo Dollar says when you're "gonna do" something, you're really not ready for the change yet. When you are truly ready to make changes, you start changes right away. I admit I've spent a lifetime with "gonna do" and rarely stick to my goals to completion. I've started changing that last month and will continue into and through this new year.

I see myself with a new and better job. This is not to say that the job I have is bad or that I don't like it, but it's changing in ways I'm convicted I can't continue. The Lord has nudged me at my back here in 2010 that I need to do something else, but I've hem hawed about it to the point that situations have changed, and I'd better change with it to remain in the growing direction I need to be! Here's to a new and better job in January 2011 and beyond!!

I see more quality time and opportunities spent with my family in 2011. I shamefully admit that I've let the digital distractions of this day and age overwhelm me these last couple of years. My boys are not growing younger. They need me, even now more than ever. Not necessarily in the sense that I've got to be there to make things work or make them do anything, but I want to be more available for them as they grow. My J8 is a game player, and I want to bring out his best characteristics he possesses when he does play games. My T13 is not a game player, but there are other avenues to explore with him. He's turning into a young man before my eyes, and our times together have become more detached than I'd like. I'm very proud of him, but I admit I've not been very good at expressing that lately. He needs to know. I am also trying to get Hubby to remember his relationship with his dad and re-awaken his desire to make his relationship with his boys better.

I've not made plans for celebration or tradition for bringing in the New Year. Hubby bought a beautiful bottle of wine for a cozy toasting in the New Year. Crowds of unruly people are not our thing. I do have a prayer that all of my family and friends remain safe and healthy through yet another year.

LOL, I still do not know the words to Auld Lang Syne, but I think it's a neat song steeped in traditions from long ago, especially from my ancient heritage. I do love reading about traditions from around the globe, from the greeting to why they do the things they do. It's much like Christmas to me, fascinating! :)

Whatever you do to celebrate the New Year, I pray that you have a most blessed one! I wish you a most prosperous 3John2 New Year!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me

2010-12-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today is December 13th. There are 12 more days 'til Christmas. This is a time when my boys and I get a kick out of singing this song. I'm not sure what the real meaning of this song truly is (if there are literally 12 days to celebrate Christmas like there are 8 days to celebrate Hanukkah, for example). I think I remember something about January 5th is considered the 12th day of Christmas but still don't know details because I've not looked it up just yet, but with my boys I treat this kind of like telling time...a quarter "of" 6 means it's 15 minutes before 6 o'clock~~like a "countdown" to Christmas. Either way, it's a fun time in MY family.

I received in an email one time some early Christian coded meanings of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and whether it's true or not, I'm not too concerned, I think it's pretty neat and can easily see the application. :) Evidently, I'm not the only one. An article about this was written by Dennis Bratcher. I'll summarize below. I hope you'll read his article, tho. I found it was a good read. :)

A Partridge in a Pear Tree symbolized Jesus.

Two Turtle Doves symbolized the Old and New Testaments.

Three French Hens symbolized the Three virtues: Faith, hope and love.

Four Calling Birds symbolized the Four Gospels

Five Gold Rings symbolized the first Five Books of the Bible/The Books of Moses/The Pentateuch.

Six Geese A-laying symbolized the Six Days of Creation (God rested on the seventh).

Seven Swans A-Swimming symbolized The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Eight Maids A-milking symbolized The Beattitudes.

Nine Ladies Dancing symbolized The Fruit of the Spirit.

Ten Lords A-leaping symbolized The Ten Commandments.

Eleven Pipers Piping symbolized the Eleven FAITHFUL Disciples/Apostles of Jesus.

Twelve Drummers Drumming symbolized the twelve doctrinal points of the Apostles' Creed.

I hope you find this as fascinating as I did. It's definitely a great tool to share with young Christians today. :)
In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

O Christmas, O Christmas. How Do I Love Thee? Let me Count the Ways!

2010-12-13T06:51:00.000-08:00

No, I am NOT Elizabeth Barrett Browning nor William Shakepeare. I don't have the gift of poetry...not that I've tried to develop, anyway.

My only qualification to write this particular post is that I DO LOVE CHRISTMAS. This is my most favorite holiday and time of year of all.

There's no exact telling when Jesus, The Christ, was born; but this is the day that early Christians chose to celebrate His birth. No matter the original reason for choosing this date, I believe that God has truly made this day to be a magical time for humanity. Joseph of the Old Testament told his brothers, upon forgiving them, that what they meant for evil for him, God made into a blessing for His people. I believe it's time to put aside the bickering about why early Christians chose this particular day (including the encroachment of Pagan celebrations in order to win converts to Christianity), at least for one day. No matter what mankind does in God's Name, His Power cannot be diminished or contained when it is, or becomes, His Will and Purpose.

My perception of Christmas has changed over the years and, I must say, it's for the better. It's easy to lose sight of what Christmas is all about when we become overwhelmed with the commercialism and materialism of this holiday. When all is said and done, what DOES Christmas mean?

My pastor preached a wonderful sermon this past Sunday about John's Gospel and it's perception of Jesus' birth. The other Gospels come from various human perspective, but John's comes more from how God sees the picture. What God saw was a world of darkness. A world enveloped in sin and its consequences of that sin. God shined the Light upon this world through His Word, the Creator, the Man. Some knew Him, others did not. Some received Him, others did not. Of those who did receive Him, tho, they became sons of God, even those who believed upon His very Name. As children of God, Christians are able to become and continue to be that salt and light of the world through Him. He lived so that when He died and rose again, we may live eternally from the consequence, guilt, and condemnation of sin...it is free to anyone who asks Him into their heart, in faith believing, that He is their Lord and Saviour. God's love is complete in Jesus.

This is a very abbreviated summary such that I've not done it any justice, but that sermon spoke to me. Working in a materialistic and commercialistic atmosphere for so many years has jaded my spirit in times past. Other retailers know precisely what I mean here. I am happy to be reminded how to return to my roots and better enjoy my moments of Christmas no matter what anyone else is doing.

The Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke proclaim wonderful news as prophesied by Isaiah. The King of kings, Lord of lords, Prince of Peace, Wonderful, Counselor, Govenor, etc. The magnificence of God was embodied into that of a human being. What a glorious celebration! No wonder the hosts of heavens were said to have sung as they welcomed His birth! :)

M-A-N-Y traditions have come along in the annual celebration of Jesus' birth. Many of those traditions have roots in pagan worship or observations. However, just like there's a version of a flood story in many religious cultures, there's a special view of some of these traditions that make them Christian.

This is my favorite time of year as we get together with family and some friends. We've had some great years celebrating. We've had some not-so-great years celebrating Christmas. But by golly, we CELEBRATED Christmas!
LOL, I remember one Christmas when I was in my teens, we always got together with our neighbor/family friends. We always did an "all-day" thing when we got together for holidays. This particulary year we were ALL miserably sick. I mean A-L-L of us. We figured that we might as well all enjoy our creeping crud together, I guess. We all had various stages of colds and flu~~most of us couldn't stop sneezing and coughing. So we sit at the table, huddled in our blankets, robes and coats, trying to play some kind of game (I forgot what game we were playing~~bingo, Monopoly or Yatzee~~doubt we tried to play cards that day, but who knows), and Mom had several timers go off at various intervals as we passed the medicine around. Looking back, that was pretty insane, and I seriously doubt we'd ever do that again. However, also looking back, even tho none of us felt human, it was kinda neat that we were all sharing the misery together while trying to make light of it together. We don't get together much anymore. We've all kind of drifted apart into parts of town unfamiliar to the rest of us, but we do call each other up from time to time. :)

My favorite thing to do for Christmas is sing. I LOVE Christmas music!! I love the traditional hymns, the kooky hits, the hip and jazzy contemporaries, and the classic Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole types. My favorite Christmas carol to hear is Carol of the Bells. I honestly believe that I could never tire of that song. If someone gave me a CD recording of all the different versions of Carol of the Bells, I would be totally tickled pink, I love it THAT much! : D A few of my favorite songs to sing are Silent Night, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Holy Night, many other hymns; Deck the Halls, Let It Snow, Do They Know It's Christmas Time, that crazy song that mixes greetings of Hanukkah and Christmas (think Adam Sandler did it??), and others. I have a Celtic Christmas CD that my late mother in law had that is incredibly beautiful to listen to, in my most humble opinion, of course! ;)

Is there such thing as too much baking during the Christmas holidays?? I haven't reached that point yet. :} Part of it is due to baking goodies is something I'm pretty good at (so I've been told, lol), and the other part is that the weather is FINALLY conducive to baking!! : D I avoid baking or cooking as much as possible when it's hot outside (which is almost 11 months out fo the year, lol), but when the winds blow that blue northern into my territory (it happens occasionally!), it's time to light up the oven! : D

I love to decorate for Christmas, but I am not seeking to be on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens...it ain't that type of home! I've got Christmasy things going thoughout the house, and like most homes, the Christmas themes grow each year. My favorite decoration for my home, tho, is Love. God loved us so much He sent His only begotten Son to reconcile us back to Him, in a tiny baby who grew into His role as Saviour of the world. I've got a few nativities at home. Wouldn't mine more. I can probably find a place for them. :) The peace of the Christmas day is phenomenal to me. It doesn't really matter why this day was chosen, but I believe we can all enjoy this moment of peace and good tiding to man. Pray for peace, let peace begin with me.

There is much more I can write, but for now, this'll hafta do. It's at least a small glimpse into my Estelleworld. There is much I can write about different elements of Christmas that I enjoy. Perhaps I'll attempt to write them next Christmas. Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I wish every one of you a most wonderfully blessed and Merry Christmas! I pray that all of you experience a 3 John 2 New Year!

The Scroungier You Are...

2010-11-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

...the more likely you'll hafta interact with other people. Why, oh, why have I not learned this yet?? Ugh. You guessed it, I did it again. :O

Don't tell me that I'm the only one on this earth who has done this, either. Most of you would be lying.

I am not particularly a morning person. I'm more of a night person. Therefore I tend to stay up most nights later than I should. This pushes my wake up time a little later the next morning, obviously, lol. Most times I don't need to be at work until later in the morning, so typically I think I'm doing good to have clothes on, shoes on, and maybe swipe a brush thru my hair.

Thankfully I wasn't at my most scroungy self, and thankfully my interaction with cheerful, casual-businessy dressed moms this morning was rather brief, but the horror still lingers for some time, lol. : }

I had just dropped the boys off at the front of the school, and I started to drive off when I hear a knock at my driver's window. I saw them b/f I drove up, but I thought they were in their own little meeting. They greeted me w/ their beautiful smiles, wishing me a cheerful good morning with a donut, while they hand me a flyer about the next PTO meeting this coming Friday night. I was utterly embarrassed. I mean, usually I can kind of stand off a bit so that I don't wipe out the entire parent congregation w/ my lethal morning/coffee breath. Not this time. They were literally face-level with my truck, and awfully close, too. I held my breath for as long as I could, tho I'm sure my noxious fumes reached them as I left. The exchange took place less than 30 seconds, but I'm sure my Medusa horror lasted them a lifetime. It's a good thing I didn't have last night's makeup on, too! That would've elevated me to a whole new horror.

As I drove away, I saw that the moms were still standing. But I wonder if they have my license plate memorized by now. My picture today could've easily made "Most Wanted" so they could lock me away...at least 'til I could make myself decent and fit for society again. :)

The Season of Thanks

2010-11-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

"In every thing, give thanks."

As the year 2010 spirals to its end, we approach a particularly special time of year for many of us Americans. It seems like once Halloween is gone, we turn around and are making plans for Christmas! This is by far my most favorite time of year. :)

We have made it through another year with a roof over our head, food on our table, health in our bodies (nothing a little Claritin or Robitussin can't handle, anyway, lol), clothes on our backs (and fronts, lol), gas in our vehicles, paychecks in our bank, and a home for my spirit. I am indeed full. I am indeed blessed.

There are so many people experiencing some source of sorrow and pain this year, however. Some people have lost their homes, too ma-ny have lost their jobs which supported their families, some have lost their only means of getting to work, others have to decide whether to put food on the table or take medicine to help them function~~an inordinate amount of people feel their only choice is to live in pain because they have no insurance. Numerous others have lost loved ones in this world this year. Some of these precious people are fighting demons no one else can see; their symptoms cry out for help. Unfortunately, while many people are contemplating suicide, some have succeeded.

While this season should be a season of joy for most of us, obviously it's a season of pain and sorrow for far too many others. Looking back on our darker hours, I can't tell you how thankful I am for the people who reached out to us and blessed us with things we needed and leads to help us get on our feet. My boys have been blessed with Christmas presents from kind strangers when we could not afford anything for them. I am thankful for some neighbors who dropped off a bag of groceries for us so that we would not go hungry. I am thankful for doctors who had compassion on us and didn't charge us for needful medicines for the boys. I am thankful for my cyber friends who gave me a kind word right when I needed to hear them most. I am sorry to lose my parents-in-law, but God gave us the means, through their deaths, of getting us a wonderful home that we can call our own. I am thankful for my new neighborhood~~it is finally starting to feel like home. I genuinely believe God placed us here~~everything that we've gone through in our darker hours has led us to this place of hope, hope that I readily admit I didn't recognize at first.

"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" Psalm 30:5

This is one of my favorite reminders when I go through difficult times. Life as a Christian does not mean that we have no trouble, that all goes well for us all the time...but our response rests in the hope and trust that God is always, indeed, with us. Jesus said that when we are at our weakest, then is He made strong. Not that Jesus was ever "weak" but Jesus' strength for us becomes more evident in our lives. While we are sometimes authors of our own troubles, our troubles are not always for our benefit, but sometimes for the world to watch us give opportunity to demonstrate our faith. Our faith should be in action. Our faith produces blessings. Those blessings are meant to be shared with others. Our blessings should lift others out of their darkness. Our blessings just might be that seed of faith they need.

Let us remember those who are struggling this year. Let us see if we can help lighten their burdens, if only for a moment. Sometimes that moment is all we need to push through to our breakthrough. Sometimes a bag of groceries is what is needed. Have you looked in your closet lately? Is there something someone else can use now that you're not using? Sometimes a job lead is what will turn their lives around. Sometimes mercy and grace is needed to heal a broken heart. A sympathetic ear and an empathetic heart is the start of a beautiful healing. Let's not forget...a smile and a kind word can be the simplest and yet most priceless offering.

It is not because of the tribulation that we give thanks, it's because of the hope that can be borne out of that tribulation. Tribulation can be what gives you some of the fruits of the spirit. (Galatians 5:22) The time of trouble is indeed sorrowful, but if we can encourage each other to hang in there long enough, the results can be a more powerful faith you never knew you had. That faith is something to celebrate with joy. That joy is what we give thanks for.

"In every thing, give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Election Hangover 2010

2010-11-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

Well, what can we say? No matter if your party won or lost, there is a sense of a hangover~~some made worse by anxiety about what this new election results hold for our nation now; others thankful by the results, but knowing full well that just means there's work to be done; hopefully they are thankful for the opportunity. Time to take that Alka-Seltzer and get to work. For those who have lost and are wondering just what went wrong...time to take that Alka-Seltzer and get to work.

I am thankful that we (Republicans) won the House. I am also thankful that, while we did not win the Senate majority, the loss is very shallow. I pray the Democrats realize that they are on the hot seat just as the Republicans are. I listened to President Obama today. As always, he's saying the "right things", but time will tell if he's blowing smoke or if he's truly finally realizing that the American people are fed up with the way things are currently going. What bothers me is that he keeps saying that he needs to "work harder" to find, reach, and implement solutions to the messes we are in as a nation~~it's my opinion that the problem is NOT how hard he's working, but who's agenda he's trying to implement to solving these problems.
Former President George W. Bush was accused of doing his own thing and not following the will of the people, especially regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but yet President Bush pushed forth his agenda because he thought it was truly the right thing to do based on the information he was given. However, it was incomplete or inaccurate information.
I feel like President Obama is carrying out his own agenda because he truly believes this is the right thing to do for this country. However, I feel like President Obama is receiving (consciously or unconsciously) incomplete or inaccurate information.

There are some good things that are in the "Obamacare" bill. Unfortunately, what good there is in the bill is overshadowed by the mysterious unknown and considerably painful aspects (costs and penalties) of the bill. This is why I feel like the Health Care bill needs to be repealed and started over again from scratch, reformulating the good aspects of the bill into a better one for the nation. I shook my head in utter dismay when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared that we need to pass this 2000+ page bill "...so we can find out what's in it." Saaaay whaaaaaat????????? American populace are warned not to sign anything without having read and understand the fine print. And yet, the majority of our government officials passed this spider web of a monstrosity without having a concrete idea of what all are in this bill. Left alone, it will only be a matter of time before Americans find ourselves in penalty traps and loss of freedoms we currently take for granted.

Having said all this, I must say that presumptive Majority Leader John Boehner has a really rough road ahead of him. He indicated that he understood that the Republican party is on probation by the American people, that it was not a case of embracing the party. I pray that remains on the forefront of his mind as he embarks on this journey. I pray he CAN find ways to work with not only the Democratic party, President Obama, but even other Republicans to get AMERICA'S agenda accomplished. For different reasons, Presumptive Majority Leader Boehner faces the same personal tenacity as President Obama, and I pray that, for the sake of our nation, they can at least put aside their differences, listen, brainstorm, and create a bill that is reflective of the benefit of the people~~no more, no less.

These past two years have revealed a runaway government left to its own device. That followed a few decades of mischievous underminings committed by the government to see what they could get away with. I'm thankful that Americans have awakened, come out and voted, and have demanded the beginning process of restoring the checks and balances of our government which was created "of the people, by the people and for the people."

Election Day 11/2/10

2010-11-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today was the day to vote for the House and Senate seats, along with state governors and whatever local positions need to be filled. I was very surprised that Texas (or my area, anyway) did not have any amendments or proposals to vote on this time around. Made me wanna check somebody for a fever or something.

I voted my candidates. I'm happy to see my congressman on the ballot.
I'm SURE he won his position. I don't remember a senate race in my area. Many of my local positions are held by uncontested incumbents, so there isn't much you can do there.
I'm disappointed in my neighborhood turnout for elections, tho. Coming from a neighborhood which was VERY politically active, I was stunned to see my voter count being so low. The demographics become painfully clear during election times here.

I've done my duty to remind everyone to vote today. Any message board I attended, I made mention of voting. I've come a long way, but I admit I've still got a long way to go in HOW I vote. I'm extremely thankful that I don't live in an area completely driven by negative ads and mud-slinging this time around. My friends in other states have lamented about the smear campaigns of some of their candidates, and it just makes it so difficult to be an objective judge for those elected officials. As soon as I hear a name, I try not to listen to the ads anymore and do my own research and investigation and vote from there.

I am a classic republican. I have very classic conservative views. I believe both parties in all branches of government have miserably failed America these last couple of decades. I greatly appreciate Marco Rubio's comment he made during his acceptance speech:

"We make a great mistake if we believe tonight these results somehow
are an embrace of the Republican Party," Rubio said. "What they are is a
second chance, a second chance for Republicans to be what they said they
were going to do not so long ago."
I pray the Republicans are listening, should they indeed
get their chance to regain control of the House as anticipated. America is
losing patience...and FAST.
We are on the road to utter self-destruction if we do not heed the mistakes made by past civilizations and empires. There is a very real consequence to the unraveling the effects of the Constitution as our Founding Fathers based the government of this nation. Men are to be free, and the government is to be limited. BOTH parties have tampered with its foundation to the point that heightened awareness needs to be made, and our government elected officials need to be held accountable for them.

We'll see what happens. In the meantime, America has its eye on the government. The jobs need to come back. The tax rates need to be subdued, and the entrepreneurs need to be able to redevelop our capitalistic economy. I believe the entire health care bill needs to be scrapped and started over...I don't care WHO has the solution, but the better solution needs to be implemented if we're to turn this country back around.

I have a book that I've not read yet, but it's frequently referred to by quite a few Christian evangelists. I do need to read it, as the reason I acquired it was because I figured it was rather insightful into how our lives are observed today, over 200 years later. The book is THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE by Edward Gibbon. Is history truly destined to repeat itself? If we are not observant of history, then yes, we are in big trouble and just may live long enough to see our own deline and Fall of the American Empire.
I hope that you voted. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the affairs of this country, which is still the greatest nation of the world.

Scariest Thing About Halloween Could Be Mom

2010-10-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for J7. I really do. Not bad enough to go trick-or-treating tonight, tho.
We went to our church's Fun Fall Fest last night, he got to play on the bounce-house obstacle course for almost the entire 2 hours available, with an occasional bounce-house jumping in between, along with four little "carnival" games. He had a blast, was worn out, and crashed before we got home (ya think?? lol).

Tonight my enthusiasm, what little I might could've usually mustered for Halloween, vanished. I could not bring myself to take my little man trick-or-treating. Call me an evil mom, I'm sure I deserve it to an extent. Hubby had hurt his foot earlier last week and was really feeling it today, so it was out for him to take the little guy trick-or-treating. T13 was sick with allergies getting the best of him, and he needs to recover so he can go to school tomorrow.

I don't care for Halloween. Never did. In 2nd grade I was scared witless by a witch who was a leeeeeeeeeeettle too convincing in my young mind, and perhaps I never got over it. Sure, I dressed up and attended a couple of parties, but when I had a say about participating or not, most times I did not. As I got older and could stay out later, I saw costumes that were just horrible. In my opinion, it went beyond wicked to just plain gross and disgusting, and why would I want to be in the thick of it? That's just not me.
As a Christian, I've done my studies about where Halloween came from, the secular and Christian implications of Halloween, traditions collected from other cultures, Pagan celebrations that still go on to this day, etc. It's my opinion that, for the most part, Halloween is a holiday best left alone. There are some interesting and fascinating aspects of Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, etc, but they mean little to me personally. It is my conviction that Christians shouldn't have any business with Halloween, but obviously, that opinion is not widely shared, nor should it be unless the Lord convicts the heart the same way.

Still, we got to go to the Fun Fall Fest last night...doesn't that account for SOME-thing? I mean, he made off with more candy than he can handle (he won't see most of it~~he doesn't function if he gets too much sugar in his system, and most of his candies were colored and flavored sugar confections)
Sigh....no, it didn't count. After all, today was a brand new day from yesterday, and today is "THE" day, Halloween Day, and we just didn't make it out trick-or-treating tonight. Not that our neighborhood is particularly trick-or-treater friendly, and our old neighborhood is a bit sparce nowadays.
Earlier in the day I had planned to take him to another local church-based Fall Harvest Festival, but when I woke up from my nap, I felt horrible and just didn't want to move. What a selfish witch I am. Like I said, scariest thing in my poor J7's life right now seems to be his own mother. :( The most I can say to that is, "Boo, Humboogey.

We read a couple of little stories together, and I think he's on the road to forgiving me, but that will only last long enough for his classmates to share their tall tales about the loot they made off with tonight. : { I'll definitely be on the receiving end of the monster mash.

THE BRITISH ARE COMIN'! THE BRITISH ARE COMIN'!

2010-09-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

The British Bulldogs, that is! ;)
I was greeted this morning with my little guy, J7, telling me while I'm still asleep, that there are two dogs in our yard. My first thoughts were NOT, "Oh, how SWEET!" My first groggy thoughts were, "Oh NO!" J7 is really excited and is trying to get me to show the same excitement as he leads me sleepily to the back door. Then I see them....they are not errant guard dogs prevalent in our neighborhood, but two English Bulldogs with unusual markings. They are wet. They are muddy. I can tell they are newly lost. It's obvious they were brothers. They have thick leather collars, but neither one of them have tags. Reluctantly, I let them into the house so that they could dry off and I could give them a bite to eat.

I was sooooo amazed at how sweet and obedient they were the short time they were here. :) Yeah, they were a bit clumsy, frisky and rambunctious, but when I told them to get down, they immediately got down. They were extremely gentle when hopping up to lean on me, not jumping at all. I was amazed at how gentle they were with J7, because they made a point to stand on their hind legs before attempting to lean on him. They were his height, so they kinda met him face to face. I was proud of my son for not being too startled, but when I told them to get down, they did. They trotted through my kitchen and living room with cartoon-like muddy feet. I got them some leftover cooked meat that I had in the freezer, thawed it out and gave it to them to eat. They each waited patiently to get their portion, which I find unusual.

I wanted Hubby to see them, but he was at work, and he would not be getting off until late afternoon. :( In the meantime, I know that some person, or some family, will desperately be looking for these fine chaps. I know I would be if they were mine. They were well cared for; lovable, docile, and obedient. Time, love, and family developed these dogs, and they need to be returned to their owners as fast as humanly possible.

I called our city's animal services. I told them on the phone that these were special dogs that belong to some one, or some family, who is sure to miss them. These are NOT your typical "strays." We are NOT in any position to keep them under any circumstances, sweethearts they are or no.

They came, and I was so touched by how trusting these particular dogs were. They let the dog catcher walk right up to each of them, let him put the leash on them, and each let him pick them up and into the truck. Bless his heart, one of them was a little more bewildered than his brother; he lay on the ground and was hesitant about letting him pick him up, but he still was not aggressive by any means. The other dog was more excited, with an expression of, "Oh wow! We're goin' for a ride!!"

I pray that those special dogs have found their special people by now. I pray they were chipped and their owners could be found. I pray that they can resume their family togetherness with Kibbles n Bits and Fish n Chips. :)

More Random Thoughts

2010-08-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

That other post was so long, and yet my brain is still racing....

Today was the first day of school for the boys. J7 was excited. He made some new friends, and he liked his teacher. :) T12 is more apprehensive, unfortunately. I mean, 7th grade is a big deal. He's finally feeling it. He was stunned to see his Texas history book, lol. I just smiled as he looked at me so incredulously when he told me how thick that sucker is. Yes, T12, I remember taking Texas history. Also, that wasn't the ONLY hunk of book I had to carry around, almost every single day, to school AND back! Who needed weight-lifting class when I carried a backpack w/ a history book??

There are also "new" discipline issues that blow his mind, such as punishing the whole class over one or two disobedient students. This is one of those things I thought nothing about b/c I experienced that when I was in junior high. Thing is, we had a couple of absolute jerks (keeping this as G as possible, lol) who made classtime disruptive, and the entire class paid for their misdeeds. Growing up, I became aware of this use of discipline in the military...which sometimes has an amazing ability to straighten out the trouble-makers...I ain't talkin' 'bout the disciplinary action itself, I'm talkin' 'bout the resulting PEER discipline, if you know what I mean! I do remember that, like the military setting, after a couple of rounds of class discipline, the trouble makers didn't think it was quite so cool to upset the rest of the group, and there became no need for punishing the entire class for misdeeds of a couple of others.

Little prayer = little power
More prayer = more power
Much prayer = much power

There are a few things I've tried to teach my boys. Life's lessons, if you will:

Say what you mean, mean what you say. (side note~~J7 used to say it this way when he was a toddler: "Mean say! Mean say!!" It brings a smile to Hubby's and my face when we heard it. :) )

Don't tell secrets, and don't tell lies.

If someone is talking badly TO you about someone else, they'll talk badly ABOUT you to someone else, too.

Words have a nasty way of coming back to haunt you. An apology is not always enough.

Think on these things before you speak:

T~~Is what I'm thinking something thoughtful? or is it careless?

H~~Is what I'm thinking about something healing? or is it harmful?

I~~Is what I'm thinking about inspirational? or is it destructive?

N~~Is what I'm thinking about necessary? or is it hurtful?

K~~Is what I'm thinking about kind? or will it cause someone pain?

I don't claim to be the perfect mom. I'm just not. I don't even really consider myself a "good" mom. What I do know, however, is that I love my boys like I love no one else.

I don't claim to be the perfect wife. I'm just not. I don't even really consider myself a "good" wife. What I do know, however, is that I love my husband like I love no one else.

I don't claim to be the perfect daughter. I'm just not. I don't even really consider myself a "good" daughter. What I do know, however, is that I love my parents like I love no one else.

I don't claim to be a perfect friend. I'm just not. I don't even really consider myself a "good" friend. What I do know, however, is that I love my friends like I love no one else.

I don't claim to be a perfect person. I'm just not. I don't even really consider myself a "good" person. What I do know, however, is that my Lord loves me like no one else does. For THAT, I am eternally grateful. : )

God's love for me enables me to love the people around me in ways I'm too personally ignorant to know and show. It's God's love in me that enables me to treat others the way I'd like to be treated. God's love toward me enables me to forgive myself when I falter~~He sees me for me in the times I see myself as an unworthy failure. God's love lifts me out of myself and kicks my hind end to be with someone else in far more real dire straights than I imagined myself to be. His instructions are not grievous, tho they may feel grievous~~feelings don't matter here, the heart is deceived when it relies solely on emotional feelings. He chastens me because I am His daughter, and He loves me. I have become a much better person because of His love. I've still got a loooooooooooong way to go, but I'm excited about what my future holds for me as He shapes me into His appropriate vessel.

I am looking forward to my church's focus for next year. :) I have attended this church for nearly 3 years now, and every church focus we've studied has been a great blessing to me and those around me. :) We are currently studying Extreme Love; the extreme Love that Jesus showered us with, how to understand that love more deeply; and most importantly, how to express it toward others. It's been an awesome experience. :)

So much to do...so little time to do it. I guess it's a good thing all of us have the same amount of time, but there are times I'm sure we'd like just a liiiiiiiiittle bit more? "Please, Sir...I want some more." : } I'm sure there is even more that I can say because there is more that I think, but I think I'll wrap this up for now. It's been a loooooooong day today.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

2010-08-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

There are just so many thoughts running through my head, none of them particularly coherent, just there. Some of them results from emotions, some experiences, some dreams, something someone said, something I've read, some from lack of sleep, some just simply exist.

School starts for the boys 8/23, just a week away from my start of writing this post. I'm saying the word "just" a lot. No telling where this is gonna go. Anyway, the boys are kind of excited, kind of dreading it. Me? I don't know. Sometimes I'm ready for the daily school grind, other days I'm not.

This has been a HOT summer. Too HOT. I realize we've not had "THE" hottest summer ever by any means, but this summer is HOT. I really can't wait for the cold snap of 97 to kick in. What day are we on....16? 17? 18 days straight of OVER 100-degree days??? I'm not interested in being reminded of the oven of 1986. I'm well aware that was the hottest Texas summer in all my Texas existence.

I'm so proud to call myself an American. I thank God, my family and my friends who served in the Armed Forces to protect the freedoms I enjoy here in America. I can't take those brave souls for granted. Maybe that comes from being a military (Army) daughter.

John Hagee has said: "You must USE your freedom to DEFEND your freedom or your LOSE your freedom." Awful lot of truth to this. :( It's a sobering thought to realize that our freedoms are NOT "free"~~sacrifices have been made, people have died, livelihoods have been lost for our very sacred privilege that doesn't exist in any other country.

Freedom OF religion does not mean freedom FROM religion. Right now, evangelical Christians are under fire. Unfortunately, so are radical Islamists (radical Muslims). Whether they want to be or not, Jews are back on the forefront as we have a terrorist prime minster who wants to wipe the Jews and Americans off the map. Unfortunately, Jews are no strangers to wars against other nations, that's been the majority of their existence. However, just as amazingly, the Jews are a peculiar and special people in God's eye, and it would behoove us (Americans) to take note and not abandon her in her hour of need. Not necessarily that manpower will save them, because GOD is sufficient to save them~~AND HE WILL SAVE THEM, but if we are so stupid as to turn our back on Israel (which I pray would be MANY generations later, but fear that's not at all the case), then our fate will fare absolutely no better than any other nation. If we do not defend Israel, God will not see fit to defend us. Many Christians recognize this...all eyes are on Israel.

I am NOT a "homophobe" because I believe the Bible when it says homosexuality is an abomination. I do NOT wish evil or harm to anyone who is struggling or content with homosexuality. Far from it. Some of my friends are gay. I see homosexuality as sin. So is lying. So is murder. So is stealing. So is gluttony. So is witchcraft. So is anything else that God calls sin. However, I don't believe these sins DEFINE the whole person. We ALL have some kind of sin in our lives, if we are ugly and technical about judging ourselves. Christians after God's own heart are FORGIVEN sinners. I believe Jesus truly meets us where we are when we call to Him. Sinners who are deepest in sin enjoy the greatest sense of forgiveness, and I've found they are usually the easiest to forgive others.

I don't understand why certain Muslims are wanting to build a mosque so close to ground zero. I am beyond irritated at Speaker Pelosi for wanting to "investigate" and find out WHO IS FUNDING those of us who DON'T want the mosque there. What???? IT HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH "FREEDOM OF RELIGION" or even about TOLERANCE BUT ABOUT honoring the sensitivity of Americans who have lost loved ones from the terrorist attack on 9/11/2001. Just because you "can" do something doesn't mean you "should." Paul tells us that all things are LAWFUL (unto him--now us) but not everything is EXPEDIENT. Sometimes it'd be better if we didn't participate in what is otherwise "legal." Today, it seems that the envelop is constantly being pushed. There is little respect for common courtesty anymore. Instead of it coming naturally, or being understood, people need to be reminded about why something may or may not be "acceptable" or "respected."
Most of those of us who oppose the mosque being built so close to ground zero DO NOT OPPOSE a mosque built at all, we just farther away, a respectful distance, from the site of ground zero. That is all. What is so difficult about understanding this??? lol, saw a line I think is apropos: "I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just trying to explain why I'm right!"
I understand why some of my Pagan friends seriously mock Exodus 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer (allow) a witch to live." The OT was taken literally and physically and actually killed anyone deemed a witch or otherwise involved in witchcraft. However, upon reading 1 Samuel 15:23, "For rebellion is as the SIN of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry", we get the sense that God does not intend so much for us to literally KILL the body of those who participate in witchcraft, but for Christians to PRAY for the spirit of witchcraft to be removed from that person's life. From Galatians 5:19-21, the works of the flesh are sin against the Spirit of God and manifests itself in adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelling, and such like...none who participate in these shall inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus forgave a thief on the cross. Jesus forgave a woman caught in adultery. Jesus forgave Saul, who murdered Christians. Jesus cast out demons, allowing the person to live and fulfill his mission in them. Some of my friends have been delivered from the powers of witchcraft and are now enjoying the fruits of the Spirit in their lives.

It's time to study American history. What we have learned in school has been quite distorted~~and what's being taught in schools today is even MORE distorted! I'm almost glad that I flunked AH. Well, I didn't flunk it, but I only got enough out of it to regurgitate it back onto some nationalized test. Schools don't have time nor the means to dig into history as we should. As Glenn Beck said on one of his programs, GET TO THE SOURCE of whatever quote you're trying to learn~~get the CONTEXT of what is going on back in those days. Develop an understanding of the time, the people, and the land of the people.

I canNOT sing Come Thou Fount. It is one of THE most beautiful of all hymns to my soul, but at the same time, I cannot bear to hear it. I develop a SERIOUS case of Niagra Falls syndrome whenever I hear that hymn. The verse that opens the floodgates is: "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood." To me, that makes His atonement for me extremely personal and at the core of my heart/spirit.

I have sooooo much cleaning to do!! ((speaking of sin/spirit of uncleanness! lol)) Cleanliness has been put on the back burner this summer. I'm looking around my house and find it's TOO MUCH chaos!! It happens sometimes! ;) My boys will be in school soon, and I've made myself quite a list. Wonder how long it'll take me to get it done...I'll be done much sooner when I get off this blog! :}

This post has taken me a full week to write. It's been a busy week last week, and I'm MAKING time to see its end.

Speaking of making time for something, the Lord provoked me last night via my 7yo son. My J7 got my attention last night. He actually asked me if I could read the Bible in an hour. Oh, my!! Bless his heart! :O I had to honestly tell him that I've not even accomplished reading it in a YEAR, much less in an HOUR!! I asked him if he wanted to try to read the Bible in a year, and his response was a very enthusiastic NOD and yes. Wow. I will get him a 16-month calendar (need to refresh mine, too) and we will post on the calendar when we read together. For all my spiritual fumbling around with my boys, I must be doing SOMETHING right! :}

Saw a bumper sticker on a Hummer last week that said: "Yes, this is my truck. No, I won't help you move." Maybe he gets that a lot? ;)

A black kitty has adopted us. She's been with us for a couple of weeks now. She is extremely affectionate. She can sit on laps for hours if we let her! She makes for great difficulty in typing on computers, tho. ;) She seems really attached to every one but T12, he's too nervous around her.

Let's see, first wave of forms are filled out, lunches are packed, clothes are laid out. Gas is in the truck (you'd be amazed at how important that is, even when the school is only a few feet away!), and here I sit at 1 o'clock in the morning typing away like a fool. :} Six hours will pass waaaaaay too quickly!!

I'm looking forward to the day when I can buy QUALITY clothes for myself for greater QUANTITY of money. Tried to do a little shopping today and it just didn't work out for me. Grrrr.

On this note, I believe I will simply say a prayer for the Lord's favor to prepare friends for our students, stamina for the teachers, and a continuous hot coffee for the parents to enjoy sans children! Maybe it won't hide in the microwave so often tomorrow. :)

Blessings to all of you,
Estelle

The Metamorphysis of My Son

2010-07-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

I can't get over the change that has come over my older son, T12. In another month or so, I'll be calling him T13. Not only has he grown taller over this summer, but he is really in the process into developing into quite a young man. I must say that while the process was difficult at times, so far I'm liking the results of that change.

I've always said that each stage in a child's life brings a new blessing, a new discovery, a new accomplishment, etc. It's not that past stages did not have their moments; FAR from it! The joys of watching my babies while they're babies was just as intense as watching T12 develop into a young man.

I've told T12 many times that while I was never a male, and never will be, I HAVE been a child, I HAVE been a teen, I HAVE been the older sibling, and I've got some idea about what goes through a tween's mind. He didn't believe me, until I called him on some attitude he was giving me as his mom. I reminded him that he has not experienced anything "new" that another teenager hasn't already experienced at one point or another. I've also told him that even if *I've* not been the one who has experienced certain things about growing up, his Daddy has. (oops, I suppose he'd get upset if I called his Dad "Daddy" on here...oh well, one of the prerogatives of being a mom, right? ;) He flip-flops between calling his father Dad and Daddy anyway, so there.... lol)

We've had some trials, we've had some heated discussions, and I'm very certain there will be more and deeper ones to come. As I said at the beginning of this, as a parent, I'm not fond of the process of getting him to this point, but I'm quite pleased with the results so far. Obviously, as human nature, there are some personality issues I'd like to see changed, but what I can't do, I know that if it's important to God, He can change him even more.

Right now, he's as tall as me (which isn't saying too awful much, seeings how I'm only 5'5" tall, lol). He is now wearing glasses which, I must say, gives him a very distinguished look, if I do say so myself! Hopefully he'll be wearing braces soon. He's been more attentive to cleaning up his act overall. He's making some better choices in what he gives attention to. He's slowly putting away his childish things, speaking more like maturely. He's thinking more seriously about what he'd like to explore for when that "grown up" moment arrives. I'm thankful he's developing initiative, becoming more attentive to reading his Bible and trying to apply the Word more. He's getting better about caring about other people, and he even has a kind word to say about his little brother, J7...in the middle of his bickerings with him.

The transformation is a fascinating scene to behold. I thank the Lord that I can see it with my own eyes. I pray that I can endure through the entire process and see good fruits of that process over time.

America's Birthday, 2010

2010-07-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

In a couple more days, it will be America's birthday. I love birthdays! : D There is much to celebrate. But there is much to remember, too. Some of it is good, some of it is not so good. It seems today's Americans are wanting to remember only the excitement of winning our freedom from Great Brittain, and not the toil and sacrifice it took our founding fathers to make it so.

I will not be attending my own church's 4th of July service this Sunday, but I've gotten a little preview of what our celebration will be like. Like many of our pastor's services, this will be a time of introspection as well as celebration.
I feel like God has given me a little note about our personal responsibility that we each have in preserving our freedoms in this nation. I've said many times since President Barak Obama was elected that America as we know it is in danger of being no more. Patrick Henry was a man who saw the true dangers that our new land was facing under Brittish rule. I find it unnerving that we are in danger of running full circle back into the hands of the very people we fought against 234 years ago. China carries the greatest of our current national debt, England carries some of our debt, too. "The borrower is slave to the lender." ... "The rich ruleth over the poor." This is NOT a position we need to be in, not at all. We have become the tail, and not the head. How have we so desperately fallen??
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." Psalm 33:12
America has tossed out God and become its own lord. We had become a rich nation who has lost its wisdom in the Lord, and as a nation we are becoming a fool.
If we are not careful, we will become a nation which battles itself, and a nation against itself cannot stand.
Our main and current warfare is not with any given person or people, but with a political ideology. In an effort to protect our nation, we have allowed our leaders to create legislation (elements of high places) which oppose the standards given by our founding fathers through the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution of the United States of America. We are allowing legislation to pass which weaken us as a whole. We have a responsibility to hold our government accountable, and we are not doing it. It is not too late. We have the greatest means of communication today that was not available centuries ago...write your government officials and make them aware of where you stand. Let us remember with sober minds the sacrifices our founding fathers made to make us an independent nation and be willing to do what we can to rebuild and preserve it.
A pep rally of fireworks and patriotic hymns should encourage us in the spirit. Let us take a moment and sing, Happy Birthday, America!

MISSING: Fascination for TWILIGHT. Can't find it Anywhere

2010-06-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. This is right up there w/ being the only person on this planet who hasn't seen the TITANIC, right? It's okay by me~~doesn't bother me a bit. : }

ANYway...back to my musing....

WHAT is the fascination with the TWILIGHT series?? Even some of my devout Christian friends are into this series, having read the books and seen the movies. My husband, who is not a Christian, is as mystified about this phenomenon as I am (not so much about the overall fascination, but CHRISTIAN fascination). I personally find this disturbing and disheartening. This series is based on vampires, werewolves and other unearthly creatures, and their interaction w/ human beings. These are supposedly "moral" supernatural vampire creatures~~an upscale, more hip and modern, "beautiful" vampire tale that is far more appealing than the vampire movies of Boris Carloff's day. The vampire movies of Carloff's day made it EASY to be disenchanted w/ vampires b/c they LOOKED evil. Even Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE and sequel demonstrated the clinical, shocking, and mostly apathetic "life" of vampires. As disengaged as that "life" is, Hollywood still managed to make that life enticing...the reporter learned absolutely NOTHING from his subject's interview.

However, I believe Satan has deftly honed his craft in making the unearthly seem more appealing and somehow attainable, if only through entertainment. Remember that Satan's other name is Lucifer, as he was an angel of light. He was a beautiful creature. Since his fall from God's grace, Satan's obsession is to tempt mankind away from fellowship with God. He carefully chooses our greatest weaknesses to maximize the results. Since HARRY POTTER, TWILIGHT has become the hottest supernatural epic to hit the book sales, memorabilia, and the screens. The deception is that, while the series may be appealing to our physical senses, I believe it's still inherently evil because it becomes an idol, interrupting and shutting down our fellowship with God.

The Bible is explicit about the spiritual existence of angels and demons and other supernatural creatures. The Bible tells of many known and unknown human encounters with these beings. Matter of fact, Paul warns us in Hebrews 13:1-2 to "Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." At the same time, we are to try every spirit, whether they be of God. If they are not, we are to abstain from them. There is repeated warnings in the Bible to remain from witchcraft and familiar spirits; not "familiar" as in a close friend, but "familiar" as in a demon or evil spirit who answers its master's call. For the most part, there is a separation between our physical world and the spirit world, with God creating the definitive line between them. Why does God lift prophets up "in the Spirit" and show them fantastic images and fantastic dreams? They serve His divine purpose, whatever it may be. Satan, through Hollywood, devises TWILIGHT as a distraction away from God's divine purpose in your life, not only as an idol but as an attractive evil, a lure into sensual darkness. Cinematic creatures are human developed to have a mind of their own, but when that season of sensual darkness ceases, those caught up in that darkness run the risk of having to obey that prince of darkness, separated from God's comfort and pleasure of life.

Perhaps it sounds silly, like the ramblings of a Christian fundie lunatic who needs to get a grip on real life. Fine, so be it. Scoff as you will. As Job basically told his friends, "Listen to what I have to say, then mock me if you must." I believe TWILIGHT has no business entering into the lives of professing Christians who are born again in the Spirit.
MISSING: Fascination with TWILIGHT. Can't find it anywhere. I don't want to find it now.

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

For all my friends who happen to be Moms, fulfill the role of Mom in any way; I pray you had a most blessed day today! : D

I had a wonderful and quiet day today. :) Yesterday, my guys took me out to dinner b/c it would've been too crowded for my taste today.
Today's sermon demonstrated an Extreme Mother's Day, talking about the devotion Mary, mother of Jesus, had for her son...such devotion that we see her at her son's foot of the cross. He completely fulfilled his role as her Son by making sure that his beloved disciple would take care of his mother. Why not his half-brothers? They were not there in His hour of need. His mother and brethren are those who did the will of God. His mother happened to be not only his biological mother, but his spiritual mother as well.
How many of us are not only biological mothers, but mothers in the sense that we are THERE for our children? devoted to their well-being? ready to wear whatever hat is necessary to make their lives as meaningful as possible~~ready to meet life's challenges and (from Christian perspective) be ready for God's service for whatever He has in mind for them. How many of us have had to undo hurts, steer children through life's ups and downs, be their cheerleader when they are unsure of the paths they take, celebrate when milestones are met, etc? There's a lot that goes into a Mom and to do the job well.

What are some of your memories about your mom as a child? Are there funny memories? Scary memories? Do you have memories that you hope you don't hafta live through in the eyes of your own children? What are some of your memories as a Mom today? I'm sure the list could go on! :)

I pray you didn't hafta choke down a horrible breakfast with a smile, didn't hafta clean up an impossibly monstrous mess, didn't hafta duct-tape any suddenly broken appliances, didn't hafta wear clothing you wouldn't wear if you were blind, and most importantly...didn't hafta settle an argument about who you loved more....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! : D

All kinds of weird political news

2010-05-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

This week seems to be overstocked with head-shaking news. The only reason I happen to know about what's on the news is b/c Hubby loves to watch the news. Left up to me, my news inlet would be extremely limited. The news does not fall under Philippians 4:8-9, my favorite verse to nourish my overall wellbeing.

What on solid earth is Ahmadinijab doing in the United Nations holding a position for women's rights (yeah, you read right, see this: http://www.eyeontheun.org/ or, if don't mind Fox News version, here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/04/ahmadinejad-defends-irans-seat-womens-commission/ ) ??? How does he get off saying women in his country are "highly respected?" A woman gets stoned for having TAN LINES, and yet they are "highly respected?" I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone here. I realize that today's Western (European as well as US) society, diplomacy and attitudes are quite different than those of the Middle East (then and now), and from our perspective quite oppressive and restrictive. For all our faults in this nation, I still believe the United States of America still remains one of the greatest nations in which to live. I thank God I live here. (...but I digress, lol)
Now, at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, that's more representative of the man, Ahmadinijab, we know and detest. I don't care one bit for the politics of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, but I give credit where credit is due...I'm glad to see that she isn't afraid to address this maniac for who he is. You can't be a shy wallflower in her position. She's an extremely powerful and assertive presence. You can bet he's just getting started, and so is she. May the best woman win. >: )

Also in the news is Faizal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen from Pakistan, who decided to use his American citizenship against us. http://dnainfo.com/20100504/manhattan/faisal-shahzad-claimed-work-on-wall-street-instead-he-lost-home-foreclosure How tragic. He is just one of many examples of "bad apples" causing a growing distrust between legal immigrants and law enforcement. While he's from another part of the globe, his actions heighten anxiety of our growing IL-legal alien trouble from south of the American border. Unfortunately, every time we look around, legal immigrants from any country are being eyed with suspicion and distrust, and unfortunately they don't feel the freedom we have in this country as guaranteed by our Constitution.

Speaking of suspicion and distrust....
Arizona's state illegal immigration laws http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf and are causing quite a ruckus across the nation as well as Arizona. There are many tweaks necessary to make these laws successful, but I believe they're off to a great start. SOMEBODY has got to do something!! However, not only are Arizona's American citizens understandably upset by what these laws potentially bring~~chiefest of issues is the impromptu demand for possible immigrants to have their papers at hand at all times in case they are stopped by local and state law enforcement for unrelated issues; but nationally, there is question about its Constitutionality. Immigration control is supposed to be federal responsibility, but our national government has largely ignored the cries of Southern-Border Americans demanding that border security be one of their top priorities. Constitutional or not, I don't blame Arizona one bit for initiating state legislation in a vigilant attempt to reclaim our country...if a few more border states follow suit, our federal government just might take notice! >:( I remember about 5 or 6 years ago when a state representative sent a survey for me to fill out, and one of the questions was, "Do you think defending our borders is important?" I wrote out to the side, "YES, did you really have to ask this???" I know it was probably not "his idea" to put that on there, except to present our concerns to his higher-ups, but I still couldn't believe that the question even HAD to be asked. Look at us now. We're over run by IL-legal aliens and our government, is way too slow in responding.

Oh, and how about those California high school students who were requested to remove their American flag shirts that they wore during Mexican and Mexican-American Cinco de Mayo day at school?? http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/06/california-students-sent-home-wearing-flags-cinco-mayo/ These are AMERICAN students in AMERICA wearing AMERICAN FLAG clothing on a day that happens to be on highly-celebrated day for Mexican and Mexican-Americans IN OUR COUNTRY. Yes, I can understand why the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are a little put off by this, and to a point I can understand why the school officials demanded these students to remove these articles of clothing, but let me repeat: THESE ARE AMERICAN STUDENTS IN AMERICA wearing AMERICAN FLAG clothing.
When in Mexico, do as the Mexicans do; when in America, do as the Americans do.
If we were in MEXICO and they were celebrating their holiday, I would greater understand not wearing American-inspired clothing in THEIR country at this time. If we were in another country celebrating our Independence Day by wearing American flag-inspired clothing, I would also EXPECT our host nations to be able to wear clothing reflective of THEIR nation at the same time. America is a melting pot of multiple cultures and heritage. Americans celebrate MANY different festivals, celebrations, observations, cultures represented from ALL OVER THE WORLD...but we're AMERICANS FIRST.

I'm praying that we can reclaim the America we used to know and love. In some ways, we've come a long way; in others, I think we need to go back in the time machine and recapture the ideals that made us Americans in the first place.

If interested, adjustments made to the AZ Immigration legislation:
Part 1: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/anti-illegal-immigration-law-part-1/
Part 2: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/anti-illegal-immigration-law-part-2/
Part 3: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/text-of-arizona%E2%80%99s-anti-illegal-immigration-law-%E2%80%93-part-3/
Part 4: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/text-of-arizona%E2%80%99s-anti-illegal-immigration-law%E2%80%93part-4/
Part 5:

"MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!"

2010-04-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

This is one of J7's cutest little phrases when he was learning to talk, and it gets Hubby and me giggling every time we think of it. :) My mantra with the boys growing up, and I still say it to this day (tho not as often), is "Say what you mean, mean what you say." T12 didn't repeat that much while growing up, but I had to say that a LOT to J7. I had to make him repeat what I said to make sure he understood what I said, and in this particular instance, "Say what you mean, mean what you say" somehow turned into, "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!" J7 gave his older brother some SERIOUS grief over that little four-word phrase, lemme tell ya!

Now comes the tough part...getting J7 to balance the literal with the general. Ugh. That boy sees EV-ER-Y-THING in black and white. There is no gray. No rainbow colors, either, come to think on it. ;) Figure of speech means absolutely nothing to him. He does not take jokes and pranks well, either. Okay, so maybe I have soooooomething to do with that. Sigh. I don't like jokes that potentially hurt feelings. I don't like them done to me, and I don't like them done to other people. J7 just takes it a ((biiiiiiig)) step further. The Bible talks plenty about joking around (you can find "jest" and "sport", as in meaning "fun", in your STRONG'S concordance), but there are some genuinely funny things that happen with words, especially if they're homonyms or homophones. He finds many things funny, especially if it's in the bodily noise department (I know, groan, lol), but if he gets the idea that you're trying to trick him with words, you are in for a whollop-packed, pint-sized showdown. After all, "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!" means "SAY what you MEAN, and MEAN what you SAY!"

It's a curious observation what he might do with this perspective. I have no idea if I have the best lawyer on my hands, or the absolute worst one you can imagine. : P
I mean, I know I'm a "wordee" myself, and from time to time I might inappropriately pick you apart about words, most times w/o even realizing that I'm doing it. ((for that, I'm horribly sorry!)) However, I'm also finding that I seem to be more scatter-speeched than ever before. I'm SERIOUS!! I feel like that I can't get a sentence together w/o inadvertently mixing up certain details in what I want to say, or I got off into a seemingly unrelated tangent. It's as frustrating as it can be! :( I know lots of parents and teachers end up naming the wrong child b/c they're talking to one while looking at another, or people will mix up a couple of words to make new ones. It goes beyond that. At any given time I might mix up some thoughts as well as words and come out with an entirely different speech altogether. My mind constantly scrambles through "the best way to phrase such-n-such", and I more often than not end up with stuff that makes no sense no matter how you slice it, dice it, or even julienne fry it. That is hardly an example of "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!"

Can you tell I do better at writing than talking?? At least I have to THINK for a long time how I want to say something, and I've got that ever blessed BACKSPACE key. : D I tell you, that's the first key that gets worn off my keyboard, lol. I thank God every day that I'm born in THIS age and time so that I don't have to spend so much of my writing time w/ the correction tape (although I should've bought stock in it the 5 years I typed!!) or the White-Out (another company I was too young to buy stock in b/c I was doing high school research papers, lol). I can spend my 3 hours to make my "perfect" two-paragraph story, lol. THAT most times ends up saying what I mean so that what I mean IS what I'm saying. : ) J7 will be happy to know that, lol. : )

It's Official, I'm a Neighborhood Mom

2010-04-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

As an adult, I always thought it would be neat to be a neighborhood mom. A place where my sons' friends would feel welcome, a place they might enjoy congregating, a place where they could feel safe. So far, after fast forwarding a few years, I've not been disappointed.

When we lived in apartments, we occasionally had T12's friends come over and play, and those friends would play w/ J7, too, including him in their games even though he was very young at the time. Those were very sweet kids. :) I always liked having a reason to have treats for them, even though we were basically broke during those days.

We moved into a neighborhood completely unfamiliar with us, and it took a little while, but gradually T12 made friends with classmates who lived right around us (one across the street from us, AND he has a little brother J7's age!), and occasionally they'll pop by to visit. Now that J7 has been in school almost 2 years now (the first year we were here was very tough :( ), he's getting his OWN friends to come over and play! Plus, last year, a new family w/ a little boy about J7's age moved across the street, giving us an isosceles triangle effect, lol! They're ALL basically having a great time, and it's a joy to be a part of their lives.

We now have a "neighborhood phone list" hanging on my cabinet door, complete with friends' parents phone numbers. We're all just a phone call away. :) Kinda feel a little like June Cleaver, but without the domestic goddess part...don't know how I'd deal with an Eddy Haskell, anyway, lol. :}

What is funny is when all these friends migrate from house to house w/i the neighborhood, and it's like we parents have walkie-talkies keeping up with them all. Love it! :) We've only had one incident in which T12 and his friend "forgot" to tell us where they were going, and when I called friend's mom to alert her about our boys, the hunt was ON! By the time they wandered back over to my house 45 mins later, those two boys got "The Lecture" about wandering off w/o notifying me (or whoever's mom they were visiting) where they intended to go. All is good now! :)
Gone are the days in which children could just wander off, doing whatever spontaneous ideas that crossed their minds...the good as well as the not-so-good ideas (lol)...just so they show up at supper time. Times are becoming weirder and weirder by the hour. We live in an age of virtually instant information, which can be great and not so great at the same time. We live in an age in which safety means diligently being accountable for our whereabouts. As my momma always said, "I don't care what you're doing...I may not even like or approve what you're doing...but I gotta know where my family is!" Daddy was quite an unwitting teacher for that lesson! Yikes! :O As an adult, NOW I know what she means. Yeah, I showed up at her house totally sauced one morning (yes, someone dropped me off at "home"~~while inebriated, her house directions was a lot easier to explain than to my own, lol), but she knew I where I was the night before. She was just happy I was safe, although dissapointed in the condition I was in, and knowing that in 4 hours I needed to show up for work in MUCH better shape! I hope that if a neighbor kid didn't feel comfortable talking to their parents about serious issues, I wouldn't mind helping as I can. Somehow its easier to talk with someone more objective than your parents. Children today have it TOUGH. I'm not talking about the generational differences in technology and materialism~~that's a WHOLE new post! >:D What I'm talking about is that it seems like parents today are soooooo caught up in trying to survive in this life, or so caught up in their careers or addictions of their lives, that they've lost sight of truly caring for these children. I see a growing trend in SAHMs and WAHMs, but right now, it's not enough to bring these children back home to safety. I realize that I'm not always going to be the desirable safety net for my boys, but I pray that they have SOMEONE of my friends (most of them their friends' moms/parents) who they'll feel they can trust. I pray that they'll always have friends whose parents I could trust to let them lean on w/o judging them as quickly as a subjective parent might or would.

I pray that my boys continue to pick good friends, and to continue to be wary of not-so-good people. So far I like being a neighborhood mom. Then again, I've not hit the true teen years yet! Maybe another mom will temporary adopt him/them if mine go out of my league of momma patience and understanding? I did not grow up with male influence in my life. As my momma always said..."boys are suuuuuuure different.... Maybe another's handful would click with me better, being the more objective party? I don't know. We've all got pretty green grass right now, so I don't think it's gonna be a case of the grass is always greener on the other side. :}

Resurrection Day 2010

2010-04-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

((for whatever reason, I kept this in my draft folder. I guess I had this vision of adding to this, lol. well, this is what it is...on to the next blog entry, lol. : } sorry, folks!))

May you each have the most blessed Resurrection Day today. Today marks a day of reflection for me. My Saviour, Jesus Christ, was crucified, died, was buried, and was the first resurrected soul who opened the gates of heaven for the rest of us. Have a most Blessed Easter.

Who was it that is famous for saying, "And now, the REST of the story?" LOL. ;) Finally getting to the rest of this post (only Wednesday after Easter Sunday...at least it's this WEEK, right? ;) ). We'll see if I can complete it now, lol.

RESURRECTION DAY 2010

"Taste and see that the LORD is good."
No, not talkin' 'bout those chocolate bunny ears, Jelly Belly jellybeans, deviled eggs, ham, lamb, roast beef, hot cross buns, or any other food treat; tho they do have their place, lol. : }

The Lord IS good to me. I am so glad that I allowed Him to be Lord and Saviour of my life. I have had to make some decisions in my life, and while that process hurt and I felt like a fumbling failure, the results of those decisions have had the greatest impact on my life.

A HELL of a Message

2010-04-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

It is not often that I speak of hell. However, belief in hell and heaven is critical to understanding my relationship with, and my faith in, My Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Understanding what He endured upon his death for me, for YOU, for each and every one of us--past, present, and future, fills my heart with unspeakable wonder and joy. The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified, had died, was buried, was resurrected, and IS alive today, giving us the Holy Spirit to help us live this crazy world called LIFE. Today marks Jesus' descent into the place of, the torment of, and the spirit of, hell.

Hell is a hell of a place.
It's a REAL place. What scientists call the core of the earth is actually, Biblically speaking, the location of hell. Prov 15:24; Is 14:9; Amos 9:2, plenty of others. The abyssal depths of the sea contain creatures that live under phenomenal and rather "unearthly" circumstances. The Bible talks about worms that never die. Mark 9:44. Jonah talks of the deep depth of darkness in the pit in chapter 2. Jesus tells us repeatedly that hell contains unquenchable flames and fire (Luke 16:27-30; Mark 9:43-44.

Hell is a place of torment and torture, containing unending and unrelieved pain, trouble and sorrow. Whatever "hell" you believe you are experiencing here on this earth will be incomparable to the ETERNAL hell described in Luke 16; 2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 116:3. We have the promise that whatever sorrow you're experiencing now, there WILL be an end to it; sorrow it but for a time; weeping may endure for a night, but JOY cometh in the moring. There will never be joy in hell.

Hell wasn't even originally for humans, but for Lucifer, the one-third of the angels who followed him, and it grew (enlarged) to accommodate the wicked and the nations who forget God. Psalm 9:17; Isaiah 14:12-15; Mt 25:41.

We humans are creatures who each bear a body, a soul, and a spirit. Our bodies are destined to die on this earth. Our bodies were used to function in this world of earth and are barely (if at all) conscious, or aware, of the spirit realm. Once our bodies die, our soul and spirit are separated from the body, and we become more aware of the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm then becomes more real and permanent than our physical realm on earth. Our physical realm is the place where we MUST make the decision to believe on the Name above all names, Jesus Christ. Choose ye THIS day whom you will serve. Joshua 24:15. If we fail to make that decision, confessing with our mouths to men and believing with our hearts that He truly was the Son of the Living God, who was crucified, was buried, was resurrected, and is alive forevermore, then that decision WILL BE MADE FOR YOU upon your death as a rejection of God's only begotten Son and His gift of eternal life in heaven. I don't want that for anyone!! God doesn't, either.

Ye must be born again. Don't let Jesus' atonement for your sins pass you by! Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to die for our sins and became the sacrifice for all of mankind; giving us a new start in life with God. He wants His children to want to be with Him. He is THE Father of all fathers, and we become His children throughout eternity. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life...ETERNAL LIFE. NO man can come to the Father but by Me. There are many roads that lead to Jesus, but there is only one road that leads to God the Father. There are many gates to hell. The paths to hell are broad, and many people follow after that path. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Prov 16:25. Let Jesus shine His Light, His Goodness, His Love, onto that narrow way. Put away that old man, and let Jesus make you into a new creature. Let His work begin in you.

HR 3590, The Cancer of America

2010-03-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

***WARNING~~~If you are easily offended in the political arena, this post may not be for you to read. Please feel free to bypass this post and return when I have something friendlier to write.***

The much touted, much debated, much heated, and most passionately fought HealthCare Bill passed last night at a very, very narrow margin: 219 to 212. This was not a sweeping victory, and I pray that the proponents of this bill realize this. Bart Stupak was the holdout vote until he foolishly fell for President Obama's "promise" to write an executive order (which can easily be overturned, and I'm having trouble understanding why he thought it would hold) against tax payer funding for abortions. It's an unequally-yoked promise w/ an unequally-yoked heart. I do not care for President Obama's leadership so far. He's a politician, not a national leader. President Obama is a smooth-talking, charismatic, emotionally-charged promise-making politician. While he is basically stoic and even robotic in speech and mannerism, he thrives on others' emotionally-led and emotionally-driven rally to change. He has already had an agenda in his head, he just needed the nation to join in the orgy. He, like Pelosi, will not stop until they accomplish what they set out to do; this is under the guise that it's for the American people. Those who desired the change he has proposed and is still proposing are not THINKING of the implications of what his changes will bring. We will visit that web soon enough. When the frenzy dies down, I'm seriously afraid the Americans who voted for this healthcare change may find themselves in compromising situations and Catch-22s in more than one area of life. I do pray I'm wrong, but God gives us the spirit of discernment, and just because it sounds good, maybe even looks good, "makes sense", it doesn't mean it IS good. The bill itself has been overhauled for over a year, it's over 2000 pages long, it hasn't been critically reviewed to its fullest, has grown more corrupt by political interests, it's been vehemenently protested by MANY Americans because of the afore-mentioned reasons, and yet it's now passed. What is this country in for now? What tie-ins did our politicians put into this rat's nest of a bill that has nothing to do w/ what is good for the average American? What kinds of hurdles are going to meet the Americans who try to use health care as defined by this bill? What is going to bite us in the rear when we are met with, "Well, you WANTED this!" This tumor of a health care bill has grown and metastasized in areas other than health care, and growing with each promise given to the politicians. Who is going to remove the tumor from the American people?? Not everyone wanted this!!! As a matter of fact, opponents were just as passionate as proponents about this health care bill, we simply didn't have a voice strong enough to overturn it. What do we have now?

Before anyone jumps me for "not understanding" the need for this bill, let me just point out that I agree that some kind of health care reform is in order. However, I firmly believe that this bill (HR 3590) should been scrapped, killed, and buried and burned. I believe that some things learned from HR 3590 should've been a fresh start for a less complicated, more understandable, less bureaucratic, and basically more beneficial health care bill for America. As it is, we must pray for the benefit w/o the corruption that may be attached to it.
My husband and I have been w/o insurance for 10 years. The boys are either on Medicaid, CHIPS, or nothing, depending on our income qualifications of the moment. Our income, which is erratic, puts us right on the poverty level or just above it. We are forever on the border of qualifying or not qualifying (more often) for insurance. We fall between making just enough to knock us out of eligibility but not enough to acquire our own insurance, or we might be able to squeak 6 months of coverage at a time; most times they fall between the crack. Logically, it seems like I'd be jumping up for joy that this bill passed. If I was only thinking of immediate gratification, I might feel that way. However, I try to look beyond the current circumstances and see the long-term, and the long-term issues of this current bill are yet to be seen.

When President Obama was first announced as our President in November 2008, my heart sank. His spirit troubles me greatly...still does. This bill, and the way it came to be, brought back yet another remembrance of my spiritual slap in the face from that election moment.
This is from 1 Samuel 8, KJV:

And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made
his sons judges over Israel.
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of
his secon, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside
after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves
together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah.
And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons
walk not in thy way: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give
us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, hearken unto the voice
of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee,
but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
According to all the works which they have done since
the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they
have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet
protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall
reign over them.
And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the
people that asked of him a king.
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that
shall reign over you:
He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself,
for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his
chariots.
And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and
captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his
harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his
chariots.
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries,
and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and
your oliveyard, even the best of them, and give them to his
servants.
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your
vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
And he will take your menservants, and your
maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your sheep, and he shall be
his servants.
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king
which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that
day.
Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of
Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us.
That we also may be like all the nations; and that our
king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he
rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto their
voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

I read that passage while listening to the news in the background, and my spirit was sorely troubled b/c I saw our first American king. This health care bill that recently passed is corrupted with the bountiful promises given to our politicians at the expense of the American people (verse 3). I don't believe this is what America is truly ready to embrace. I have a political cartoon image in my mind of Government force-feeding an American citizen this bill and him spitting it out like a baby not fond of peas. I hope the Government has a big enough bib to cover those rejections.

I'm glad to hear that a repeal of sorts is in the works, Texas seems to be spearheading this venture. We still have a chance to make things right, and to make it more usable by everyone w/o the risks involved in the current HR 3590 Health Care Bill. We need to achieve a balance, we need to re-establish and implement the checks and balances our forefathers had the foresight to establish. We need to get rid of the corruption that has taken place in this particular bill, and we must do so NOW. This cancerous tumor of a bill needs to be surgically removed and healing with a new bill needs to begin. Come November, we need to surgically remove those in office who are NOT voting according to constituent will and objectives.

Incompetent Tooth Fairies

2010-03-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

No, we did NOT see THE TOOTH FAIRY movie just yet. However, I don't even think HE could have been much more incompetent than me and hubby. I'm serious. This is one profession that just might need a renewable license!
As you probably figured out, J7 lost his first tooth yesterday at school. :) He'd been wiggling it to death the last few days, and it finally just fell out. He brought it home in a sandwich baggie w/ the teacher's neatly printed words "J's 1st baby tooth." That gave me an idea. We'll just encourage him to put the WHOLE BAG under his pillow so it'll be an easy grab, right?? WRONG. We could NOT have been more wrong.

Okay, T12's tooth missions were basically a cinch to perform. He was on the top bunk, so we just pole vaulted over to his wall and braced ourselves there if we couldn't find our stilts. Slipped an agile hand underneath that fluffy pillow, did the switcheroo, and somehow got back out of his room in perfect peace. If we say so ourselves, we used to be kind of graceful at this maneuver. Hey, we've done this numerous times now (I don't think he has any more teeth to lose, but you never know, I guess, lol) and got the hang of it.

Let's now go to J7. We should've known. ANYTHING THAT WORKED FOR T12 DOES NOT WORK FOR J7, and yet...here we try again.... ((insert rolling eyes and head smacking against a brick wall emoticons))

Unlike T12, J7 is PERPENDICULAR to the wall. That makes things tougher b/c he's kinda longer to reach than T12. I guess we got so used to the pole vault system that we were thrown at a loss as to how to handle the bottom bunk in which he's perpendicular to the wall AND the bed. You read right, he hasn't slept lengthwise on his bottom bunk yet b/c he is short enough to fit in that direction, and he's slept that way since he got out of the crib at 18 months. I got used to laying beside him to read him bedtime stories, so I didn't think anything about it.
There's also the issue of him being a relatively LIGHT sleeper. Not so much that he opens his eyes and is aware of stuff, but he moves around, A LOT when he does move. Most times he's just a hunk of lead until morning, remaining in the same position he went to sleep in.
Note to self...gotta get him a NEW pillow that fluffs!!! Do you have any idea how heavy a self-propelled bowling ball feels on your momentarily arthritic hands??? If I found the bag, I never knew b/c the pain in my hand cancelled whatever mission I had in mind.
Hubby's turn.

He gets this notion to have a flashlight...y'know, one of those weird blue-white lights (LEDs?? not sure). It's not particularly bright but it shines weird. He shines that thing behind J7's head trying to peek under the pillow. He moves that big head o' his again and "looks" straight at hubby. He waits for about 10 minutes b/f proceeding. J7 has been quiet during this time, so we're thinking we've got a chance to find that bag w/ the tooth. He lifts the corner of the pillow, and that bowling ball moves again. He thrashes around a little more, pulls the covers up on himself a little more, and again drops back into deeper sleep...we think. Hubby repositions himself so that he's kinda poised above him. He flashed the light around J7, lifting corners of the covers and pillow, and J7 turns some more. He evidently got a little aggitated in his sleep b/c he outright turned over and there where his shoulder was gleamed that sparkly bag containing that troublesome pearl. Hubby grabbed that okay. Now came the hard part. He was trying to be legitimate about leaving the money under the pillow, J7 had his hands under the pillow at this point. Hubby finally was running out of patience and just put the money beSIDE the pillow. Turns out that worked out perfectly. J7 had an itchy nose or som'n rolled over and the pillow went right on top of the money like hubby planned it there all along.

This is his first tooth. Obviously we're just gettin' started w/ him. :{ Anyone got the Tooth Fairy Manual for Dummies you can give us? We are seriously lacking skill for handling restless sleepers who wouldn't fall asleep at bedtime when he USUALLY did. Of course, part of that could've been my fault. He DID ask me for a glass of warm milk so he could go to sleep. Had I read page 22 of that book, we might've saved ourselves a lot of restless anxiety taking that Tooth Fairy exam.

Winter Olympics 2010

2010-02-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

I used to look forward to the Olympic games, but this year I'm having a really hard time getting into the groove. :( The Winter Olympics have been going on for some time by now. I've caught maybe a grand total of an hour's worth of television spectatorship. One flimsy little hour. Did I watch an AMERICAN do anything?? Oh, wait a minute, I think maybe I did the other night. Whenever figure skating/ice dancing was going on, I caught Rachael, Flatt. She had been skating since she was a toddler, and they showed pictures/videos of her. PRICELESS!!!! Oh, she was such a little baby doll on those skates that were almost as big as she was!! Just finished watching Marai Nagasu win 4th place. Not too shabby at all. She gave it her all tonight and should rightfully be proud of her performance. :) I saw Joannie Rochette the other night and just a little bit ago, and she was beautiful, too. Something more than "ability" carried her through those performances. She lost her mother Sunday, and to have the strength to skate through such passionate grief is short of phenomenal. I firmly believe God carried her through.

When did the Olympic games become an every-2-year-sport??? It seems like we just got thru with the 2008 Olympics (wasn't it??), and we're seeing them again. Not that I'm complaining about increased frequency of games (if that's indeed the case), but there is not as much anticipation for the games when they come more frequently. Just my opinion, of course.
And another thing that is bugging me and evidently some other people...why are the events shown SO MUCH LATER anymore??? Mom and I talked about that the other day. Growing up, we used to be glued to that television set from after dinner until about 9 or 10 at night. We girls LOVED figure skating and ice dancing. Speed skating was kind of fun to watch, but other than that, we didn't pay that much attention to anything other than figure skating/ice dancing. This year, I'm doing good to be AWAKE to watch them.

Wow. Just saw the medal tally: 36 USA medals!! COOL! :D Keep up the great work!! Evidently the next Winter Olympics take place in 2014?? Maybe I just missed a couple of years. LOL, figures. Time does slip into the future...really quick!

FaceBook

2010-02-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Yep. I did it. I succombed to the power of social networking...this particular one being called Facebook. It started from seeing if I can locate a couple of names I knew a few decades ago, finding them, then wanting to see if I can reach them, having to have a FB acct to reach them, and here I am. I've found a lot of old friends and other people. Now I'm on it, too.

What on earth did I get myself into??? Facebook is a black hole. It is a very time-consuming venture. There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots...of people who use FB. I had this crazy notion that I would just have my occasional little pow-wow with a few friends, say "HI!" and be on my merry way. Well, I caaaaan do that, but the system seems a little bit more involved than what I can and will be able to put into it. I have found some friends who are caught up into addictive games, and I have some friends who feel the need to reply to almost every single post ever made. If I have the time and it's something of interest to me, I'll post/reply. This is much how I treat message boards. However, I can't afford to attend to every single post and every single person at every single moment! I heard a preacher say a few times that what you give most of your attention into will eventually control you. There's an awful lot of truth to that...speaking from very practical experience. Sigh.

Facebook can be a good thing. It really can. Like everything else, tho, you must have a balance in all that you do. Too much of a good thing is...well, too much. Praying that my friends, my real friends, won't take it too hard if my presence on FB isn't as they had hoped it would be.

Snow in 49 of 50 States?? Wow!

2010-02-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay, okay....if you're TIRED of reading about my 2010 facination about snow, please bypass this post. I understand, I really do. No hard feelings. Sometimes I just gotta be told to "Shut up, already!!!" : }

BUT...have you read the latest???? Yesterday, almost every state of the United States of America has at least a dusting of snow!! : D COOL!!! (lol, I guess I should say, "COLD!"~~I know...groan! : } lol, so full of myself, I guess)
Evidently, this hasn't happened since Feb 1978. What a coincidence. THAT is when I vaguely remember snow in Pensacola, and we headed for a blizzard into Texas. Evidently Texas experienced it's first blizzard in about 50 years then. I was only 10 at the time. I went from beach walking to hiney skating b/c I couldn't figure out how to stand on ice...still can't, lol. And they say ice skating is easier than roller skating?? I'm not ready to try it.
What's even more odd is that Hawaii usually has a little snow on their mountaintops, but not yet this year. None of the mountains/islands of Hawaii have just a speck of white on them? ; )

There's the joke on various sites that Al Gore is hiding out so they don't ask for his Nobel prize money back. I don't like Al Gore. I don't believe what he believes about global warming. I don't necessarily believe this snow proves or disproves his studies, but from the looks of things STILL outside my window, this is the warmest snow I've ever experienced.

My boys are out there now building yet another snowman. Maybe I'll join them. I'm comin' in when they start the snowball fights, tho!

SNOW!!

2010-02-11T20:29:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness. Real, live, honest-to-goodness SNOW!! :D As you can probably guess....this doesn't happen here very often. Snow. The light powdery stuff that other states take for granted. The soft blankets that gently cover the land. The noise insulation that muffles the drop of a pin. Wonderful snow.

It is soooooooo beautiful outside. My boys had a fantastic time playing in the stuff, and to think they'll have NEW pile to play in tomorrow!! Like I said...this doesn't happen 'round here much. I'm not sure of the official report, but I understand that we actually broke a record today. We normally get about an inch, at the most, of snow ONE time during any given winter. We normally either hit or miss watching the snow come down. If you blink you missed the action, but you may have seen the results left behind. It actually snowed ALL DAY LONG today!! It only let up for a few minutes at a time...that's it! The boys and the neighbors actually built a serious snow family and STILL had snow left!! I think we ended up with about 8-10 inches of snow today. That has never happened since I lived in Texas in Feb 1978. I've got a picture of me and my younger sister with a "snow man" made from snow (and dirt) in a little sand bucket~~that means it was only about a foot tall, lol. That was all the snow we could muster then.
Hubby was very excited today about the snow. He said THIS was the kind of snow days he remembered growing up with as a child. He said that there was usually one good snow every winter. Every "snow" MY family experienced was more ice than snow. :( When we first came to Texas, we had never seen snow b/c it just didn't snow in Florida at the time. Lemme tell ya, there is a HUGE difference b/t walking on the beach and skating on your hind end b/c you kept slipping and falling on the ice covered by that "sheet" of snow. :(
This is our second bout with snow this winter already. We actually had a WHITE CHRISTMAS just last year! Awesome. Beautiful.

This is the kind of snow that brings to mind the verse from Isaiah 1:18
"...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."
The pristineness of today's snow is just breathtaking to me, as I'm sure you've figured out by now. : } It's a rare treat for me. I'm loving it.
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?" Job 38:22

My Untimely Alarm Clock

2010-02-10T05:50:00.000-08:00

We're not talking about my electronic alarm clock. That thing still works like a charm, even after 10 years. I'm talking about the kind with minds of their own.
Quite frankly, I've met very few people who have not had at least one of these in their entire life. Some are rather squawky; some give you a kneading massage on your chest or back with a soothing sound effect, or they give you an unexpected facial~~guys, if you ever report a clean shave w/ one of those, you could be millionaires; some others either give your face and hair that motherly slobber bath, or give you hurricane winds in your face...and unless they've helped themselves to minty breath Milk Bones...unsavory winds at that! while giving your bottom and legs a thumping massage; some have that squeaky wheel you kept forgetting to fix w/ WD40; and others surprise you with their presence by crawling on you while you thought you got rid of "those things." (more on those another time)

Mine are none of the above (tho I have had some, lol). Mine is of the homo sapiens, juvenile, variety. I know some of you have at least one of those, too. This would be my little guy, J7. He has ALWAYS been an early riser. He can HAVE those worms, trust me! lol I'm thrilled that he is happy, will be weathy, and is evidently wise (we can use a rich person in the family, y'know?). I really should be thankful that I currently don't hafta drag him out of bed when I need him to move (tho some of those occasions happen...very rarely). My T12 can be another story, however. ;)

My hubby and I have spent a good part of 3 years trying to train J7 to tell time and to make decisions accordingly. If the clock has any number less than 6 on the hour part, he is to go back to bed and wake up when the rest of the family does, which can be anywhere from 6:45-7:00 AM. He is usually pretty good about that.
This week, however, he has been developing a new strategy. It seems like he is wanting to get me out of bed at 5:55-6:40 to do some little something that is better done at the last minute. This morning, his snooze function really malfunctioned, major time.

I get a little...um..."touchy", shall we say....no, GROUCHY, when I get woken up a little earlier than I intend to be awake and it's not a true emergency. There. I said it. If you have children, you know precisely what I'm talking about. There are subjective "emergencies", and then there are real emergencies. I have no problem with real emergencies. And, really, I don't have a problem with an occasional "emergency" that can wait until *I* am functioning enough to handle it in a more motherly manner. However, J7 created an imaginary paper chain of them this morning. >:(

6:02 Mommy, I'm sorry I spilled the cereal on the floor.
That's okay, honey, just get the broom and sweep it up the best you can, okay? Okay.
6:04 Mommy, I can't find the broom.
It's in the same place it's always been, by the door to the garage. Oh, okay.
6:07 Mommy, I found the broom!
Okay, that's great, sweetpea, now can you please just let Mommy sleep until 7? Okay, Mommy
6:13 Mommy, Sponge Bob isn't on TV like it says it's supposed to be.
There is always something on Playhouse Disney or maybe channel 13 to watch at this time of morning. That, or you can always play in your room for a little while.
6:15 Mommy, you GOTTA make Spaghetti-O's for lunch today b/c it's cold!
Okay, listen. We've been over this before. Spaghetti-O's or anything else that needs to be heated NEEDS to be heated just before we walk out the door. Let me go back to sleep, please. Okay.
6:20 Mommy, I forgot to tell you that we need money at school today for blah, blah, blah, blah.
J7, when I wake up, you can remind me and we'll get you that money. Please let me go back to sleep and do not wake me up until 7.
6:35 (whew! I might've reached REM stage at this point, dunno) Do you want me to make you some coffee, Momma?
That's okay. Daddy's already made coffee. If you want to push the button so that it can get hot, that's fine. Okay.
6:38 Mommy, it's really cold in the garage.
((and you're telling me this becaaaaauuuuuuse???)) J7, get out of here, please. We've had cold days for over a week now. Yes, it's cold outside.
6:42 Momma, .....
No more. Just please shut the door. I will be up in 3 minutes.
But that's not 7, Momma, that will be 6:45.
We will talk about this later.

Yes, we handled aaaalllllllll the little issues successfully before going to school. I'm really hoping that our little talk this evening will get him back on the right track for the rest of this week.
Why didn't I just get up after the second or third interruption?? That would be a normal response, I'm sure. However, he operates by structure, and even when certain things are not going according to plan, I canNOT afford to budge my wake-up mode earlier, or we'll be having this conversation MUCH earlier in the morning. Do you get the idea I'm not a morning person yet?

Political Correctness

2010-02-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

Political Correctness, Politically Correct, PC: I have little to no patience nor tolerance of it. There. I said it. Having said that, tho, I must say the history of the terms "politically correct", "not politically correct", "PC" and "politically INcorrect" is very interesting. From Wikipedia, we can have a little history lesson about political correctness and how it's evolved into what we observe today from how it was used a coupla centuries ago.

How political correctness can be useful.

I can understand how some of what we would call "politically correct/ness" (henceforth called "PC") is helpful in general. I can understand the purpose in neutralizing potentially offensive language within a community. I can understand how changing a wording or an idea can make someone think of another person or situation or idea differently, and perhaps more favorably. I can understand wanting to break down barriers between cultures who want to be more inclusive toward each other. I can understand being sensitive to medical conditions that were and are largely misunderstood by past generations and those outside these situations. These are helpful and actually effective changes, in my most humble opinion.

How PC can contribute to problems we are already experiencing.

My observation about being PC is that IT'S CONSTANTLY CHANGING. Some change is good. Some other changes are not. What are these changes based on? My answer: ACCEPTANCE through ASSOCIATION or DISASSOCIATION. Why do we humans seek acceptance to the point that we are willing to change our language to fit in, or join in, or just to be accepted in, a society that may not be a fit for us? Why do we seek to disassociate ourselves from people who claim similarities but display unfavorable differences? Why not be proud of who we are whether or not society attempts to dress us up to be accepted? Why should what someone else say determine whether we are what we are? Being white is not a bad thing. Being black is not a bad thing. Being from Mexico is not a bad thing. Being an (American) Indian is not a bad thing. Why is it necessary to say we're Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Native American to identify ourselves? Words don't change our skin color. Words don't change our sex. Words don't change our physical features. Words don't change our beliefs. Words don't change our attitudes~~well, for the purpose of this paragraph, it doesn't.

Attitudes~~

Politically speaking, I'm a Republican. I am proud to be a Republican. Why am I a Republican? I believe in the classic ideology of the Republican party~~if it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!! From my observation, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with how our founding fathers created our nation, providing "simple" documents that SHOULD be able to hold its own w/ minor necessary changes. However, seeings how there are not a lot of Republicans-in-name supporting classic views of its people, fellow Republicans are now searching for "Conservatives" or "Right-wing" support in government. Why did the name need to change? Why not change back what did change that didn't need to be changed to begin with? (lol, didya follow that? ;) ) The exact same thing is happening for those who hold to more Democratic views. The classic ideology of the Democrats is currently not even in existence today in the White House. Now everyday Democrats are having to identify themselves as either "Moderate" or "Liberal" to get the attention of the Democrats in the White House! What is next? Why not send a message to the Democratic party to get back to the original Democratic ideology and quit allowing them to drive a deeper wedge into the American people? We used to be a unique nation who thrived on our unique way of government. Now we're trying to take hold centuries-old ideas that led to their down fall. Are we trying to find a politically correct term for this, too? Eventually, there will be something wrong with "Independent", too. Don't they realize this?

Religiously speaking, I am a Bible-believing Christian. I am a "fundamentalist" by classic definition (Biblical inerrancy; Virgin birth and deity of Jesus; Jesus' atonement for sins of the world past, present and future; death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; belief in the Second Coming of Christ w/ End-time manifestations). I do not toss aside my beliefs in the wake of fellow "fundies" misbehaving in an unChrsitian manner. I don't see the point in "disassociating" myself as a Bible-believing Christian b/c the behavior of some is nonbefitting a Christian. What they do or don't do does not change what I believe. God is still God and His Word is still His Word no matter what people do in the name of Christianity, God, Jesus, Scriptures, the Bible, etc. People may (and do) change, but God has not, nor will He. Society should not be the standard by whether or not Christians call themselves Christians. Nor should society be the defining "standard" by which we believe as we believe, Christian (Protestant, Catholic, etc) or otherwise (Buddhist, Muslims, Atheists, etc). Religious beliefs should not be treated as a fashion statement for the season, month, week, day, hour. A leapard cannot change its spot simply b/c it wants to fit in with tigers. A spot is a spot, and a stripe is a stipe. It's my observance that God knows our deep secrets even better than we do, no matter how we try to cover them up, or create a show for it, by use of political correctness.

It's All GREEK to Me!

2010-02-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Fairly regularly we haunt a particular street from our old neighborhood. Last month we noticed a sign, DIMASSI MEDITERRANEAN BUFFET. Almost nothing is sexier to my hubby than the word "buffet", lol. ;) If it says "buffet", he's gonna try it out eventually. Well, I happen to like to try various cuisines, so I was on board with the plan today. We checked out Dimassi and were TOTALLY impressed. :) We LOVED it. The buffet contains a fairly wide selection of Greek and Mediterranean foods. I've had Greek foods before, but I'm not thrilled with really strong vinegary flavors that can dominate Greek cuisine. This contains some tart flavors, but the intense factor is more tame. Their tart came more from lemon than vinegar.
From the soups and salads to the pasta to the hommus to the gyro meat to the pita bread to the baklava, it was ALL good. :) As hubby said, we really like everything we tried. :) LOL, I saw a couple of reviews which complained more of environment than the food. Yeah, it's kinda "bright", I suppose, but I kinda like seeing what exactly I'm putting into my mouth, y'know? I didn't even pay attention to the atmosphere b/c I was busy stuffing my face w/ good food! I think the fact that there WAS a lot of people indicates its popularity; plus, the food turnover is going to be good, I have observed...that's the way I look at it, anyway, so THERE! >; D

I think the Greeks added a great deal to our American culture. MUCH of our English words are based in the Greek language, especially in medicine and the Bible. Who can get away from the Greeks when one studies literature, history, science, philosophy? My BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING is one of my favorite movies b/c it gives one a peek into their everyday life, which can be quite different than plain ol' American life~~just ask Harriet Miller. ;) Granted, it might be a liiiiiiittle bit of an exaggeration, but I'm not so sure of that!

I guess I need to be on the lookout for a cheap Greek Cooking Made Easy for my next cuisine cook book. : } Not that I could ever come close, but some of that food is just good soul food. :)

It's GROUND HOG DAY!!

2010-02-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

Aaaaaaaahhhhhh. Music to my ears.....
What? you haven't heard?? Supposedly we've got 6 more weeks of WINTER!! : D

Last weekend hubby and I watched that Bill Murray movie GROUND HOG DAY. Remember that movie? We think it's a great movie. Sometimes our minds wander about what we would do if we had the "opportunity" to relive a single day many times over. I know we have days that we wish we can "do over", but we lost track of how many times Phil had to repeat this day, not to mention the additional scenarios they alluded to in between what we saw. : (

Now, I have my radio alarm set to music. Drives hubby bonkers, but he's not around most times when it goes off. : } For any given amount of days, they play the exact same song at the exact same time the alarm first goes off. I've noticed this for years. Doesn't matter what station I'm playing, either. It's different when I hit snooze once, twice, thrice...(okay, more often than I should!)...but I've noticed that for a period of days, I could count on the same song playing the first time my radio alarm goes off, almost to the same stanza!!
Can you imagine hearing that same song, that same conversation, the same horrible joke, for AT LEAST A YEAR (and I daresay longer)?????

Now let's think about the people you meet not only in everyday life, but those people who pop up outta NOWHERE...people you haven't seen in decades. I'm sure there are some we wouldn't mind seeing (for the first time? lol) every day, but what about that Belly-button whistler guy selling life insurance? (good grief, as many times they played that take, you'd think I'd get that name, but it completely escapes me at the moment) I dunno 'bout you, but I know I'd be looking for the Programmer to change the default response to that loop of life! It's bad enough when you gotta "practice" meeting those kinds of folks on a regular day but, for the most part, there IS an end to that particular flowchart in life! I can't imagine having any more patience with meeting Mr. Life Insurance a gazillion times than Phil had to meet Mr. Life Insurance. Ugh. I'd fail. Miserably. I would hope that the Lord would soften my heart enough to allow me to pass the Meet Mr. Life Insurance without hurting him, though it may take a looooooong time.

You know what, tho? As oddball a direction this tangent is heading, it kinda makes sense. Those Israelites were kinda stuck basically in a day/week/month for 40 years! They didn't hafta stay in that wilderness for 40 years!! That wilderness wasn't much more than a weeks' journey walking slow. All they had to do was believe in the Lord God and TRUST Him to provide for ALL of their needs on their journey. But noooOOOooooo, they had to mouth off at Him, murmur, complain, threaten (???), whine. I've come to the conclusion they just about all became doctors. I must say, they got pretty darn good at memorectomies!! Amnesia today ain't got nothin' on those people! They finally got to where God felt ready to release them to the promise land.

Veering back to GROUND HOG DAY..... (I did say that I go off topic from time to time...just how my brain works ;) )
Who would YOU like to get to know? How deeply would YOU like to know this person or these people? Phil had an opportunity to basically stand still in time but continue learning and growing. I'm pleased to say that Phil did eventually outgrow himself. He reached a turning point in his day loop in which others mattered more to him than the fact that he was annoyed with the world. He took what he learned and helped the community he got stuck in...on account of the blizzard that showed up "every day" for gazillion years, lol. He found the girl of his dreams, who was standing by him the entire time! He got to know her in ways that would take a lifetime to know a spouse, and even then there may be surprises! You know what? The cinamatically-portrayed God finally let him out of that loop. ;)
((lol, hubby and I had to laugh when Phil came to the conclusion that he was a god...he HAD to be. "Not THE God, of course, but A god!"))

Like the movie, the Ground Hog of PA (is his/her name really Phil? I oughtta Google that sometime!) supposedly predicted another 6 weeks of winter. Now, from a natural human perspective, that's kinda awful. I really do feel for our Northern friends who don't see the light of day until MAAAAAYBE May. However, since we basically get 24-48-hour winters, I seriously don't mind. It's nice to actually be able to USE all of our sweaters, sweatpants/shirts, jackets, coats, boots (if we had them; I don't) hats, scarves, gloves/mittens for this season. It will get summer hot soon enough, and for long enough time. I'm one of those who actually will enjoy an extended Texas winter. :)

Now to look at my indoor list of things to do...my indoor list of things I want to accomplish...my indoor list of things I want to improve and learn....

How Do You Reset the Body Thermostat?

2010-01-29T06:40:00.000-08:00

My T12 is giving my neck a workout again today. It's an automatic reaction anymore to his inappropriate use of weather gear. Now, I know that I hated bundling up for winter when I was a little girl. I've got no problem with that b/c it kind of makes sense even today. However, THIS child insists on wearing a COAT when it's 80 degrees outside!! Today genuinely warranted a coat, but T12 balked when I told him to put one on. What??? Oh, how could I be so silly! It's not 80 degrees out. What was I thinking??? (V8 smack)

I would even understand if I was going through that pre/menopause stage at HOME and all of the guys in my home have to adapt to my temperature mood swings. I'm not yet, so hopefully my thermostat won't get anymore broken than it used to be when I was little. I am hot-natured right now. I get hot easily. That's my main drawback about living in my part of Texas. :P To me, the summers are absolute torture. I'm actually excited that we are enjoying (well, *I* am enjoying, I should say) a comparably extended winter this year! :) I can't imagine a time when I'll be needing a coat when it's 90 degrees outside and a swimsuit in the dead of winter, even a Texas winter.

He reluctantly put one on, and he'll probably sit all day in class with it on. I've not gotten a note from the teacher yet. I'm still waiting....

Christianity Is NOT A Part-Time Faith

2010-01-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

**WARNING: This is NOT a friendly post for those who, religiously speaking, are easily offended.**

Even though I've been on that side before, it never ceases to amaze me how some of those outside of Christianity view it. I mean, we are told in the Bible that Christians were going to be hated, belittled, disrespected, etc, in the eyes of the world. Christianity is barely tolerated (even in the United States) within the scale of the weekly organizer/planner. Sunday, we can "do our thing" for however much time we need (as long as we're done before Super Bowl Sunday!) and, oh yeah, an occasional Wednesday night service has become kind of "standard" and traditionally expected. However, an-y mention of God, Jesus, Bible, Scripture, prophecy, a blessing, a prayer, a praise in the name of Jehoveh OUTSIDE these services, date/time slots, and we are frowned upon and even vehemenently scorned. How DARE Christians openly talk about how God leads them in simple and mundane life things! How DARE Christians give God the glory for blatant miracles that have abounded! How DARE Christians recognize America as a nation with Judeo-Christian foundational principles!! How DARE Christians openly challenge various political observations from a Biblical (even prophetic) perspective! How DARE Christians offer Biblical reasoning for scientific discoveries! How DARE we are Christians outside the church doors and church functions! How DARE we allow our Christian selves peep out from under the worldly overcoats we seem required to wear! I've got news for them...Christianity is NOT a part-time faith! Christianity is literally our LIFE, our BEING. For a lot of Christians, EV-ER-Y-THING in a Christian's life is BASED on God's Word, the Bible, as the FINAL AUTHORITY in all things. We cannot separate Christianity from ourselves. We do not have a Christianity switch to turn on and off at the world's beckoning.

Just how is being a Christian and expressing our Christianity so offensive to some others?? I'm talking extrabiblically-speaking here. I already know the Biblical reason. Jesus Himself already tells us that we will be hated, not so much because we are personally offending, but because the world already hated Him. He is the Light that shines in their darkness, and the world can't stand that light exposing them for who they really are in God's eyes...sinners. They crave that darkness and see no need or reason for redemption/salvation. I've been there. I remember what that's like. I've done my share of rejecting that precious Light before I became truly born again.

However, Christians don't even hafta be Bible-thumpin', fire-n-brimstone-mongering, Scripture-quotin', hollerin' preachers to cause the hairs to stand on the backs of some nonChristian's necks. I have seen the looks in the eyes of some who have not heard my voice but have seen my cross necklace or Heart of God pin, or have seen a Scripture verse I scribbled on a piece of paper. I can wish someone a nice day and still get that look. It's almost like being happy is a sin in their eyes, especially given the current times we live in now. There is no condemnation, no criticism, no judgment going on, just hoping that someone can have a good day.

We live in a "relative" world. What's good for one may not be good for someone else, and "it's okay" until someone tries to "openly practice" their faith, and in today's world, particularly Christians. Every single culture the US has experienced prejudice in some way, form or fashion at one time or another. There was a time when Wiccans were feared, shunned and sometimes considered weird people. But they were misunderstood people and are now kinda considered "cool", and the latest trend in religious worship with some Christians is blending Wiccan worship into their own worship practices. There was a time when devout Jews were feared and/or mocked for living their lives according to G-d's commandments; not to mention that some Jews understandably feared Christians, too. Now they are enjoying some appreciation for the values they hold dear to their being and add to society. The Biblical promise of blessing those who bless the Jews and cursing those who curse the Jews is as true now as it ever was. The Muslims have felt the need to be quiet about their worship to Allah until Americans got around to accepting their right to worship, too. Even the Atheists are enjoying some prominence in America's overall culture, leading their humanist, secularist, naturalist, any other -ist way through our government, education, media, etc. The Atheists were never really "quiet" so much as Christians were almost always louder...until now. What are today's Christians doing????

We have allowed the nonChristian society to dictate how, when and where to worship our God! :O How insidious!! We've allowed ourselves, in an effort for religious "tolerance", to be lulled away from our Father's influence in virtually every arena of our lives! We are not experiencing "tolerance" but exclusion and personal separation~~we are having to turn off and divide away our Christian part of us in order to be "tolerated" by nonChristians. Have we learned nothing from other religions who were hushed and persecuted all these years? Have we forgotten that we are Americans, too? and have freedom OF religion? not FROM religion? I understand that there is a time and a place for sharing our faith (whatever it may be) with others, but I believe it's time to get back to our roots and stop deChristianizing ourselves in public just for the sake of "tolerance." We are subjecting ourselves to not only dividing our personal being, but turning off the very Source of power in our lives by turning off His influence. God is our Escort in life. He is part of every Christian's being. Just like Wiccans are close to their god/desses and their worship traditions. Buddhists rely on their teachings to get through life. Muslims live in submission according to Allah. Atheists rely on human intellect, reason and logic to live through this life.

Jews and Christians are called to worship God in the Spirit. He is the source of incredible love. Jesus is the Christian source of comfort in troubled times, which often happen away from home and church. He is our source of answered prayers.
All faiths affect our core beings. All faiths shape what we believe. All faiths determine the choices we'll make. All faiths determine our actions. All faiths shape our consciousness. None of our faiths can be hidden. So why try to shut that part of us off?
As any other religion, Christianity is NOT a part-time faith. As with any other relationship that any of us may have, Christianity is not a part-time investment but an investment into our whole being. Jesus is our friend and should not be treated as the kid you don't want anyone else to know you actually like.

Baking Goodies Warm the Souls

2010-01-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

When it's cold and miserable outside, I like to bake. :) My boys like it when I bake, too. ;)
I am hard pressed to bake anything during the warm months. Summer is grill time as far as I'm concerned. But winter time~~the shortest season of the year for us? You just might find me hovering over cook books or the "playing" in the kitchen. I've got a comfortable assortment of appliances and gadgets to make almost whatever I want to make.

I have overnight waffles in the fridge right now so that when I get up tomorrow morning, I can just ladle waffle batter into the waffler and make some yummy treats. :) I'm contemplating making some English muffins~~there are so many wonderful uses for English muffins! :D I've never made any before, but I LOVE taking a toasted English muffin and putting a good pat of butter on it until it melted into all the crannies. :) I will probably bake some foccacia bread for lunch tomorrow. T12 wants a tuna melt on that bread, and I think it's time for another spaghetti dinner anyway.
I am kind of lamenting that I didn't make some of the more "traditional holiday" baking this year. I don't really know what happened this past holiday season, but baking just didn't work for me this last time. I guess my mind was so distracted with so many other things that eggs became remote control and milk became email and oil became the signature line on countless forms from school, not to mention I'm still dusting flour from the keyboard. LOL, I guess I was more distracted than I want to admit. I kept forgetting ingredients, putting too much of something b/c I miscounted, combining recipes I didn't mean to combine (yes, I do combine recipes at times, not so easy!) Yes, I need to get back to baking and get my groove back. :}

The waffles in the morning will be a great start! Oooooh, chocolate chip cookies! Maybe I'll make oatmeal raisin cookies, instead. J7 has been hankering for some gingerbread cupcakes, too. Time to get busy. That smile is creeping back on my face as I see my happy boys eat the products of baking. :)

The Fragility of Life

2010-01-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

The last 24 hours have been quite the ride on a roller coaster. Yesterday, our church announced the baby shower of a member. She will be a first time mommy, and I'm so excited for her. :) I had only just received an invitation for yet another baby shower a few days beforehand. This will be her first daughter; she has 2 other sons. Joyous occasions, these are!

However, tonight I received the sad news that a lady who has been battling cancer has passed away at noon. I did not know her except by name and her struggle with cancer. She sounds like she was a jewel of a lady to get to know, a woman of sound faith no matter what came her way. "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." Her testimony demonstrated this very verse. I understand she lived heartily for the Lord, and she died peacefully to be with the Lord. I never knew her, but I can't imagine forgetting her.

And, of course, just a few days before that, we're still mourning lost lives and devastated hearts in Haiti after their earthquake. I really feel for those poor souls. I can't even imagine not being able to see my family again after having a meal with them just hours beforehand. Many have lost all of their families. Many more have lost their homes. Many are probably crying out to God asking, "Why, Oh Lord, why?" I pray for comfort for them. It doesn't seem like it on the surface, but the Bible promises that, "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Sometimes you hit rock bottom before you can let God help you recover. I can't imagine how you can hit "more" rock bottom than losing everything you have in life but life itself. We've seen before cities which come back up from ashes and ruins, I pray Haiti can experience that, too. If Job can talk to them now....

I have been in prayer for one young woman who was in a horrific vehicle accident on Christmas Eve. I do not know her personally, but her journey in recovery has been very remarkable. Statistically speaking, she should not have survived this accident. However, she has been fighting the odds to live. She has a very faithful mom who glories in the Lord at almost every news given her. It is really neat to see their journey together. Here is her website if you'd like to follow her journey. Here name is Andi Webb.

In the meantime, I found out that my mom's neighbor's dog passed away. I am saddened but extremely relieved to hear this. ***If you don't wanna be hacked off, I suggest you bypass the bottom of my post, where I'll put my comment about that situation.

Today, I received an email from a wonderful friend of mine, whose twin boys are friends with my T12. They will be celebrating their 13th birthday next weekend and they asked that T12 will join them. My, has time flown by already!! I'm reminded that in about 8 more months, T12 will be 13, too!

Obviously there are many milestones in between birth, life and death, and eternity, but it just seems like some days are more pronounced than others. The last few days have been like that for me. I thank God for that awareness each and every day. Be it people or animals, each life is important. You sometimes don't realize their touch on your life until they're gone.

***WARNING*** If you don't want to be hacked off, I suggest you bypass this part of my post.

My mom told me that her neighbor's dog has died today. I am saddened b/c she was the sweetest 18-year-old baby you could ever meet. If you know anything about Irish Setters, they are painfully loyal dogs who would love you up a storm. : ) However, I'm very relieved at her passing. Unfortunately, this dog has been living (???) at the neighbor's house. She belongs to the neighbor's grandson. Her last 3 years of life had been spent in shameful neglect. There was no way for my parents to alert any authorities because there WAS NO authority who could help relieve her misery. The neighbor (owner) did not give 2 cents about her and treated her exactly as such. Why her grandson left the dog with her, I have no clue. He was gone most of the week, and when he'd return, the dog would be so happy to see him, only for him to leave her for yet another week. Why he did not try to give her to someone who could better care for her, I have never known. My mom offered to take her, but he refused to let her. The poor baby became depressed, hungry, hot (summers can be brutal here), thirsty, sick, and she froze a couple of weeks ago when we had unusually icy weather. It was painful to watch this, let me tell you. She perked up when she saw us, but the neighbor had banned us from being near her property (my dad also banned her from his property, so you can tell where THIS led, sigh), so we had to stop attending to her basic needs. I am thankful that she is finally relieved of her sorrow and misery. If the grandson knows what's best for him, he better not try to get another pet around here. Between members of my family, there just might be trouble. >: (
"A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast."
Don't have pets if you can't or don't want to take care of them.

Infrequent Ironing Miles

2010-01-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

Yeah, you read right. I haven't ironed anything of significance in over 20 years. Unfortunately, it shows, lol. : }

I'm working on a sewing project, and if you sew, you know that with sewing comes ironing. Why I chose a fabric that wrinkles like it does for a Bible cover, I have no idea, but it seems like as soon as I iron out one wrinkle, I'm lookin' at 5 more. Not a brilliant move on my part. : P Still, the fabric is a beautiful color, and it's one I think my aunt will thoroughly enjoy when I get it done. I'm hoping so, anyway.

Hunting down the iron was a trip. I have managed to move my iron from my old apartment to our current house 3 years ago. We actually have a laundry space in the garage (apt contained a linen closet where it was stored before), so I finally looked there and found it. That took about an hour. Another 15 minutes later, I finally found that collapsable ironing board. Oh my goodness, that board is enough to cure any habitual desire to iron! It took me longer to figure out how to work the lever thingy (to drop the leg frame so it will stand up) than to iron out that little 46 in x 18 in piece of material! >:( Trying to remember what materials qualified for what settings was a trip, too. Left up to me, it's gonna go all the way back whether it's silk or cotton/linen. The only materials I know without much thought is corduroy and cotton. I did figure out that silk and polyester melt under those highest temps. : P I sure hope I don't need those things for another decade or so, but I probably will, and soon.

How have I survived this long without ironing much, if anything? Simple. We wear perma-press fabrics and whatever wrinkly stuff we do wear, it's of no social consequence. Hubby and I try our ultimate best to dive for the dryer before it cuts off and zip our clothes onto a hanger before it has a chance to be fruitful and multiply wrinkles. If we don't succeed, then we toss a wet rag in that load and dry it some more, then try again. No, we don't live in a fresh-pressed world, as you can guess. If hubby or I end up needing to dress up for an interview or something, we'll need some notice, lol. ; )

To think that when I was a teen I spent time ironing my own clothes so they'd look nice. I guess since then I've gotten so busy that I never made time for that any more, then I discovered that in the grand scheme of Estelle world, it didn't really matter.
((Wonder if those ironing miles are any good now? LOL, probably not. : } ))

Mourning For and With Haiti

2010-01-16T08:13:00.000-08:00

As many others, I mourn for the small country, Haiti. This week a disastrous earthquake of Biblical proportion has taken over a hundred thousand lives while the land is left utterly destroyed. Unfortunately, the death toll is still rising by the hour (nearing 200,000) as rescuers search for survivors amid the dead and destroyed.

Governments, humanitarian agencies and missionaries from all around the globe are trying to help these people who are stunned and numb with grief and a sense of hopelessness. They are desperate for food, water, medicine, shelter, and any other necessity of life as they wander the streets searching for their families, their friends, and places they used to frequent. Rescuers are facing extreme difficulty as they attempt to find safe structures and empty grounds to land planes and other vehicles so they can deliver those supplies. The growing problem now is that they must bury or dispose corpses as quickly as possible before devastating diseases break out and further destroy the people. The images on the news are heartbreaking, just heartbreaking.

What makes this disaster any "worse" than the other devastating disasters (tsunamis, earthquakes, volcano, floods, etc) experienced around the world in the last few years? It is not just the loss of lives and loss of architecture. Haiti is a poverty-stricken nation. Haiti has little to no resources to recover. If they were not aware of it before, they most likely are painfully aware now. There are some people, Pat Robertson being most vocal at the moment, who insist that Haitians have brought this upon themselves, as a result of a curse upon the land from centuries ago.
Biblically speaking, I can see how they can arrive at such a conclusion. After all, God can, has, and DOES use weather and natural disasters from time to time to get mankind back off of ourselves~~Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, plagues of Egypt, earthquake of Jericho, prophet's drought, Paul's shipwreck, etc, etc~~but we also need to remember that the rain falls upon the just AND the unjust; the wheat and the tares experience the same circumstances. The differences between the camps will be how we respond to the circumstances we face. Do we see typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanos, floods, etc, as only "acts of God?" Do we acknowledge (blessing or cursing) Him only during times of natural crisis? Or do we acknowledge His Greater Presence during our times of tranquility and peace, also? During the flood, is our house built upon a rock or upon sand? Are we so smug as to declare another country completely unrighteous and "deserving" of this tragedy while we face our own national troubles? I hope not. I'm praying that if we had the house built upon a rock that we could offer a hand to the one who built his house upon the sands. "My people perish for lack of knowledge."

Right now, the prayer and resources for survival are vital for the Haitians and their families and friends. WHEN they come to a time to rebuild, I pray that God will send his people to them, and that Haiti will be receptive to their wisdom, rebuilding lives one step at a time. In the meantime, GOOGLE can help you find many sites accepting donation and relief aid to Haiti if you're inclined to donate or give your time and expertise.

God bless each and every one of you enjoying a hot meal, warm bed, cold water, and a roof over your heads tonight.

Our Rich Classic American Literary History

2010-01-13T20:06:00.000-08:00

I just got finished reading T12 a short story from Nathaniel Hawthorne called THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER. Personally, I find it a very intriguing story with virtually timeless language and timeless reality. Some classic stories from early Americana require a bit of translating when reading in today's society. Supernatural events noted in the Bible become fascinating observations by people who have forgotten that God is, was, and evermore shall be. Spirit realm visits our mortal realm in ways that leave us questioning our own sensibilities at times, then and perhaps especially now, as is evident in this story.

As I was reading this story, I was pleased to hear T12 comment about his Biblical recognition of similar elements illustrated in The Miraculous Pitcher. I reminded him that we have the privilege to see these comparisons today. During Hawthorne's day, those stories may have been considered more abstract and "out there", but in some ways, the Bible was considered a more serious book of study 200+ years ago, and even though the stories may have been lighthearted, I'm quite sure the serious morals demonstrated in these stories may have produced a solemn attitude in anyone who read them. Today, one may need to have the Bible beside them to compare the storytellings to it, discerning the morality from the fantastic.

When I searched for Nathaniel Hawthorne on the Internet, I was struck by the similarities between his friends. It's almost like they all attended a writer's convention to write the same kinds of stories..well, Hawthorne did meet some of them at college. :) I will need to pick up and re-read Herman Melville's MOBY DICK because it was supposedly dedicated to Hawthorne. T12 does not care for MOBY DICK, tho, b/c it's too dark and depressing for his taste. I was familiar with Henry David Thoreau's WALDEN and CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, tho I need to read them again. I've got a few little short works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, plus a few works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. It's neat to see how similar their works are, but yet they are still distinct. I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that Hawthorne went to school with them!

I've got a lot of reading to catch up on for myself. I wish T12 was interested in TOM SAWYER and HUCKLEBERRY FINN. I actually liked reading those when I was in school; then again, I was a weird one like that. ;) My favorite past-time growing up was to either have an armload of books to read during the weekend, or if I couldn't do that, I read the dictionary or encyclopedia. Weird, huh? Oh well. That was me then. :} I've not changed too much since then.
So far, in 6th grade, they are not reading classic stories, which kind of makes me sad. I fully understand that 20-some odd years have passed since I was in school, and we evidently have an array of "new classics", but there is sooooooooo much to learn from the real classics! I've got a few of the books lined up on my bookshelf right now. Works by O'Henry, Samuel Clemens, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, and many others are just waiting to be read and read again.

GREASE to the Future, Sort of

2010-01-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago, on one of those super rare moments of Momma-is-gonna-watch-the-tv-in-peace moments, I was flippin' thru the guide to see if there is som'n worth watching. I found a channel with the title labeled as GREASE. I smiled. That is one of those movies most people don't wanna admit they like. Well, I DO...SO THERE!! :) I selected the channel, and it turns out that it's not the original GREASE, as in the Olivia Newton-John/John Travolta version, but GREASE 2 with Adrian Zmed (more famous for his T.J. Hooker role) and Michelle Pfeiffer. Okay, that one is cheesy one, too, but I like it for different reasons.

That got me to thinking.... What would happen if there was a GREASE for each subsequent decade? You got the car issue with lots of dancing in GREASE ('50s), you got the motorcycle issue and lots of singing in GREASE 2 ('60s), how about a showdown with muscle cars and guitars in GREASE (3~'70s), maybe starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Moss? We need a gorgeous red-headed leading lady in a GREASE movie! She currently does those Mott's apple juice commercials. I think they can pull off the flower child, disco circuit, don't you? Dig out those lame (la-MAY) disco dresses and bell bottom jeans! Surely the teens didn't wear leisure suits, did they? :O

Let's talk about the '80s (what does that make now, GREASE 4?). This is more my background...at least that's what I thought. Do you know I can't think of a "vehicle" setting for the '80s? Now the music?? THAT's easy-peasy! Welcome the age of synthesized sounds! : D Add some pop to the mix, and it was a very well-rounded age, lol. Oh, and boy did we ever "get physical" then, with a little footloosing flashdance thrown into the scene! ;) Hmmm, let's see who could star in our '80s version of GREASE.... Macaulay Culkin and Kate Hudson might work here. I mean, think of it, Macaulay has the potential face and hair look that can reproduce those electronic sounds of those days. Kate Hudson can pull off the big hair complete with 10 pounds of Aqua Net and Rave, I just know it! It was not only about the music then, but the look, too!

Starting in the '90s, I kinda got out of the entertainment circuit. I've not paid too much attention to the goings on during the next 2 decades, so have no ideas how to dream up a GREASE scene here. I think you'd start seeing more rap stuff during this era but, because this isn't my cup of tea, I'm having a little difficulty imagining a rapping Rydell High for GREASE 5, y'know? I know Cuba Gooding, Jr or Will Smith are forever young and could easily pull off this gig somehow. How about adding Halle Berry to the mix? I'm having trouble imagining Drew Berrymore pulling this off, as talented as she is. She is the next closest possibility I could think of. I don't know that Sandra Bullock has it in her, but maybe she does. Hmmm, now it's starting to look more like FAME instead of GREASE. Sigh.

Maybe I just shouldn't even go into the millenial GREASE. I mean, how personally interactive could millenial greasers be with all the cell phone and now texting stuff, huh? I could never serve it justice under any circumstances. Then again, perhaps GREASE is happiest back into the '50s and '60s without looking into the future.

2010-01-09T17:15:00.000-08:00

Will We Actually Experience a True Winter in North Texas?

2010-01-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

I am not believing this winter so far! We have actually had temperatures low enough for a long enough time to complete a proper load of laundry! This has been going on since about October. I know some of you don't get it. You are battened down for the winter b/c that's your "norm" and you'll experience your spring thaw sometime in March or even May/June. That, or you live in the likes of Florida, where a "cold front" is equivalent to 80 degrees for the lows. Well, in my part of Texas, we get 24-48-hour "winter blasts." Literally, our temperatures can be highs in the 30s for one day and 70s and even 80s the next. Anyone wonder why we seem to have large closets in Texas? No, it has noth'n to do with "Everything's bigger and better in Texas." We simply cannot afford to put away seasonal clothing! :O I'm SERIOUS!! At any given time of the year, with the exception of July and August, you will need sweats, AND shorts, AND sweaters, AND swimsuits, AND jeans, AND t-shirts, AND flannel lumberjack shirts, etc; and you will launder them all at the same time. With the exception of July and August, and THIS winter season, I don't launder just summer or winter or fall or spring stuff; the swimsuits get washed along with my sweats. Crazy, huh? Well, that's our "norm."

Tonight, we are supposedly going to get rain. Well, it's also freezing outside. That means that MOST LIKELY there will be no school tomorrow for the boys. It has nothing to do with "snow" but everything to do with ice. Have you seen Texans driving on ice??? We're nutcases!! We have this crazy notion that we can drive on the hightway the same speed as we do on a dry sunny day. When we should be paying more attention to the roads, it seems that's the time to find out what more our Blackberry can do (no, don't have one of those gizmos; prob'ly won't 'til they're obsolete, lol).

On Christmas Eve, we were traveling from my sister-in-law's place to our home, roughly 120 miles away, and it wasn't until we arrived within our city limits that I saw it...our first White Christmas since 1929. Wow. That was som'n, lemme tell ya! Part of our freeway was blocked off in the wee hours of the night, and I saw a truck beside us with snow all over it. I couldn't believe it. I asked hubby, "Where did that guy come from that he has so much snow on his truck??" A few crawling feet later, I happened to look to my right, and there on the banks of our highway was a beautiful blanket of snow. We were stunned. We finally had a genuine article White Christmas! We always had snow just before or just after Christmas, but NEVER on Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. When we finally arrived at our house, the snow was so pristine that we couldn't bear to mess it up with footprints. We kept it minimal. ;)

My local friend told me that she had snow (she's about 15 miles from me) again just before New Year's, but it didn't reach my way. It sounded like her children had so much fun, from the eldest to the toddler. It would be nice if the boys got some bang for their buck tomorrow. I mean, if they're gonna be out of school, couldn't we have a little snow to have a little fun in? We've already seen more snow days this year than we've seen in 2 previous years put together!

A true winter in North Texas. What an awesome experience to behold! The snow doesn't last here, but the colder days are finally lasting a little longer this year. I think we're ready for it.

Observatons About Internet 411

2010-01-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

The world of the Internet can be a blessing and a curse. Ecclesiastes tell us that "There is nothing new under the sun", and so far as I can tell, it's true! Let ANY thought pop into your head, and you can instantly find out more about that thought...."Just Google (T) it!" It's become the information mantra of the 21st century. It's already thought out for you! The blessing is that you WILL find the answer(s). The curse is that you can be misinformed if you stick to a single source site without determining if there is any validity to the information or not. The Internet is an intriguing tool because you can get all the contrasting information you want in one sitting. When dealing with people's opinion, it's definitely going to be one-sided. When dealing with books, you are going to only get one view at a time. Again, a blessing or a curse.

Observing others on message boards using Internet information has been very interesting to me over the years. It blows my mind how people determine if the found information is what they need or not. This observation applies specifically to questions regarding health issues, religion, politics, and parenting and schooling issues (particularly homeschooling~~more on that another time).
Here are a few ways some seem to use to decide the validity of the information they find:

The first "hit."
If multiple hits, the "eenie, meenie, miney, mo" method.
A (favorite) talk show host said it, too.
The (favorite) media said it, too.
If they personally know "an expert" who can support their particular find.
If it totally goes with or against their own PERSONAL experience.

Not that some of these methods shouldn't or can't be used (there's a time and a place), but if there is ever a place for "relativity", I think this is it. With some of the people I've observed, it's ALL or NOTHING. I think just because certain information is not relevant to YOU does not mean that it's IRrelevant to someone else! I admit that I kind of walk away when I see people disrespect other's opinions or observations about health issues simply because "There is no scientific proof that.....yada, yada, yada...." SO WHAT?????? Not every member of the human race is listed in scientific and medical studies! It may take another decade or so to confirm what certain individuals or groups have figured out all along, y'know? Why have they figured this out? They have observed their OWN results and are documenting those results to publish later. I believe this is solely why you'll find contrasting reports and articles on the Internet about some health issues facing America. Does that make one or the other invalid? In my eyes, absolutely not.

You wanna talk politics? Just put in any name or event you want to research, and I'm pretty confident (I'm not a betting woman) that you'll eventually find supporting AND opposing views on them, each backed, of course, by the media. It's the continuation of the Internet political debate game. Which way will you lean your ear? Most times you need to go to more than one source to determine who is stretching the truth, and who is outright lying; because we know and agree that, generally speaking, a politician is incapable of telling the truth, right? ;)

Religion? Particularly Christianity? That's easy for me. My BIBLE IS THE FINAL AUTHORITY IN ALL THINGS. Whatever I read that doesn't line up with what God's Word says goes out the window (figuratively speaking~~I try not to litter). I'm not talking about a verse here and a verse there. I'm talking about a fairly balanced view based on what I study. I am not guided by my human sense in the matters of faith. That does not mean that I am not interested in what various religions teach. I simply don't apply them to my own life. It may be relevant to others and their beliefs, but not to me. What is your yardstick? What do you stand on and compare all other information to, Internet or otherwise?

Parenting. Oh, now THERE'S a topic of passion! How often do we seek the help of the Internet for parenting ideas? Talk show host? Pick and issue, any issue, and you're bound to run into someone who says that any given article is a bunch of crock. Why? Because that didn't work for them! It is completely irrelevant to them. Do you discard it simply because other influences in your life opined that the given advice is worthless? What if you gave it a try? It's successful for you. What does that say about the naysayers? That it simply didn't work for them. That's all. They are not stupid jerks, and neither are you MegaMom or MegaDad. I've met children who see to that. : { But then again, I'm not the final authority on this, either. : ) What about if you were successful about something, gave the advice to someone else, and that advice fails for them? It simply means it didn't work for them. We can't forget that children are unique individuals, too. I have found more often than not that some of your "experts" with children have no children of their own.

It's my opinion that the Internet can be a valuable source of information. However, I think it's good to have valid sources to back up your finds; be it someone you know and trust, what your gut tells you, (as Christians) how it compares with the Bible, and just if it's relevant and applicable to what you're looking for. I don't recommend the "eenie, meenie, miney, mo" method, tho.

I'd Never Make It As A Cave Woman

2010-01-04T05:48:00.001-08:00

God knew what He was doin' when he put me in this day and age. Well, at least as opposed to having me being one of the first human beings on the planet. I had this brilliant idea to make venison stew today. It's nice and chilly, especially for this part of Texas. I've made venison stew a couple other times, but none were this much "fun." Warning: If you're somewhat squeemish about dissection, this post may not be the read for you, but come back again another time, and hopefully I'll have less meaty material for you. ;)

Daddy bagged himself a deer a coupla years ago, and he himself got the pieces cut and processed. I've opened my other few packages of deer meat and could immediately get to work. Today was an entirely different story. I'm still in the process....maybe....of dissecting this piece of meat. Oh, why, oh why, did I get the leg portion out? For some of you, this is absolutely no big hairy deal...er...leggy deal. It's a part of your life, you tackle the job (or get the man in your life to do it) and you move on to presenting a sumptuously mouthwatering dinner that any hunter would be proud to eat. :) Please, just for future references, can you tell me how it's REALLY done?? Thanks in advance!

I'm not a hunter's wife. I'm not really even a hunter's daugher, if I get ugly and technical about it. I think I was a teen before I realized that meat actually came from animals. And here I thought they came from those styrofoam and Saran wrap packages. No wonder I was experiencing the good life of ease and comfort. Talk 'bout a reality check.

Okay, back to my dilemma.....
I unwrapped this package, thinking that I'll just trim a little membrane here and there, and then treat the meat w/ some Kosher salt bath, and toss it in the slow cooker and go on about my day. I couldn't have been more wrong. I opened that package and discovered I was in a college biology course, I'm sure of it. If I had a medical book on my counter, I'd swear that the muscle illustration came alive. I expected a little silver membrane here and there, but Daddy didn't trim A-N-Y of it. I'm tellin' ya, it was the perfectly defined illustration of leg meat muscle, like you find in a medical book, complete with each little muscle wrapped in its own membrane. Okay, okay, I feel a little daunted, but I try to proceed, all the while saying to myself, "Rachael Ray would SO NOT do this!!"

I try to rewind my brain to a couple of nights ago, remembering a Good Eats episode about butchering meat....funny, the timing of this, eh? Okay, "Take the knife, break the membrane a little bit, then slide the knife against the membrane to separate the muscle from this membrane." Uh, on this piece of meat, the theory was much better than the practice. I managed to get a couple of the "larger" muscles, decided I don't have patience NOR time for this, and it's back in the fridge for hubby to play with, if he wants something to do. I strongly suspect it will end up in the trash. Maybe I oughtta try to make venison stock out of it? We'll see. In the meantime, I think I know why Esau gave up his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup. He just got tired of butchering his hunt and wanted a (very costly) change of pace. Maybe I'll just make some Texas chili and call it a day.

"Name, please." "Huh?"

2010-01-03T19:19:00.000-08:00

LOL, I know, goofy title, huh. I didn't wanna go with the Shakespearean cliche, "What's in a name?" How many title names have you seen for blogs? Some of them are pretty straightforward and self-explanatory. Others are just plain weird. Mine is probably considered somewhat middle road.

Let's start with the "Emerald" part of the name for my blog site. If you haven't figured it out by now, my favorite color in the world is GREEN. :) I like other colors, don't get me wrong. It's just that I love the color green. If you were to take a look at my wardrobe, Stacy and Clint would shudder because I have a lot of the same things (T-shirts) in different and mostly solid colors. ;) Oh well. If they decide to grant me a new wardrobe, we'll talk then. But...I digress. :}
The Christian symbolism of green is very intriguing to me. Nature and growth being the primary meanings. Rest, life, newness...everything one would want in life, right? Emeralds are green stones represented in the Bible, and it just HAPPENS to be my birthstone. Coincidence? I think not!

"Star" is probably the part of the blog name that made little sense to anyone else w/o explanation. "Estelle" is an Old-French-used-by-Old-English translation of the Latin word "stella~~meaning 'star'" SO, I'm a "star" in my own right! :D Seriously, tho...I am far from what society would call a "star." Still, God thinks highly of me, and some of His most awesome creations is not only mankind, but the stars that He placed and ordered in the heavens.

"Texas" is pretty self-explanatory, but in case you're troubled, it's because I live in Texas. ;) I'm a transplant from the winds, you could say. As a child, I travelled alllllll over the United States, but we finally settled in Texas when I was 9. I've been here a while, and evidently I'm not going anywhere else. Hubby is a native-born Texan w/ absolutely no intention of leaving. So here I stay. :}

Now to put it all together: "Emerald Star of Texas."
I toyed with many names for my blog. I tried to be somewhat creative but yet it still make some sense (lol, at least to me!). I did a little research, and I found that there is, indeed, such thing as an astrological "green star." We don't readily discern green stars, but they are out there! Here is the link to the information I gathered: http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=14 The green star is smack in the middle of radiation temperature and visibility spectrum. No matter to me. It's just kinda neat that they exist on this level. :) Now, why didn't I use "green star" as my title, if there's such a thing? Glad you asked, lol. It seems that a "green star" holds military and/or political connotations, as well as the growing use of a grading "green star" to indicate environmental friendliness, something I'm not an avid supporter of. I don't discourage the "green movement" by any means, but I'm not going out of my way to live a greener life. If I happen to like a green idea, fine. If not, well, maybe next time. Uh oh, I digress..... I do that a lot, lol.
Instead of using the color "green" as part of my title, I figured I'd use another word for green, and it just happens that an emerald is the color of my favorite gemstone as well as shade of green.

And there you have it! :D LOL, I kinda feel like posting the Schlotzsky's motto, but I won't. :}
Have a most blessed day!
Estelle

Let Me Introduce Myself

2010-01-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name is Estelle.
I have frequently been told that I need to blog some of my thoughts, so I thought this would be a good start for me. This is a new year with new expectations as well as new hopes and dreams.

I feel I must start off by saying that I will not set out to offend anyone; however, I am intensely aware that some of what I believe or think happens to be offensive. IF you are reading my blog and you find yourself generally offended, I ask that you please do us both a favor and practice your right to leave the rest of us in peace. I have little to no patience for political correctness. More on that another time.

I am a Christian woman who lives in Texas. I happen to hold to CLASSICAL Republican ideals. In general, the Republicans of the last couple of decades have left too much to be desired and have basically abandoned the classic Republican ideology. More on that another time.

How about some more fun things about me? I am happily married to a hubby of 15 years. We have two wonderful sons, ages 12 and 7. I most likely will address them as T12 and J7, with their initials representing their names and numbers representing their ages. Obviously, lots more on them later! ;)

I enjoy cooking. My absolute favorite celebrity cook is Rachael Ray. Love that dear girl! She and I basically share the same philosophy about food. We both can usually discern flavors and reproduce them in the home setting. I believe that if she and I were ever to meet, we'd have ourselves a FANTASTIC time. :) May make a spot for Estellized recipes. ;)

I enjoy reading, though basically I spend more time reading to my boys than to myself. About the only thing I truly read by myself is the Bible, and I admit that I don't even read THAT well. :{
I love to read Christian-themed suspense thrillers and mysteries. In my opinion, Frank Peretti is a brilliant story-teller! There are other authors I enjoy, but I'll talk about them another time.

Speaking of Christian-themed books, when I have time, I enjoy certain television ministries. I know, I know...according to the world's way of looking at them, they are a bunch of self-serving crooks. There are some that fit the description, but I don't believe all of them fit that bill. More on that another time.

I've got more on my mind that I will share with you. Right now, this is a good start. I pray that each of you experiences the best new year and new decade ever, full of prosperity and wellbeing...in other words, I pray you experience true peace this year.

Blessings,
Estelle