Welcome to my world....

Moving...

2007-07-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hullo!

I've decided to move my blog. I will no longer be posting on blogger!

I will be HERE.

In the hands of a capable God.

2007-06-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

Either the Bible is the Word of God, not to be questioned, but to be believed and obeyed, or it is an outdated religious record to be applied at our discretion and convenience.

If you accept the Bible as the Word of God, you can’t pick and choose which Bible verses are pertinent to our culture. You must believe that God is capable of writing a book that is supra cultural

---M. Pearl

Hmmm...you all think about that tonight.

To read the article this quote is taken from go here.

Why to Go to Public School...10 Amazingly Good Reason

2007-06-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Why send your kids to public schools rather than home-school? Here are ten good reasons...

10. Skill development: Public schools do a great job of teaching children to sit down and shut up while the teacher engages in crowd control and mindless administrative duties. The ability to put one's mind on hold, sit there and do nothing is a skill that will be in high demand in the competitive marketplace of the future.

9. Lack of ability: I could not teach my own child, I do not know how. After all, anything meaningful in life can only be taught by those properly trained and certified to do so.

8. Financial aspects: We cannot financially afford to home-school. Without the school based health clinics, how could we afford to keep our children supplied with birth control?

7. I want my children to learn all the correct stuff: Given how fast history changes, I want to be sure they are up on the most recent version.

6. Scheduling benefits: Staying on the same schedule as everybody else has its benefits. That way, when we go to Disneyland, we can make sure that we spend our time waiting in lines rather than wasting it on all those rides and attractions.

5. Close friendships: I like the fact that my children are spending so much of their time with people not in their family. I would much rather my children's closest friendships be outside the family rather than within.

4. Separation of church and state: As long as we keep church and state separate, then the more time I can keep my kids under the control of the state, the less time they can possible be under the harmful influence of a church.

3. Socialization: What possible better way could there be to give your children the social skills they will need as adults than to stick them with children their own age all day. Besides, the best influence on your child is the one randomly assigned to the seat behind him or her in home-room.

2. Class size: Learning cannot occur in groups of less than twenty students. There is nothing quite like being lock-stepped through material (with thirty other students) to really develop (within a person) that true love for learning.

1. Class pace: I want my child to know how to learn at the proper pace. If a child cannot keep up with the class, then it serves that child right to be left behind in the dust. If the child is learning too fast, then he or she needs to learn to slow down. And besides, what gives any child the right to assume that he or she can learn things he or she wants to learn rather than what the board of education decides should be taught for any given grade level. Anything learned at the wrong time might just as well be left unlearned.

Yeah...for all you public schoolers out there, we home-schoolers find the particular list amusing not because we want to make fun of the school system, but because we get so much flake from the school system.

And besides, truth it truth. Nobody can deny the reasons listed here. ;)

I've never seen the movie.

2007-06-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Take the Quiz here!

:: E L I N O R ::

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Every six seconds a child dies of starvation.

2007-06-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

That fact nags on me relentlessly.
Every time I buy a stick of gum.
Every time I buy a favorite snack of flavor blasted gold fish.
I look down at the smiling fish in my hands
and see a dozen meals worth of money,
a dozen saved lives,
set aside
so I can satisfy my craving.

I see the faces of children, their faces
caved in with hunger.
I see the woman who holds her dying child. Her eyes
are empty, lacking the hope of God. Lacking
the strength
that God grants.
Her eyes are deep and emotionless.
Joyless.
Because she cannot provide sustenance
For her child to survive.

I come upon the verse,
"remember those in bonds
as if you were bound with them"

If they are naked, cloth them.
If they are hungry, feed them.

Two simple commands that are forgotten
because our churches need
soft, cushioned chairs
so we can have someplace to sit.
We forget that millions call a cement floor
a luxury.

I remember the pictures
that the women at church brought home
of people
living in trash.
Of a boy who was shamed
because all he had to wear,
all he could find,
was a T-shirt
and a pair of girls tights.

He did not have
a pair of boy's pants.

Unknown to most,
you can feed an entire family
for less
then a dollar day,
on the other side of the planet.

We turn our eyes away from the scruffy man
sitting outside the supermarket.
Turn them away from the harried, grubby mother
who snaps at her children.
Twenty dollars
in the name of God
for food or a night out
is enough to impact her
for the rest of her life.
A smile
without scorn
could make her cry.

You feel guilty as you read this,
but you will forget
eventually.

My words will pass
forgotten.

But my dreams will not.

Because I cannot stop dreaming of those children.
innocent
fearful.
I keep dreaming of those children,
and in those dreams
I hold them.
I tell them Jesus loves them.
I tell them of a better Father
a better place.

But then I wake
And the children are gone.
So brief a time that I was with them.

So how come
I can't forget them-
push their faces away?

You might be able to forget,
but I cannot.

God will not
allow it.

Trivia

2007-06-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

The "save" icon on Microsoft Word shows a floppy disk, with the shutter on backwards.

The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.

The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful plough man strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.

The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.

The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

The only nation whose name begins with an "A", but doesn't end in an "A" is Afghanistan.

Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning

A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie

It's against the law to burp or sneeze in a church in Omaha, Nebraska

Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark

Some ribbon worms will eat themselves if they cant find any food

There are more plastic flamingos in the U.S, than real ones

It's against the law to slam your car door in Switzerland

A company in Taiwan makes dinnerware out of wheat, so you can eat your plate

The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump

More Monopoly money is printed in a year, than real money printed throughout the world

Q is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the United States

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different

A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave

Of all the words in the English language, the word set has the most definitions

Dogs and cats, like humans, are either right of left handed

Nose prints can be used to identify dogs, just like humans use fingerprints

God

2007-05-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

God is so incredible! I LOVE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All who whole-heartedly agree with me, leave a comment about how much you love God!

I have nothing more to say, because sometimes what I feel inside when I think of freedom from sin, being Christ sister, everlasting life, and how much God loves His children...words just don't describe how wonderful it is!!!

Eva Vertes

2007-05-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

I found this to be a thought provoking and interesting speech. I even learned a few things from just listening! As you all know, Brett and Alex have already posted about Eva Vertes on the Rebelution blog, which got me interested in the first place. I googled, searched, and found this video which I'm sure you'll enjoy. This young woman doesn't seem to be drawn to money or world renown, but seems to genuinely have a passion for science and medicine. Enjoy.

Lucy

A love story

2007-05-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

My Love Story

By: Shalom Brand

Every girl I know who has a desire to find a good man and raise a family has the same fear. Will I find the right one?

Is this the one, or what about him? That guy is nice, too. A lot of girls make a list of what they want, or what they think they need. I can tell you, we girls don’t have a clue as to what we really need.

When I was at the end of my nineteenth year, I met the man whom I would come to love and call My Man, but at that time, I could not have picked him out in a group of five. He was just one of all the other guys who hung around our community. It was over a year later that I would come to see him as the man for me.

From the time I was quite young, I knew that I would need lots of wisdom, and my parents’ guidance, in choosing the man to whom I would say “yes.” I am a very gullible person. I still remember falling for the line, “Did you know that the word “gullible” is not in the dictionary?” My brothers would never leave me alone, thoroughly loving to trick me and lead me on. It was this trait that eventually caused me to pray for wisdom and be totally open to counsel.

There was a steady stream of young men asking for my hand in marriage, and I would have most likely fallen for some of them if my parents had not had the wisdom to protect me, or if I had not gained the wisdom to obey them. My parents knew there was only one man out there good enough for their girl, and they were going to make sure I found him.

Along about this time, my dad held a one-week men’s Bible and missions training camp. All of us girls helped with the cooking. Justin Brand was there among the rest of the young men for that week. It was the first time we had met, even though I cannot really remember him from that week. His parents had asked him to go to this Bible camp, and he had found work excuses not to go, until the man he worked for decided to take the week off. Since he couldn’t work that week, he decided to get in his truck and came on down to check it all out. He was only nineteen, and just a boy at heart. His parents had told him that the Pearls had a daughter about his age and had hinted for him to check me out. He did, and he loved me from that brief beginning.

That week, a group of men, Justin among them, signed up to go on a mission trip to Thailand. My brother was among them on the same mission trip, so Justin and Gabe became friends. Justin did not see me again until a few months later at a seminar near his church. His parents came also, hoping to meet me, because Justin had gone home and told them that he was going to marry me. At the seminar, my Dad, being funny, told the crowd of young men that he was taking applications for his daughters’ hands in marriage. Justin, as soon as the meeting was over, came running back to the book table to fill out an application. We all thought it was funny. Time passed.

My brother, Gabriel was planning a young people’s June weekend camp, and he invited Justin and his brother to come down for it. They lived a couple hours from us. The next few months, Justin found one reason or the other to come down to visit. He worked in the children’s ministry for his church. At that time, my sister and I were making puppets to use as a ministry tool, so he would use that as an excuse to come and borrow the puppets to use in his ministry. He got to know my family during that time.

I worked long hours and would come home tired and really never thought about him as a potential husband. I actually did not know a lot about him, but I knew by this time that he liked me a lot, because my brothers were always laughing at how obviously in love he was.

A whole year passed, and he came back for the June camp. It was on my parents’ property, and all of the girls stayed at their house; the guys slept on the grounds around the creek. We had lots of activities during the day, including volleyball, hiking, swimming, and canoeing. Every chance Justin had, he was right there telling me what he wanted out of life, and what his goals were. I found it cute that he was so persistent; most guys would have given up. But he knew what he wanted, and he was determined to keep trying.

I had always prayed for wisdom so that when the right man came along, I would just know God’s will. I also knew that when my parents finally said “Yes” to someone, that meant something, for they had said “No” to several good, godly men. My dad does not value what most men value. He is not impressed with appearances, money, schooling, houses, jobs, family ties, future possibilities, etc. I cannot explain to you exactly what it is that my dad looked for in a man, but I knew, without a doubt, that I could trust him to make a wise decision. I had been praying for some understanding, and I knew that God wanted me to have a man who would love me as much as “He so loved me.”

It was at the end of the camp week, while I was visiting my brother and just getting ready to leave, that Justin pulled up in Gabriel’s driveway. Justin had just returned from dropping someone off at the airport. I later learned he had called his parents and told them that he was going to talk to me about getting to know me, with the idea of marriage in mind. If I said “Yes,” he was going to stay the weekend, otherwise he was coming home.

Well, it was about ten o’clock at night, and I was in the car ready to leave when Justin came flying out of his truck and said, “I need to talk to you.” I still had no intention or interest at this time to get to know him, but said I would walk with him so he could talk. He talked and talked about everything he could think of. I had always thought I would marry someone who was in a ministry. But as he talked, he kept saying, “My family will be my ministry, no matter what I do or where I go; they will come first. My children will know that they mean the world to me. If I lose one of them, then I will lose my heart.” He said this with tears in his eyes.

At that moment, God gave me peace in my heart about this persistent young man, and I knew that he was God’s man for me. If he loved his children, then he would always do what was right for them and me. Nothing else really mattered. I didn’t know his parents, and I had never really known what he did for a living. He still lived at home, and he had not really thought much about the future, except that he wanted to marry me, and have children who walked with the Lord. So, after about an hour of him talking with me, I told him, “If my dad says ‘yes’ then I say ‘yes’.” He turned to me and started to pray and thank God for his blessing, asking God to bless us as we were seeking to do his will. He reached out and took my hand as he prayed, and I knew then that I would be marrying this man. God had put complete peace in my heart.

The next morning, Justin showed up at the house before Dad was awake and waited outside for him to come out. I do not know what was said, but all of us girls were watching from the herb garden. After about two minutes, Justin came running down the hill yelling “Yes!” It was such a fun day! He spent the weekend hanging out with me, and the family. I shocked him by introducing him to my grandparents as “My Man.” It shocked them too, because two days earlier I had no thought of having a man, and now I was preparing to marry him.

God is such a Big God, and he likes to bless those who want his will and seek after him. Three weeks later we were engaged. Two months after that, we were married. We will have been married five years this coming September 2007, and I can tell you honestly that every moment has been a wonderful blessing. God knows what he is doing. All I had to do was trust him.

Stupid...but fun.

2007-04-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4 and write what it says.
“This information was current as of September, 2006”

2.Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch?
Umm…air, empty space…take you pick.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Jericho

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.
7:00

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
Whoa…err…8:50. *blush*

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
My dad’s shop vac and my mom and sister talking.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
About 6:30. I got out of the car and held one of our baby chicks.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
The Rebelution’s post about Virginia Tech

9. What are you wearing?
Blue jeans, a comfy white cotton shirt with a cat swimming under water ‘window shopping’ for fish and red socks.

10. Did you dream last night?
Yes. Always.

11. When did you last laugh?
I don’t know. That’s not as sad as it seems, I laugh a little at random things all day. It’s hard to keep track.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A clock…some nice prints of eagles catching fish that our friend’s ex-boyfriend drew. A family photo.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Some people down the road just shaved their Lama. Trust me, it’s weird.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
Heck I dunno… It’s like some odd exercise for me.

15. What is the last film you saw?
The Fifth Element!

16.If you became a multi - millionare overnight, what would you buy?
I’d give part of it to my parents, buy a cheap car. Then I would buy materials to spread the Gospel.

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know.
I gave up sugar for Lent, and in consequence dreamed, like, three time about eating ketchup. I was that desperate. Ketchup was one of the things I craved the most.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
I would have Christians take the bible literally.

19. Do you like to dance?
I would LIKE to dance. I don’t know how.

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
I’ve settled this years ago! Goewin.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Hrmm. I don’t know

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Oh, yes! I would love to go to France.

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate?
Welcome home.

25. 4 people who must also do this quiz on their blog.

Gee, I don’t know enough people on the blogshpere.

Age of the Sharpie

2007-04-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Mark almost anything with bright, lasting color! The Sharpie Fine Point Marker has a tough, resilient 0.5 mm tip. Permanent ink is fast drying, quick flowing, and resists water.

Set of 4 Colors — Set includes the colors Red, Green, Blue, and Black, in a plastic pouch.

Set of 8 Colors — Set includes one of each color in the set of 4 colors, plus the colors Yellow, Purple, Orange, and Brown, in a plastic pouch.

Set of 12 Colors — Contains one each of Black, Yellow, Purple, Red, Green, Brown, Orange, Blue, Aqua, Berry, Lime, and Turquoise, in a plastic pouch.

Note — Use this color chart as an approximation of the real color. If exact color matching is necessary, use actual samples of the materials.

Chicks

2007-04-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ohmygosh. Chicks are so cute it is pathetic.

Our chick came in the mail yesterday.

I've come down with a nasty cold, so I was still in bed when my sister came in at about ten in the morning...she told me all about it---

"So I came into our room and kicked the bed to wake you up, but nothing happened, so I kicked it again. All you did was curl up tighter in your covers. So I yelled at you that 'The chicks are here!' You rolled over and took one of your earplugs out-"

She makes a squinty eyed face, her hand is up over her head holding an imaginary earplug

Yes. I wear earplugs every night of the year. My sleep is now that of the dead. (You can't hear anything...It's great!)

"took one of your earplugs out and said, 'What, the chickens are here?' And then rolled back over and fell back asleep. Then I was like, --She rolls her eyes-- 'whatever'".

Yeah...I'm a pretty sorry creature when I'm sick.

Chicks are so small and so cute you just want to hold them forever! We've finally figured out how to keep them warm, so they're not loud at all, all they make is contented warblings and cheeps. If your parents ever say you can't have chicks because they're too noisy, you'll know that if you keep them warm they aren't loud at all. The ones at Coastal are kept in big metal bins with only one heat lamp for sixty chicks! Of course they are going to be cold.

When you get them in the mail, you have to check their bottoms for plugs. Their feathers get all matted back there, and things get backed up, so they can die if you aren't vigilant. That's the hardest part, trying to pull the poop of their bottoms, they make the most distressing cheeps...I tried earlier today and I couldn't do it. I'm waiting for my dad to get home so he can show me, he's really good at this sort of thing.

They're all downy feather, so light and fluffy! But that makes it easier for them to get killed. Last time we had chicks my brother was putting their waterer in the tub, and one ran under it just as he was setting it down...it was a quick death. You have to watch the sleepy ones, because if they're tired all the time, that probably means they are going to die. So far we haven't lost a single one.

Aaaand...both my cats are pregnant. Yup. We were a little late on that spaying thing. We are going to have a house full of chicks and kittens! *weeeeeee!*

just a quick update...Bye!

: (

2007-04-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Has anybody noticed the little box on your very right on the screen?

Has anybody noticed that the number of murders rises by at least a hundred everyday?

Umm...Duh.

2007-04-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

Commercials 'killing childhood'

Pester power can lead to poor diets, the NUT says

Teachers are warning that children are growing up too quickly because of pressure from advertising and commerce.

*They say advertising which targets children should be more tightly controlled because it encourages poor diets and general ill-health.*

The call comes from the annual conference of the National Union of Teachers in Harrogate, where delegates will also discuss education reforms.

Controls on advertising junk food to children came into force this week.

But dedicated children's channels are allowed to phase in the restrictions, which affect programmes aimed at four to nine year olds.

'Initiative overload'

They need only to comply fully with the ban on advertising high fat, salt or sugar foods by 1 January 2009.

From 1 January 2008 the restrictions will be extended to TV shows aimed at children up to 15, as well as adult programmes watched by a large number of children.

The teachers complain the adverts encourage children to use "pester power" on their parents and say that children are growing up too fast because of commercial pressures.

Other issues they will highlight during the annual conference are imminent reforms in the education system, including new diplomas for 14 to 19 year olds and changes to the national curriculum.

Delegates will say they are suffering from "initiative overload", especially with regard to 14 to 19 education.

Specialised, work-related diplomas are due to be introduced into schools and colleges from next year.

Teachers feel they have not been sufficiently consulted about the introduction of these new qualifications.

The conference, which runs until Tuesday, is also expected to launch a charter for the achievement of Afro-Caribbean boys.

'Hope is a thing with feathers'

2007-03-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hope is a thing with feathers
That perches on the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Bible study---God hates sinners

2007-03-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

WOW! What a title! You're squirming in your computer seat already, uneasy with the cold, hard truth.

============God--Hates--sinners.-================

The bible is very clear about woman teaching the bible...It's a big no-no. This will not be a sermon, I will not try to 'teach' you anything. But I know without a doubt that my world view will cause many ruffled feathers.

I'm posting the reasons I believe that God hates sinners, why I think that is what the bible says.

When I brought this up at the Rebelution, I was met much resistance. When I said I had prayed about it, and that God had let me know I was not out of line or wrong, a girl even went as far as to warn me to be careful because Satan can mess with our prayers!

***Okay, quick interlude...Satan has already been totally defeated by Christ's death on the cross. He cannot touch us. If you think he can, then he will, because then your not having faith in what Christ did. The bible even goes so far as to say we have our foot on his neck...And in bible times middle east, or, heck, even now, when an army conquered another, the 'winner' would put his foot on the 'losers' neck, an inarguable sign of defeat. Paul was telling us satan was totally defeated.***

-Ahem-

Anyway, people really don't like the idea of an angry God, a wrathful God. We've been conditioned since kindergarten to believe that God loves everybody. Do you remember the yellow super balls that have smiley face rainbows and say, God loves you? Have you ever heard the phrase,

"It just brakes His heart when they sin and don't accept Christ."

I'll ask this question, maybe you can use in the future...where does it say that in the bible?

Even my pastor just last week said God loves homosexuals, liars, murderers... I didn't say a word.

Before you post, or even read further, if you're not going to read the post in its entirety then don't even bother.

Get you bible in your lap right now so you can see for yourselves what the bible says about God's love for sinners, preferably a KJ since that's were I'm getting references from. I'm not making this a lesson, I'm just taking scripture and presenting it so you can study it, like a bible study. I'm sure most of you who read this will be unsettled...I know I was. I wanted there to be an all loving God, But I was faced with the truth and saw God as He truly is...And I fear Him.

These are the reasons I believe that God hates sinners...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Genesis 6:11-13---Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.

12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

****
There are no mushy feelings for the people He created. They were all sinful, so He destroyed them. The one family that followed His ways and obeyed Him were the only ones that were saved. And He didn't just destroy the 'bad people', There were plenty of babies and children. He totally whipped the planet clean.

----------------------------------------------------

Genesis 19:13, 24-28
13For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

28And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

***

Wow. What I terrible way to die. Can you imagine fire and brimstone raining from heaven? Imagine your having a good time with your friends, and you step outside and see fire totally decimating where you live, dead bodies everywhere. You walk further in awe, when fire burst through your own roof, you can hear all the people inside screaming, smell their burning flesh. That same smell is everywhere, surrounds you. Children lie dead in the streets. babies wail.

It was terrible...just most people don't stop to consider it, to really think about it.

Even Lot's wife was killed just by looking back at the city, just a glance. God told her not to look back, and when she disobeyed God killed her in a blink of an eye.

------------------------

Exodus 7-13

***
The Egyptians and the seven plagues. Read about those plagues...those were bad as well. God made those big enough, and terrible enough that the Egyptians feared and respected God.

------------------------

Exodus 32: 26-28, 31-35

26Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

27And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

28And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

31And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

33And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

35And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

***

God sounds like such a warm, feely person in this chapter.

HA!

God plagued even the chosen ones. I don't know about you, I'd rather not be plagued by God.

--------------------

Numbers 21: 5-9

4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

***

They were whining. Complaining, after all God did for them. Again, the bible says many Israelites died. Not men. Not women. When the Author used the word Israelites, that meant little kids a well. Can you imagine if were you were living was infested with poisonous snakes, that they were everywhere, and you couldn't protect your own children. Imagine the heartbreak and pain.

God doesn't seem as if He is suffering, either. He is dealing out punishment to His children with an iron will and hand.
--------------------

Joshua 24:29-20

19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

20If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

***

See, the children os Israel wanted to serve false gods AND the God of their fathers, because they knew all what God had done. But Joshua is telling them no. You'r either with God or you're against Him. God doesn't like shades of gray. A lot of people would argue that the bible is chock full of gray! but that's not the case. God is direct.

The part I bolded...doesn't sound like the God we hear about at church, does it?

----------------------

Judges 3:7-9, 12-15, 4:1-2, 10:6-7

7And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

8Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

9And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

12And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

13And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

14So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

1And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

2And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

6And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.

7And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

----------

1 Kings 13:17-26

17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

18He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:

21And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,

22But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

23And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.

***

speaks for itself.

------------------------

2 Kings 21: 1-16

1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.

2And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

3For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

4And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.

5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

7And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

8Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.

9But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

10And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying,

11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:

12Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.

13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

14And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

15Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.

***

Their--ears---will---tingle. Again, speaks by itself. God has no love for the wicked.

-------------------------

Psalms 3:7

7Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

-------------------------

Psalms 5:4-6

4For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

6Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

------------------------

Psalms 12:2-3

2They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

3The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

***

Cut off our lips and tongue...ouch.

---------------------------------

Okay...these thre Psalms I found just flipping through my bible. What I've covered is just I glimpse of what God thinks of sinners. but the strong, underlining message throughout all of these is,

God hates sinners.

The God of the old testament is often referred to as the angry God, the one that you should tremble just thinking about His anger. And then the new testament God is the kind one, the one that wants to wrap His arms around you.

Why would God decide to change His mind concerning sinners? God is not fickle. We have the same God that decimated cities, killed millions. Who's wrath is hot against the workers of iniquity.

I know about all the verses about love. But read carefully. That love is always directed at the faithful, the ones who follow His ways, not the wicked.

But, God so loved the world!

He loved the future Christians enough to send His Son.

-----

1 John 4:19

19We love him, because he first loved us.

-----

Again, analize. It proves what I've said in the last sentence.

WE = Christian.

He is refering to Christians. Because He first loved US---Christians.

We wicked love Him because He firts loved us? No. the wicked don't love God.

We Christians love Him because He first loved us.

And now for th crowning verse The cherry shall we say?

John 3:16

36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

It abides on them. It's not going to abide on them, as in hell, but abides on them right now.

If God was taught this way, I think we would have a lot more converts, people would grow serious about their faith. Christians would be less lazy about things.

And for those who think, "Well, everyone is a sinner, even Christians!!!" God clensed from all unrighteousness, we are as white as snow in His sight, heirs with Christ. The difference is that we are foregiven. Our list of sins has been destroyed.

But, yes. we can sin, and God can get angry at us. Think about that next time you 'casually sin'.

I just covered a few verses. Read through proverbs, Isaiah...and then it crescendos in Revelation. People worry about global warming. Global warming doesn't ring any warning bells in my head at all. I worry about the people left behind after Christs second coming. You go read Revelation and find out what's going to happen to those sinners who felt safe, he thought that God loved them. The grand finale is Hell. Hell is not a place God would send those He loved. I brought that up, and a rebelutionary posted a quote from C. S. Lewis, saying that the doors of Hell are locked on the inside.

If every sinner knew how bad Hell is, I can say very confidently that there would be a lot more followers of Christ. God is the one who sends us to Hell. The doors are not locked on the inside, if they were, nobody would be in there. Hell is so terrible a don't even have words to express it. To be cut off from God forever, no second chances...it's beyond what my mind can fathom. We people on earth have at least that much, salvation in grasp. and we forget, we get lax. We don't tell people about Christ every chance we get, we don't share the good news.

Hell isn't made for those God loves, but rather for those He hates...

-Umm...I phrased that last statement incorrectly. God hates sinners. Sinners go to Hell. Satan is a sinner and hell was created for the devil and His angels. so it WAS created for those He hates, but He didn't create it to satisfy His anger. He created it to satisfy His holiness. God cannot live with sin.

Russell

2007-03-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Say hello to my new friend, Russell

(SCROLL DOWN)

Gospel tracts

2007-03-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

I had a dream last night about sharing the gospel...It felt wonderful. This is a gospel tract that you can order from NGJ for FREE! No shipping charges either. I'm often frustrated that I can't reach people how I want to. I have an insatiable need to tell others about Christ, I want to shout his name from the mountaintop! It's so easy to leave these in the bathroom of the bookstore, or the waiting room of the dentists office.

And they are ===FREE!=== You don't even have to pay for shipping. Just order some and wait for them to come in the mail!!!

Please, think about it. Someones salvation could be, literally, a click away.

I've posted the tract here, so you can read it. Maybe telling someone about Christ will become easier afterwards.

Here's the link to order the tracts

What God Has Done!

Shocking! Vulgar! Distasteful!

Jesus Christ, God's sinless son, covered with all the filthy deeds of degenerate mankind! Who would dare?

God dared - dared to give the life of his son in payment for your lost soul.

BUT WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO TAKE OUR SIN TO HIMSELF BEFORE HE COULD FORGIVE US?

To die in our place , Jesus had to become exactly what we are – SIN. We have saturated our lives with selfishness, lust, pride, resentment, bitterness, and hostility. Can you look in the mirror and praise what you see? God sees much deeper, and is very displeased.

THE BIBLE SAYS OF US: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23

“There is none that doeth good, no not one. ” Rom. 3:12

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. ” Mark 7:21-23 Your very thoughts have defiled you. You are what you think. Every vile act began as a thought. You are no better than your thoughts, and without God may one day become as bad.

God judges more than the act, he also judges the intentions of the heart.

God sees the lust in your heart as being adultery. “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart .” Matt. 5:28

God sees the hate in your heart as murder. “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment…but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Matt. 5:22 God records every sin to be used against you in the Day of Judgment. You have built an airtight case against yourself. Have you ever wondered what your record (all your thoughts included) might look like so far? Would you be ashamed for your mother to read it? “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Numbers 32:23

“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing.” Ecc. 12:14

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Heb. 9:27 Eternal death is the consequence of sin. “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4

God will return “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2 Thes. 1:8-9 “BUT WHY DOES GOD HAVE TO GET SO ANGRY AND DAMN EVERYONE OVER A FEW LITTLE SINS?”

It is our attitude that sin is “little” or of no significance that makes us blameworthy and damnable in God's sight.

If God did not intervene, sin would still end in death. You have seen sin strangle love, shatter the family, stab friends in the back, mock things that really matter, turn its back on compassion, lie to the conscience, and knowingly do the very things that bring regret in the morning.

God has promised to put an end to sin. He has condemned sin and everything associated with it, including the earth we are living on. Sin eternally separates one from God. As long as you are engaged in sin you are the enemy of God, and are destined for destruction.

HELL IS A REAL PLACE

“So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 13: 49-50

God did not create Hell to satisfy his anger but to satisfy his holiness. HELL IS EARTH'S JUNK YARD, THE HAZARDOUS WASTE DUMP OF THE UNIVERSE. It is the black hole that finally sucks in all that is rebellious, unkind, proud, lustful, and destructive.

Even in the eternal torment of The Lake of Fire, sinners will not repent. Their hatred for God and all that is righteous will grow with the passing of centuries. May God help you repent now, before your heart gets too hard.

But God Made A Way

Knowing the awful damnation we would suffer, God devised a method to save us.

Compelled by his love, Jesus Christ stepped out of eternity and into time and space. He reduced himself to human flesh and entered the world by the womb of a virgin. Thirty-three years later, before leaving this planet, he dressed himself in our sins and became a sacrifice to God by bleeding to death on a Roman cross.

THE CROSS WAS A SLAUGHTER.

Christ was first given 39 lashes from a 'cat of nine tails' (a whip with nine leather straps each bearing a cutting instrument at the end) providing a potential of 351 lacerations. He was blindfolded and beaten beyond recognition. They pulled out his beard and placed a crown of thorns on his head. With mocking hostility, the religious in the crowd spit into the blood that streamed down his face.

As he stood in silence, the greatest pain was not the thorns scratching his skull or the flesh dangling from his back; IT WAS THE SHAME OF OUR SIN.

He Took Your Place.

ALL SINS of ALL PERSONS , past and future, were laid on Christ. HE BORE THEM SO INTIMATELY, THE BIBLE SAYS HE BECAME SIN . He “despised the shame,” but for our salvation he “endured the cross.” Imagine! The most pure and holy taking the place of the most impure and unholy!

“He (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us.”

2 Cor. 5:21

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” 1 Pet. 2:24

“The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ” Isa. 53:6

“Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. ” Isa. 53:10

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins , the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh.” I Pet. 3:18

CHRIST'S ARMS WERE NAILED WIDE OPEN TO RECEIVE ALL WHO WILL COME TO GOD FOR FORGIVENESS.

Do You Believe This Good News?

He did it all for you, rotten filthy you.

If you desire God, and you believe with all your heart, your sins are all forgiven. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

It is not religion. It is the person Jesus. Trust him. Love him. Follow him. As you believe this good news your sins are forgiven and God will change your life. Find some place to get alone and thank God for being your Savior.

This tract is available free of charge (up to 200) upon request. Please click here to request these tracts. They are also available in Spanish.

Gotta have some fun once in awhile

2007-03-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Comments

2007-03-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

====Hey you guys, feel free to comment however you want! Give me your opinion on things, share stuff, whatever you want.=====

Just don't waste your time calling me intalorant...I already know that. An admirable quality for a Christian!!!

God....the great Designer.

2007-03-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

While watching sunsets like that one…those are the times I am most in awe of God. God created that out of nothing, with His great imagination he made the one of the most beautiful things in the world, the sky.

Think about it…Everything we make is limited to what God has already created. We cannot ‘create’ anything!

If we make a purple alien, God already created the color purple. If it has eyes, God already created eyes. If it has skin, God already created skin…we can only copy what God has already made!

Yet God, in all His majesty and greatness created everything out of NOTHING! He did not build off of what was already there. He formed the honeybee’s wings, he molded the blossom on the cherry tree, He sculpted the trunk of the tree. With God’s limitless imagination he defined beauty and goodness. Anything that we attempt to make is always copied from what God has already created.

The fact just hit me a couple days ago…We cannot even imagine or comprehend anything beyond God’s creation…It’s beyond our ability to do so. Can you imagine forming the petal on the dandelion? Can you imagine creating clear, translucent ice?

Have you ever watched Star Trek? They try to ‘create’ aliens. Some are bulbous and fat, some thin, some others telepathic. Then there are those that are just shinning lights. God created bulbous, God created minds, God created light. It’s impossible for us to create anything original! God defined EVERYTHING at creation…

Thoughts like these hit me while just taking a walk, holding a bird. God made creation so exquisite and beautiful, it's absolutely amazing. Just picking up a piece of bark, looking at the grooves, all the different textures and hues. And then going deeper to it's cells and Atoms...God created the Atom, designed it to meet his needs. God created millions of organisms that all work together so perfectly it's amazing.

He created everything to harmonize, to work together in peace ,to be perfect...

Cats

2007-03-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

I must tell you about my cats.

First, I love cats. I pride myself in not being yet another horse freak who even has horses printed on his/her underwear.

My first cat that was given to me was a thirteenth birthday present from my dad. Here is his picture…

To you give some idea of my dad, all the animals on the farm respect him. The dogs’ fawning is almost unbearable, and the cats know where the line is drawn. My dad has mastered the art of combining common sense, patience, corporal punishment, self control, love, and justice into an effective training technique that has won the respect of children and animal alike.

We already had one cat, Tom, whose photo I now post…

He had a twin, Jerry, who later was run over by a passing motorist during the night. They were the epitome of cuteness; always playing together and cuddling with one another. If anybody wants to know the cutest breed of kitten out there, get a Main Coon.

We had come home from an out of state trip to see relatives. We were happy to home and see dad again, busy telling him all about our trip, when he told us to go into the bathroom. Bemused and curious, we obeyed. As soon as we opened the door two clumsy little fur-balls, with ears perked in interest at the new sounds and people, teetered over to us.

Now, the reason my stoic and firm dad got two, instead of the initial one, was because, when he saw the two playing together in their cage, he new they must not be separated. It would be to sad to part these little brothers already so attached to each other. That’s how close they were.

I remember that moment with odd clarity. The two kitten faces with eyes wide in curiosity, the way they both walked over to the door with apparent interest in what were the three noisy, little people that were standing and looking down at them. Much different were we then our most likely quiet dad…Much more excitement.

We adored this little creature like cats were becoming extinct. During the day they would follow us down to the creek—Jerry actually fell in one time, whilst crossing a limb overhanging the water---And at night they would follow mom when she carried a basket of dirty laundry to the laundry area, or would sit and play in the kitchen while she did the dishes.

They were buddies, palls, best friends and dearest comrades in the truest sense of all those admirable attributes. Seriously, they were so honest-to-God cute it was pathetic.
That’s why it hit all of us so hard when Jerry died. Even my dad was somber for the next few days.

Then enters Samson.

Sammy kitty was the orangiest, fluffiest thing you ever saw.

Dad had told us for a long while that one cat was enough for the household. That we should just forget about it. Well, seeing as he was so adamant about it, we believed him.

On the day of my thirteenth birthday party, dad had gone out to get some ingredients for my cake, and I was busily, and happily, doing tie-dye and playing spoons with my friends, totally ignorant as to the whereabouts of my father. When he got home, he called for me, so I left my friends to the game and stood in front of him. My mom was smiling. He handed me a can of cat food. I took it and thanked him, genuinely pleased for the wet cat food for the cat so that he too could celebrate with me. But I was also a little puzzled; it was out of character for my dad to go out the way to by wet cat food.

“That’s not cat food.”

I screwed my brow, read the label again and noticed that it was….kitten food.

I looked up again, not daring to hope, when he laughed at my expression and told me to look in the car. I did. Inside a big cardboard box was the tiniest kitten. He was only five weeks old at the time, scrawny and fluffy. When I asked my dad what was his first thought about Sam when he first saw him, he replied,

“I sure hope it lives,”

But I loved that kitten to death. He hadn’t been litter trained yet, and he had a very hairy rump, so that things were always getting clumped and stuck and ratted. I had to give him a bath every day until he was big enough not to make a mess of himself. I’d dry him off with a blow dryer, he was always such a sorry little critter when his hair was all wet. He was all hair, see, so when he got it wet he looked absolutely miserable. He was a mischievous kitten. He had his freak out hour at night when he would run around the house being crazy. He would run into a room, attack someone’s ankle, and then run out again before anybody could do anything about it. He loved plastic eggs, he’d carry half of one everywhere with him. And he fetched Leggos. I’d through a jumbo leggo and he’d scamper after it and bring it back. It was very cute.

He grew up to be almost as big as Tom, (Tom was a Main Coon, they’re called gentle giants.) a thing which not one of us anticipated. He was very cuddly and liked to nap on your lap, and he had a weird, wheezing purr, like his motor needed to be oiled. Tom hated Sam for the first couple of weeks, but warmed up to having a buddy around. They played together all the time.

But one, hot August day last year he had gotten bit by an animal. He had hid under the van, his usually sleeping place, and let the wound get infected. He was dehydrated and had a fever when we I first discovered his wound. I knew something had to be wrong when he didn’t out from under the car when we turned it on.

Two days later he died at the veterinary clinic. They told us they would let us know of all the costs before they did anything. When we got the eleven hundred dollar bill we were shocked. They hadn’t told us how much the oxygen had cost, or the pain killers, or the medication. And my cat had to be put to sleep on top of all that. It happened the hard way. Once I had come to see Sam. He was over weight from being dehydrated, smelled bad from his infection and was hardly aware of us. They had him in this mounted, plastic box where they were giving him oxygen. He was lying on his side, breathing erratically, obviously in pain and worse then when we had brought him in. I think even my dad was close to crying. The nurse had already handed me a tissue.

They put him to sleep the very next day.

A week before my birthday, my birthday present died. I was crushed. I still am.

Now enters my girls.

This really is surprising, because this time dad got two kittens again. Now we had three cats. He told me to go to the bathroom, and when I did, two, shy girls looked up at me from under the stool. Knit n’ Purl. Again, this birthday present was totally unexpected, and it helped ease the absence of my Sammy baby.

Knit is the hunter, strongly built. She was only eight months old when she dragged a rat up to the front window, jumping on the bench and letting us see what she had killed. She’s the handsome one, bold colors and a nice dark patch over her left eye that everyone adores.

Purl is a lady. She doesn’t kill things. She is more delicately built and has huge saucer eyes, symmetrical face, and an endearing pink little nose. She is dainty, eats sparingly, letting the others push her around. But, oddly enough, she took a liking to Tom.

Tom is a beast, Purl a butterfly. But it is always Purl who wants to fight with him, play with him. She’s my little cutie pie in every sense of the word.

Girls are different then boys. They aren’t so ruff and tumble, they aren’t as tough. Their mock fights usually consist of them batting each other with their paws rather then attacking each other head on. They are sweet and cuddly. Knit sleeps next to my legs at night, while Purl curls up at my neck. If anybody is stuck living in an empty apartment, get a cat.

Both of my girls almost died. Purl ate something bad, got thinner than she already was, and threw up all over the place. That was a very close call, but she made it through.

Knit was bitten by an animal. She had three punctures in her left thigh that were weeping some dark cloudy liquid.

Now I have three cats.

When I was about six, dad gave us our first cat for Christmas…Rox. Rox was a thin cat, but a good hunter. He was always salivating badly. I learned later that was a sign of cat flue, he had it for years. We didn’t have enough money at the time to take him to the vet, though. A few years after we got Rox, we took in a stray that we later called Zachariah. He was a fluffy thing, liked to purr and cuddle. But he had a terrible habit of peeing on mom’s things. That got both cats stuck outside for good

While moving from one house to another, we had packed the cats in boxes and put them in the back of the truck. When we arrived at the house we discovered that Zack had torn a hole in the bottom of the house in the heat of his desperation to be free, and then had jumped out of the truck. That’s the last we heard of him.

Rox. I feel bad thinking about him. I had a habit of putting off feeding him. I’d get his food to him daily for a week, but then I’d miss three days. I was irresponsible and cruel, I knew better, but I had been doing it for years.

Then one day, after not feeding him for three days, he didn’t come back. He was old and sick, but, still, I’ve never lived that down. I get my food to my animals on time every time now, because now I see Rox when I forget to feed my cats.

I loved my first cats dearly. I admit I was often ungentle with them, but I loved them. I’d play with them endlessly, my first little kitties. I still miss them. When you lose someone close to you, anyone, and then they’re gone, the part that misses them never quite leaves you.

Welllll….It’s almost summer, and in Oregon that’s a big deal. It means you won’t get caked in mud walking over to your car. Everything will smell nicer, the trees will bloom and grow leaves. The blackberry will blossom so the bees will have something to eat.

“Wow. Four pages on her cat, and she could only manage on page on faith. Tsk, tsk.”

Yeah, I know…But as my blog says…this is my world. Faith is black and white, very clear to me.

To whoever read this far, this is the end, see ya’! (And thank you for coming this far!)

NOTE==================
The rat that knit is holding up to the window is actually a gopher!

Beware the Homeschoolers

2007-02-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

Beware the homeschoolers...

My best friend, Sara, when she started going to public school in junior high, said that people think, when they see a hommescooler, you're either very stupid and know nothing, or your a brainiac who wins all the chess tournaments. Sigh.

the first time I watched this little film, I couldn't believe it...because it's true! There is so much prejudice against homeschoolers it's actually a smidge amusing; Andrew, a fellow homeschooler, said that one time, when he told someone that he was homeschooled, they said,

"Oh, I'm sorry."

All I did was smile.

I don't think kids who go to public school really understand or experience the brows raised in judgement when you don't know the answer to a questions they think you should know, when you fail at something. A while ago my cousin asked me if I knew at what temperature water freezes. I told him no. He asked, 'why not?'

What do you mean 'why not?' Seriously. If someone says they can't bake a cake, do you ask them, 'why not?' ? If someone says they don't know the answer to 2+2, do you ask them 'why not?' ? Of course you don't, you give them the answer. I may not know at what temperature water freezes, (don't worry-- I do now) but do YOU know how long a Luna moth stays in it's cocoon until it's ready to emerge? Do you know how long it takes until your tadpole's tail gets smaller and smaller and then it turns into a frog? Do you know how to place a tomato plant in the soil so it's root grows sturdier?

Do you know what it feels like to cradle a songbird in your palm, feeling the tiny, incessant flutterings of it's heart, and then to throw your hands up to the sky and feel it's weight disappear as it flies away?

I thought so.
Why not?

What are those people in schools teaching you? :)

You might have thought that this little film was that simple, but if your a honeschooler, you'll know better.

Antichrist

2007-02-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

My mom checked the news the other day, and, lo and behold, the corrupted world she did find sent chills up our necks. There is nothing graphic on the link our article, but the evil is so pronounced, so startlingly real and apparent...It' seems like the world is walking around with their eyes gorged out, they seem so blind

By John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann
CNN

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm.

But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.

"The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth," de Jesus says.

De Jesus' claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake. Religious experts say he may be something much more dangerous, a cult leader who really believes he is God.

"He's in their heads, he's inside the heads of those people," says Prof. Daniel Alvarez, a religion expert at Florida International University who has debated some of de Jesus' followers.

"De Jesus speaks with a kind of conviction that makes me consider him more like David Koresh or Jim Jones."

Is de Jesus really a cult leader like David Koresh, who died with more than 70 of his Branch Davidian followers in a fiery end to a standoff with federal authorities, or Jim Jones, the founder of the Peoples Temple who committed mass suicide with 900 followers in 1978?

Prophets 'spoke to me'

De Jesus and his believers say their church -- "Creciendo en Gracia," Spanish for "Growing in grace" -- is misunderstood. Followers of the movement say they have proof that their minister is divine and that their church will one day soon be a major faith in the world.

But even de Jesus concedes that he is an unlikely leader of a church that claims thousands of members in more than 30 countries.

De Jesus, 61, grew up poor in Puerto Rico. He says he served stints in prison there for petty theft and says he was a heroin addict.

De Jesus says he learned he was Jesus reincarnate when he was visited in a dream by angels.

"The prophets, they spoke about me. It took me time to learn that, but I am what they were expecting, what they have been expecting for 2,000 years," de Jesus says.

The church that he began building 20 years ago in Miami resembles no other:

Followers have protested Christian churches in Miami and Latin America, disrupting services and smashing crosses and statues of Jesus.

De Jesus preaches there is no devil and no sin. His followers, he says, literally can do no wrong in God's eyes.

The church calls itself the "Government of God on Earth" and uses a seal similar to the United States.

Doing God's work with a Lexus and Rolex

If Creciendo en Gracia is an atypical religious group, de Jesus also does not fit the mold of the average church leader. De Jesus flouts traditional vows of poverty.

He says he has a church-paid salary of $136,000 but lives more lavishly than that. During an interview, he showed off a diamond-encrusted Rolex to a CNN crew and said he has three just like them. He travels in armored Lexuses and BMWs, he says, for his safety. All are gifts from his devoted followers.

And what about the tattoo of 666 on his arm?

Although it's a number usually associated with Satan, not the son of God, de Jesus says that 666 and the Antichrist are, like him, misunderstood.

The Antichrist is not the devil, de Jesus tells his congregation; he's the being who replaces Jesus on Earth.

"Antichrist is the best person in the world," he says. "Antichrist means don't put your eyes on Jesus because Jesus of Nazareth wasn't a Christian. Antichrist means do not put your eyes on Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Put it on Jesus after the cross."

And de Jesus says that means him.

So far, de Jesus says that his flock hasn't been scared off by his claims of being the Antichrist. In a show of the sway he holds over the group, 30 members of his congregation Tuesday went to a tattoo parlor to have 666 also permanently etched onto their skin.

He may wield influence over them, but his followers say don't expect them to go the way of people who believed in David Koresh and Jim Jones. Just by finding de Jesus, they say, they have achieved their purpose.

"If somebody tells us drink some Kool-Aid and we'll go to heaven, that's not true. We are already in heavenly places," follower Martita Roca told CNN after having 666 tattooed onto her ankle

To see the picture of this corrupted man, go here

ME....and CASSIE

2007-02-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

This is me. It's been a BIG head-ache to get my picture posted, I still haven't figured out how to post this on my profile. I want to use Picasa so the photos I post will keep the photo shop work I've done. But, this is one of the best pictures I have of me.

Anyway, yeah, um...this is what I look like.

This is my sista, Cassie. Obviously she just radiates coolness, she's the hippest girl out there., with that vogue-like stare she can outshine anyone. *smiles*

Yes, I like the Napoleon Dynamite movie...feel free to hate me.

Done now. Don't have any more time to wait for this machine to 'Up Load' my photos.

Bye!

Lucy

---Angels and satan----

2007-02-14T16:54:00.000-08:00

Things are finally coming back to normal at my house. People are getting better, I'm going back to a regular schedule were going to bed/waking up is concerned, and I might finally respond to a e-mails that have been sitting in my inbox for days!!!

*hooray!*

I'm giving a lesson on angels and satan tonight at Awana, nothing special, really...some verses and discusion questions to ponder. I'm posting them bellow, you might find a couple of my points thought provoking; I bring some of the little known facts about angels up. Here it is---

Angels and satan

Can angels lust?
Genesis 6:1-5

Can they desire things? Want them? Are they curious about things?

What do they look like?
Hebrews 13:2
Jude 6
Daniel 10:13
Joshua 5:13 Angel wears armor.
Judges 13:6 ‘Terrible countenance’

2 Samuel 14:17 They can discern.

Why do angels sin?

Do you think angels are always beautiful? Why are why not?

Do they eat?
Psalm 78:24-25

Jude 6 They can leave their first estate, their habitation.

Does God send angels to protect and guide us, help us?
Acts 12:11
Genesis 24:40
Exodus 23:23

Do you think angels can mislead us? Why or why not?

Galatians 1:8

Do you think God sends angels to hinder us? Why or why not?

How much power does God give angels?
2 Chronicles 32:21
2 Samuel 24:162
Kings 19:35

God can send angels in the fierceness of His anger.
Psalm 78:49

We will be equal with the angels in Heaven
Luke 20:35-36

We will judge angels
1 Corinthians 6:3
What to you think that means?

===============================================================

Where do you think satan is now?
Job 1:7

Isaiah 14:14 Thought he could be like God. Note he doesn't say greater then God, admitting that there can be no higher being God.

Do you think Satan has any power over us today? Why or why not?

1 Peter 1:12

Do you think he can hinder us in some ways like our prayers and dreams? Why or why not?

Read:
Romans 16:20
James 4:7
Jude 9

--------NOTE------
One of the verses above says we have satan under our feet...the point I'm trying to make is that in the east, when you had totally overcome an enemy, you would put your foot on his neck---the ultimate gesture of defeat. The bible says we have our foot on satan, he is TOTALLY defeated in every way!

2007-02-08T17:27:00.001-08:00

Everybody...stay away from the disease ridden state that is Oregon. We are all sick.

Stay away from Oregon.

Uggghhh...I'm tired of getting sick. The cashier ladies at the Co-op are sick . Half the kids at my Awana are sick. My family is sick. Even my pretend friend from another dimension has caught this, it's that bad.

2007-02-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

Everybody who reads my blog knows that I back the Pearls 100%. If you didn't, look to your left. I was reading up on their child training techniques, and stumbled out onto this little 'pearl' of wisdom. Read this and I promise you'll understand why I love this down to earth, realistic family, why I find a kindred spirit in Michael Pearl...read on.

The Power of the Media Revisited

By: Michael Pearl

I have new information confirming our former hypothesis concerning the recent technological advances in child training and behavior control.

For approximately $500.00 you can have perfectly obedient children, at home or in public. If you are budget minded there are ways to get by for under $25.00, or if you don’t mind a little deception played on your children, there are ways to get your equipment free.

Of course if you read our first article on the power of the media you know that the electronic child control equipment we are talking about is a video camera. You can get an old twelve-pounder from the hock shop for $25.00, or you can get one free from an old friend that dropped his in the fountain and shorted out all the wiring. It doesn’t matter if you are actually taking pictures, as long as the children think you are. We have discovered that a pointed camera is better than a pointed finger. Switching on a camera (or pretending to) is better than switching on the kids.

Just this past week, I purchased a new digital video camera. It is our intention, unless prevented by the rapture or Y2K, to produce a child training video. Don’t write and ask for it now, it may take us six months. I took the camera to the church meeting Sunday to get some good footage [for you laymen, that’s videographer’s language]. I was hoping to “do a take” on some kid throwing a fit. In the course of events, I explained to everyone that I would be documenting their child training, and in the process, making some of the parents infamous. After the meeting I hurried outside to try for a Pulitzer Prize winning shot.

I saw several parents seriously talking to their children while pointing to my camera. The children were all soaking it up quite seriously. Well, with fifty kids in sight I was able to capture only one little fit. And it was spoiled when an eight-year-old candidate for an overdose on Ritalin leaped in front of the screaming child, shoved his scrawny face into the wide angle lens, and commenced to scream hysterically. He was auditioning of course. You will remember him as the one that I tied up on the camping trip. The small child immediately stopped crying and stared at the older kid. She was just out-classed. He spoiled the shot of the kid throwing a fit, but he gave me great footage of a kid the state of Texas has insisted should be put on Ritalin. His mother has wisely refused and the kid continues to act like a boy. By the way, I wouldn’t have the little knot head any other way. I wandered around the churchyard, trying to get natural shots, but everyone was on guard. It looked like an IRS waiting room.

That evening, Carolyn, 3 years and five months old, was visiting the house. I offered her a piece of cake, and she readily accepted. I lifted her into a chair and served the cake. As I was walking off she called my name in a tone of supplication. When I turned around I could see that she had something serious to say. “Mike, I am a good girl now.” I had never questioned it, so I was puzzled until the next day when her mother told me of an event on the previous day. That Sunday afternoon as everyone was playing volleyball, as usual the kids were all swinging on ropes, racing bicycles, building sand castles, and swimming in the creek. Carolyn’s mother noticed that Carolyn was playing unusually well. All afternoon she had not whined, complained, cried, or hesitated to obey. Mother said to Carolyn, “You have been so good this afternoon!” Carolyn responded, “Yeah, I am afraid Mike Pearl is hiding in the bushes, trying to take my picture.” It seems I am now the editor of the infamous Cane Creek Video Tabloid. No child is safe to throw a fit or relax into selfishness. Where is the American freedom to have an emotional breakdown? Even a wrong pucker or droop of the shoulders could bring the camera instantly into play.

Now there is a great lesson in this for parents. Think about it. A three-year-old child knows that certain behavior is wrong. The child would be embarrassed to have her behavior documented on video. Parents are naive. Children convince their parents that they are helpless creatures of indulgence. “The child doesn’t understand.” It is the parent who doesn’t understand. “But the poor thing is upset; she just needs some reassurance.” Poke a video camera in her face with promise to show it to everyone, and see if she is still helpless and confused. Everything gets in focus in a hurry.

If the three-year-old can control her own emotions and responses for six hours on the fear that someone is hiding somewhere trying to get video footage of embarrassing behavior, then the child has demonstrated that she has complete control over her entire body, mind, and emotions. If she throws a fit later on, it is because she has an agenda and that momentary expression is a means to get her way. Parents stimulate and promote such behavior by treating it as normal. If you respond to fits of anger with your own fit of anger, you are giving credibility to that kind of behavior,

We have had small children in our home who made emotional displays with intentions of controlling the house. It is so completely unacceptable around here that we all just stop and stare in amazement. One of us will comment on the bizarre behavior. Someone else will laugh and comment on how silly it looks. One will turn to another and say in the presence of the kid throwing the fit, “That must work at home; she doesn’t know us very well does she?” Another one of my kids may say, “Did you see how she fell down in the floor? You know her tears even look real!” “Yeah, maybe she is going to be an actress when she grows up.” “Well, let’s all go eat while she practices her parent training skills.” “Should we just leave her in here?” “Yeah, but shut the door so we don’t have to listen.” Once or twice with a response like that and the kid is humiliated to try it again. Now understand I am talking about dealing with someone else’s kid, not my own. You can’t spank you neighbor’s kid, especially when it is really your neighbor that needs the spanking.

I will tell you something else that works well. When a child is so emotionally upset that he has completely lost control, lean over and talk in low tones to others in the room, ignoring the child. They will stop crying to hear what you are saying. I am not suggesting that you do this as a regular way of training; it is just a lot of fun. It will give you a clear perspective on what you are dealing with. Kids don’t like to be left out of anything. They will give up a good spell to hear what is going on.

Parent when are you going to grow up and act like an adult? Someone needs to be in authority around your place. Your children know exactly what they are doing, and they know what you are going to do when they start their little displays. If you come to my house, you know what I am going to do. That’s right, I am going to take aim at you with my Canon. See you on the big screen!

Snowmen

2007-02-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay....I heard a really funny joke yesterday.

WHAT DID ONE SNOWMAN SAY TO THE OTHER SNOWMAN?

hmmmmm.....I give up

SMELLS LIKE CARROTS

(I'm choking on my food it is sooo darn funny)

Seriously, folks, this is a very clever joke that will make ANYONE smile...yes, even your Aunt Maggie who hates you.

Love you guys!!!

Faith like a child

2007-01-30T16:45:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I was reading an article about a prayer wheel. It's this big round thing with an intricate design that runs around the whole thing. You follow the design and it takes you about half an hour or more to get to the end, it really depends on how fast you want to go. It's supposed to be for prayer and meditation.

Well, one of the 'churches' in my town rented it for people to use, imagine, renting out prayer, and a local news paper had done an article about it. It had a picture of two young girls walking the circle and they looked to be having a good time. They were quoted to say "this is fun, were praying!"

Now people, the prayer wheel is not Christian, so this is bad.

I read it to my dad, and told him how sad it was. Those two girls were told by their parents that if you walk the wheel, your praying. He said that almost all five year olds can't really understand prayer, though. Even if your Christian. When I told him I prayed all the time when I was five, I could tell he was doubtful.

After I got to thinking about it, I was better at prayer when I was five then I am now at sixteen. I talked to God all the time, about everything! I didn't have to go on my knees and make myself to feel small and unworthy, I just talked to Him. I would tell Him hi and how I felt about things, ask Him to heal someone. I would pray we wouldn't have such and such for dinner, and if we did I would pray that I could choke it down. I would have a conversation with Him as if He were an old buddy of mine. Now realize I didn't pray out loud, most of the time it was in my head. But He was all to real to me, I never doubted for a moment that God created everything and that He listened to me.

Now, looking back at it all, I wonder how I could have lost all that. How could I have forgotten

At five years old I had given Him the only thing that could please Him...faith.

A woman who does not believe a young man struggles daily against visual temptation is simple.

2007-01-28T14:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, ladies! There has been a lot of murmering and discontent about modesty at the rebelution. I got this artical from nogreaterjoy.org, and hope this will put things in a new light. Enjoy!

A woman who does not believe a young man struggles daily against visual temptation is simple.

Dear Debi,
I have truly enjoyed your book Created to Be His Help Meet. It has been a blessing to me and many of my friends. I have given it to many ladies, and some have questions about the way you put things. Some ladies take exception to the story of the lady who wears the tight skirt and the man’s reaction. They say, “She makes it sound like Lydia (Bathsheba) is responsible for his actions. Why didn’t the young man go for counselling? I don’t believe a normal young man has a constant, day to day sexual struggle against visual temptation. They don’t have to regardless of how a girl is dressed. This sounds too much like “If you dress like that, you are just asking to be raped.”
My husband downloads your messages, and he and his boss listen to them at work. He loves his job.
Leslie

Response:
A woman who does not believe a young man struggles daily against visual temptation is simple. Go look up “simple” in a KJV Bible to see what God thinks of “simple” people. I’ll go ahead and explain from my perspective, of once being sunk in the mire of visual temptation. A man’s eyes are drawn to pleasing shapes: the curves of a Corvette (1971 Stingray, being my favorite), the flowing stream as it goes around a bend, or the hips revealed by a tight clothes, tight enough to reveal whether the “lines” are there or not.
As a saved family man, I must adhere to the Bible command to entreat or regard “the younger [women] as sisters, with all purity” (1 Timothy 5:2), even if those sisters are dressed in a way that catches my eye. If I give in to the temptations based on what I see, I am guilty of sinning. However, you women who think you are absolved from responsibility in this area are wrong. Why make it difficult for me and your brothers? Why not love me as a brother in Christ and dress in a way that does not make me conscious of what I used to do and be? Mike has commented in the past about alcoholics who get saved. He admonishes them to stay away from places like bars, because the flesh has been conditioned to enjoy alcohol’s powers. Likewise, as a former porn reader, porn movie viewer who liked self-gratification to satisfy his wild drive, I don’t want to see those curves. I keep my eyes up. My wife edits magazines we get (like Popular Mechanics) which have those kinds of pictures, before I or my sons get to look at them, and that’s the way I want it.
I tell my boys about the dangers of a woman who dresses like “Lydia.” My son, 6 years old, sees women in public and observes how they dress. “Daddy, is that a ‘strange lady?” He’s referring to the “strange woman” of Proverbs 7. I answer, “I don’t know if she is, but she certainly dresses like one.” And we have seen them at “church.” Do you want my son to look at you and think of you as a “strange lady”? How about your daughter, would my sons think she is strange? My sons won’t marry a woman who doesn’t respect a man’s propensity to visual temptation. They’ll marry a woman who reveals herself to them and them only.
My daughters won’t dress like a strange woman either. Mine, at only 9 years old, knows that she should keep her body from a man’s eyes, reserving it for her future husband. In the grocery store one day, when my daughter was wearing a skirt that flowed around her ankles, she heard another little girl (dressed in shorts) point to my daughter and comment to her own mother, “Look, Mom, she’s beautiful!” Why not dress beautifully rather than like a slut? You should get out of your ignorance before your dinner guest looks at you or your daughter then visits the bathroom. Well, that’s probably already happened.

Why I am NOT saving my heart for my husband

2007-01-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

A fellow rebelutionary posted this in the forums...It will bless your life.

This is an article that my sister wrote. It is long but well worth the read.

Why I am not saving my heart for my husband

As a young girl growing up I had one dream of what I was going to be when I grew up, a wife and a mommy. Yes, I thought I might want to be everything from an actress to an FBI agent at one time or another, but all those things would either take place before or were somehow molded around my dreams of my own family. This dream, as I grew into my teens, was expanded upon to become the direction in which I lived my life. Skills were taught me that would assist me when I had my own family, my homeschooling was directed that way, and I read ‘young women who are going to be homemakers’ books and articles. It was during those early years of my adolescence that I was first introduced to the idea of ‘saving my heart for my husband’.
Saving my heart for my husband was to insure (as I understood it) that when I got married I would be able to lavish upon him all my love, all my emotions, all my commitment, since I had not previously given it to any other suitor. In the mean time, while waiting for Mr. Recipient Of My Heart to make his appearance, I was to have my heart resting with my parents. In other words, until the right guy came along, I was to not set my heart on (give my heart away to) anyone.
With all this information, allow me to create a picture of my future, while waiting for marriage. Here is a girl, 13,14, 15,16 years old, waiting for the right one to come along that I can give all my love to. I am not waiting passively either, but learning things that will benefit me when I am married and working my way towards this ‘goal of my life’. At a glance, this seems quite ideal. I mean, who would not want a girl who will love you with everything she has, who is trained to be a homemaker, with no history of other guys you have to compete with, whose first love is you? Like I said, it seems like a picture of what the ‘courtship movement’ talks about. At this point however, please allow me to tell you about a few things that God taught my about this ‘perfect picture’ in the past year.
It started about a year and a half ago in our living room. Dad was sitting on the couch, with Mom, my two brothers, and I around him. He told us that he had been praying that God would make Himself his (Dad’s) only desire, and he was talking about it like it was some sort of spiritual breakthrough. Dad challenged each of us to pray the same way, asking God to remove all other desires and to become our only desire, but at the time I thought, “Not right now”. I was 16 years old and as I listened, it seemed to me like a very boring life, to want nothing but God. My heart was a little different from the ‘perfect picture’ I described above. In my desire for a family of my own, a desire I truly believed was the best of all professions for women; I had been keeping my eyes open for Mr.-I-can-give-my-heart-to. Prompted by my parents, as well as magazines and such, I made a list of character qualities that I wanted in a husband and even started a notebook, occasionally writing letters to ‘my future husband’. All this was done in expectation that some day the right one would happen along. The serious problem for me lay in making sure he was the right one. Already I had experienced what emotions could do to me in how I could suddenly ‘like’ someone in a way I couldn’t explain. Thoughts of, “What is going on here?” would soon change to me wondering, “Is this the right one? Could it be that he is the one God picked out for me?” This process of wondering if he could be the one was perfectly justified. I was in a sense taught to do this. Articles to girls my age seemed to point out that there was one for me, and that I needed to be prepared to be able to tell which one he was. My parents sometimes would ask me what I thought about different young men, what good/bad qualities I saw in them, trying to teach me to be observant. I soon realized though, that if I ‘liked’ someone, I really could not be very objective in my judgement of their character. This concerned me because I imagined a courtship scenario of me trying desperately to think and pray around my emotions so that I would be able to discern if this was Mr. Right. Of course, I planned on my parents being a big help. They would be able to tell me if he was really a bad pick when emotions had obscured my vision, and if he really was a good guy, they would be able to note that as well. Still the idea of having to be the one to say “yes” really shook me up. What if I listened to my emotions by accident and I ended up with a bad choice and ruined my life? What if the nice young man I said yes to turned out to be uncommitted, fell away and became a drunkard, leaving me penniless and with a bunch of kids to raise by myself? I prayed many times that when the time came God would make it so clear that I would have no questions. Oh, and by the way, he (Mr. Right), and my parents, and his parents, would not have any doubts either, just so that we would be really sure. By sixteen I was getting closer to the age when I was going to have to start deciding who the right guy was (or was not) and I already had a few candidates I was watching to see what they were made of. A family of my own was my deepest desire, and, of course, a major part of that was a husband. Into this heart of mine, set on marriage and as many children as I could have, came the challenge to ask God to become my only desire. Maybe you understand a little of why I balked. Not only was my heart full of desire for a husband, but I also wanted other, smaller ‘side things’ such as clothes, good looks, a ‘cool’ status, etc.. So, at first I said no to this challenge.
A few months later I found myself in California, sleeping on the living room floor belonging to some friends of ours. We had gone on a trip and were visiting for a few days. I remember thinking hard during that stay about what was going on around me. What my eyes were seeing was what I wanted to have, a happy marriage, several young kids, and it all run smoothly with lots of love. At first I looked at the wife and thought to myself, “Yep, this is it, this is what I want. I want a man who will come in the door at night and kiss me hello. A man who will put the workday behind him and play with our kids. I want to answer to “Mommy” all day long. This is what I am living for.” Yet, as I looked on, God opened my eyes to something. I realized that what I desired from their lives, the same thing I had always desired from watching my parents lives, had nothing to do with who they were with or what they were doing. It was joy. It was the joy that comes from serving the Lord with all your heart and living for Him. As I watched them, I realized that they lived their lives that way, Jesus first, and the challenge that my dad had given came back to mind. Slowly I softened and gave in. I began, hesitantly at first, to pray that God would take away all my other desires and make Himself my only desire.
Now, imagine it being almost a year from that first day on the couch, and so many things have happened that I could fill a whole notebook and never be done. Now my heart is much different than it was when I first started to pray for God to become my one and only, and God has been true to His promise to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. The task of removing my desires has started, and although not complete, on its way. Now I am realizing more what it means to love God with all my heart, to be consumed with a desire for more of Him. God had shown me that I needed to gain my fulfillment from Him; that He is the One who never changes, who loves me like no one else could. (Psalm 18:31) As I asked God to become my one and only desire, He also became my one and only source of fulfillment in many ways. I discovered that His love was all that I really needed. It was for Him that I desired to live, His will that I desired to take place, His kingdom that I wanted to come.
One warm day I was out on a walk and started praying. “God,” I said, “Something is bothering me and I need to talk to You about it. You see, all my life I have dreamed of getting married. I’ve planned for it, prepared for it, expected it. But now that I am trying to give You all my love and my heart, I am not really sure if I can even get married. You see, if I get married, then I will be pouring all my love into a man and living for him instead of You. Can someone who loves You with all their heart ever get married?” As I stewed over this question, I could not make sense of it all. Yes, Paul seemed to agree with my conjunction that it was better not to marry (1 Corinthians 7) and I had often heard testimonies of people who served God single and were pleasing to Him and content. (At the time that I heard these, I had put singlehood as something I would do if I had to, but, well, I’d do my best not to get stuck there!) However, God was the One who invented marriage in the first place, and after all, if it were not for marriage, I would not be here. Even Paul in 1 Cor. 7 said that he who married did not sin, but he who did not did better than the one who did marry. Who would want second best? Yet, could marriage really be second best if God designed it? Could only non-Christians get married? As I pondered this, God opened my eyes to see that my first problem in understanding this was my idea of marriage. My idea was two people pouring themselves into each other, working hard to make the other feel loved, needed, appreciated etc… I realized that this view of marriage put the emphasis on the wrong thing, on the people involved. The point of this type of marriage is to bring pleasure and fulfillment to the people who are taking part in it. As a Christian, as someone who is seeking to love God with all their heart, our purpose in life is to further God’s kingdom, to bring His desires to pass, not our own. (Matthew 6:10, 33) Nothing we do should be done for our sake, but out of obedience to God. (John 15:4, 10) God’s view of marriage was vastly different than mine. While I had envisioned two people working to please each other, God showed me that His idea was two people working together to please God. God did not make Eve to make Adam feel good about himself or loved or wanted, God made Eve because Adam was better off with her than without her. God showed me that the best way for me to love someone is to love God first and foremost, and to love that person as an outpouring of my love for God. Having my eyes focused on God and living to please Him will lead me to obeying His command to love. (1 John 5:1-3, John 15:9-12) Loving my husband would thus be an outpouring of my love for God; my love for God always coming first. It does not take away from the love (living 1 Corinthians 13) that I would give my husband by loving him out of a love for God, but rather adds to it. My love would be a godly love, directed by God’s Spirit rather than a love that I would work at in my own strength. Suddenly it started to make some sense to me. I envisioned two people, both fixing their eyes on God and living to give Him glory, working better together than alone. Yes, God in His sovereign power could decide to make a person who could serve Him best alone. This person might be able to do things a married person could not, and would be better off without a mate. However, just as easily, God could make two people who could serve Him best if they were together. Together they would be able to pray towards the same end, work the same mission, encourage each other to keep pressing on, raise godly children for the glory of God. Their purpose in life would be the same as that of a single Christian, to obey God, only they would be working at it together. They could be ministry partners, obedience to the Lord partners, faith partners, helping each other along, and thus better than either would have been alone. (Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10) When I saw this, I was very excited! Yes, someone can love God with all their heart and be married! But, not if marriage is what I had originally thought; the purpose of marriage had to change in my mind first, for this to be true. Putting all these thoughts together, I realized that two things which had seemed separate actually brought me to a glorious conclusion. If my job in life was to obey God, and marriage was doing that same thing with a partner, and God knew what He wanted me to do to bring His plans about, then I only had one reason ever to marry. Out of obedience to His direction. Now I was free from my concern of “how will I know if I am getting a lemon or not?” I did not have to concern myself with it at all. I needed only to concern myself with obeying Jesus Christ, and if the time comes for me to marry, He can say, “That is the one, now is the time,” to us both, and we only need to obey. God knows all things, and He has a plan for my life. I need to obey Him so that His kingdom will come.
No, I am not giving my heart to any young man that may come after it, but I am not saving it for my husband either. I am giving it all to God, because it is with Him that my heart belongs.
_________________
~Hillary Grace Hipps~

The following expert is what I posted in reply.

It’s such a relief to switch to that mindset!!! While I didn’t take getting ready for a husband to the extent she did, it certainly is a blessing to read it…The bible says God is supposed to come before EVERYTHING! We are supposed to love Him more then anything, even our husbands…I never thought of a future husband as an idol, but I guess that’s what we do at times, when the need and anticipation for a husband overrides our simple love for God. Thank you for posting this.

Faith

2007-01-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

I live by faith because, as a Christian, that’s the only way too live. I believe God is real and that He fulfills His promises, and fulfilled one by sending His only Son to be a sin offering on the cross for me.
Faith, the way the bible defines it, does not mean I can skip life, car or health insurance, that’s just living recklessly. Having faith does not mean I believe God will give me a life of ease and comfort, shielding me from the bumps and turns on the road, guarding me from hurt. No! It means God will test me, try me by fire, and purify me. My faith in my God is more precious to Him than gold. It is the only thing that pleases Him.

I live by faith by just believing in God. God says I will go to heaven because I believe on His son, I know I’m going to heaven when my time is up! I don’t have any physical evidence of heaven, I don’t have any proof beyond God’s word, but I believe I’m going there. Just because God says so. Faith isn’t something I muster up when I pray, willing myself to ‘have faith’ in God. Faith isn’t some sort of ‘power’ I have to perform miracles.

I live by faith just like Abraham lived by faith. God told Abraham that he would be a father of a great nation, and he believed. Even though he and his wife were far past the age of producing children, he believed that God would find a way. When God told him to kill his only son, the physical evidence of God’s promise, Abraham obeyed. He believed God would still know a way, he assumed that God would just bring his son up from the dead, because He keeps his promises. In the same way I believe and trust God. I have no fear of death, because God says that we will go to be with Him when we die, I have faith that He will keep His promise I don’t fear the devil because the bible says Christ has already defeated satan, I live by faith by believing that satan has no power over me. I live by faith when I obey God. If He tells me to give away all my money, I will. If He tells me to forsake everything and go deep into the jungle and share the gospel with a hostile tribe, I will. It doesn’t matter who or what stands in my way, I know it will come to pass, because He said so, and I have faith that God keeps His promises.

I believe that I am free from sin because Jesus died on the cross in my place. I don’t have evidence of it, I just have faith. I have faith that when the bible says, ‘obey on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’ it is the truth. I have faith that Christ came down to be a man and suffered on the cross, bearing my sins, taking my punishment, and rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, and that ALL I have to do is believe on Jesus, and what He did for me, and be born again, to be saved. I don’t have any evidence of that, I just have faith.

God told me that, so I believe.

My faith essay for Awana, 300 words or more. This is what faith is and how it is in my life, short and sweet.

Thanks, God.

2007-01-18T12:11:00.000-08:00

Not feeling good, like I expired, actually...Have the flu.

I dreamed ALL night about not feeling well, woke up half a million times not feeling good. And whad da ya know...I'm sick. Days like this I'm thankful that my family doesn't follow a strict schedule. We don't have a time we're supposed to be up by, our school work we do after we finish our chores...If we miss a day, oh well! We are very relaxed and easy going, very flexable. Not a big deal if someone skips...So I thank God for my family and parents.

sigh...

2007-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

Yeah, switched back to this template...

Do you know?

2007-01-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

Job 41 is one of my most favorite passages in the entire bible...do you know some bibles translate Leviathan as a crocodile? Pah!! Read this chapter and then tell me, yup, that sure do sound like a gator!!! The bible has whole passages about dragons and unicorns, great beasts that lived in the sea, made it boil!

Has anybody noticed the common animal that is deep in most peoples culture? The dragon! Europe's history is stiff with dragons, their painted everywhere. On tapestries, walls ...everything. How did something like the dragon come to be brushed aside as fantasy? seriously!! Stop laughing and think about it...the bible says there are dragons, so we know there must be...how did they get forgotten? And unicorns, does anyone know the origin of the Unicorn? When did the tales start about that animal...look all you can, but I am sure you will never find the 'tale' that created the unicorn, no more than you can find stories that created the dog or horse, because their real, created in the Garden at the beginning. The bible is rich with dragons, a dragon is in the end times! Remember, the one who tries to destroy the woman and her child? What will the world think then about the terrible creature that it has forgotten? I won't know because I won't be here...

1Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

2Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

3Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?

4Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?

5Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

6Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?

7Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?

8Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.

9Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

10None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?

11Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

12I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

13Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?

14Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.

15His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

16One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.

17They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.

18By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

19Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

20Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

21His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

22In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.

23The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.

24His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

25When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.

26The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.

27He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.

28The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.

29Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

30Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.

31He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.

32He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.

33Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.

34He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

2007-01-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

I know, I KNOW!!!! I keep changing my templet. I can't decide which I like best. I was preveiwing templets, and it was easier reading this one than my old one...soooo.

oooookaayyy...this post is finished.

Tired...

2007-01-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

*Yawn* Wow, I think I'm fighting off a bug in my system, or I'm going to go through a growth spurt....I'm so tired!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! I hate feeling tired except when it's time to go to sleep. I'm used to NOT feeling tired. At all. I'm not a very sound sleeper either, I have vivid (and sometimes a bit to literal) dreams EVERY NIGHT. But good thing God blessed me with lots and lots of energy, huh? I feel like taking a nap right now...maybe my brain is trying to tell me something, but I'm to tired to figure it out.

I'll have to post I have to go to lit class tonight. Does anybody know who Thelma English is? Shes letting us use her material to form a lit circle where I live, she lives in Oregon. She's really very good. I like her. I'll have to post about her Christmas party.

I just read Fredric Douglas last night...being a slave was hell on earth, especially for the women...Women were treated like playthings, tossed and whipped at will and whim, it was terrible...

Welllllll....gotta go read some more for tonight. By.

Lucy.

City of books

2007-01-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Powell's...Powell's. Powell's city of books. That sentence along causes you to drool. I'm going there next Monday, and I'm so excited, more excited that I was for Christmas. I think. (Whooaaa!) For anybody who as not been there...I pity you. Powell's, for a book lover, is paradise. The store takes up an entire city block and it is crammed full of books, magazines, vintage toys, stationary, cards, magnets...Just about everything. And the really fun part? It sells new AND used books, side by side, so the book your looking for has a large probability of being tucked lovingly on their shelves for a comparatively dirt cheap price.

I know, I know. I'm sad...I guess I should turn my glazed eyes toward something else. I've been thinking I should write a story and post it on my blog, so people can test my writing, see how they like it. I love doing fairytales and greek myths.

Well, goodby!!!

The art of Un-Schooling (yes, you heard me correctly...un-schooling)

2007-01-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

I am a homeschooler...An un-schooler to be exact. I've never had to read boring grammar books, instead I read books that were 'to old' for me. I never took any writing classes, vocabulary workbooks...I went to the library. I have the basics, math, you can't use algebra in every day home life, so I have a book for that. I learned to write by actually writing! When I was fourteen, my writing was atrocious. I had bad handwriting, spelling, punctuation was down the drain. But I started writing. Things and ideas poured out of my pen into my notebooks...I was like a flower that had finally opened it's petals. Grammar came naturally after all the reading I had done, my spelling was smoothed out and my hand writing grew unrecognizable compared to how it was. Two short years later my reading comprehension is at a collage level and relatives find it hard to believe that, yes, Lucy DID write that without any help.

You want to know my secret?

READ. READ. READ. Read all you can get your hands on!! Read the news, children's books, magazines, the classics, blogs. Read even the bad stuff so you know what NOT to do!

WRITE. WRITE. WRITE. Write everyday until you grow calluses on your fingers from were the pen sat. Write down stories, push yourself. You can take ALL the writing classes in the world, but you will still be caught in the mud if you don't actually put the pen to paper!!! Write until your hand cramps, rest a bit, then write some more.

I still don't know what lead me to write. Just one day I felt an itch in my brain so I wrote. I filled pages and pages of paper. What I learned in the process is that writing is not to be abused...I threw away all those notebooks because I was writing junk, I was a good writer, but WHAT you write makes all the difference. I realised what I was writing was trash in God's eyes, so I burnt it.

But of course, that rule only applies if your a Christian.

I inherited my common sense from my dad. Someone told me I'm very sharpe. I'm also very logical, quick to detect fallacies. I owe that to my dad. We have mock arguments about things and we both like to win...whoever has the argument with the least holes, wins.

My parents never babied me, I'm pretty much doing all my school work on my own now. I'm taking a Lit class, learning French and, I hope soon, Latin. We have a plethora of mind games in our house, my sister is a kick-donkey Abalone player, I'm good at chess, I love speed chess. I love the piano...I'm starting lessons in a few days.

I'm not bragging. Just, sometimes people don't realise that, if you make LIFE itself your teacher, its a lot easier, almost effortless, to learn. Instead of having a homemaking skills book, I baby-sit. When I baby-sit I cook the meals, clean the house, hand out discipline. I run the house hold when my parents are absent. My dad used to be a cook, so watching him make a cake or spaghetti was my cooking class and my early math class. He Had me measure, told me what a cup is, what a fourth of a cup is, and so on. He told me what ingredients are best to use here, or how long your supposed to boil something for a certain dish. I remember being four years old, I would drag a chair over the counter and he would let me level the flour with a butter knife, then let me dump it in the bowl, stir it...I STILL love cooking!

I owe my love of books to my mom. Our house is filled to the brim with books. My sister and I ourselves need two or three book shelves in our own room. She read were the wild things are to us, the hobbit, the entire LOTR trilogy. More books than I can name right here. Every night she would sit with us on the couch and read us a story before bed. Every Christmas we excitedly anticipate a box of books for each of us under the tree when we awoke Christmas morning.

I have a good ear for music, I can harmonize and play by ear a little bit. I've preferred classical music since I was two, I would fall into a trance when Vivaldi was on. I grew up with Nat King Cole, Vivaldi, Acapella, Dean Martin ...everything except rock and rap. My dad's side of the family all sings, the LaBrasseurs. My dad has a very good voice and was known at the restaurant as the 'singing waiter'. He's always singing all the time, you know when He's tired if he stops, so, naturally, all his kids sing and love music.

my response to, "Do you ever wish you went to real school?"

Heck no.

(Except with a smile)

Lucy

New Bio

2007-01-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

LOOK, LOOK!!! GO SEE MY NEW BIO!!! I'VE UPDATED IT FROM MY LAST BLOG!!!

Greek Tragadies :(

2007-01-04T11:52:00.001-08:00

Had Awana last night, and all this past week I've been up till the wee hours reading thoreau. I stopped when the letters started wavering. you know how it is, when the letters move so you just try to concentrate harder, then you realize that your brain is telling you to GO TO SLEEP!!!!

ughh...seriously, you can only read about how the sun glittered off the man's pond for only so long...But, thankfully, I checked out some Harvard classics from the library to spruce up my reading. Greek dramas are so messed up.

You see, there's this queen, Phaedra, and this king, Theseus. Theseus had a kid with the amazon queen, Hippolyt. His name is Hippolytus.

The godess Aphrodite is angry at Hippolytus because he 'spurns my spells and seeks no woman's kiss'. He's not into love. He rather worships Artemis, the godess of the hunt. Well, that makes Aphrodite upset so she makes Phaedra, Thseseus's wife, fall in love with her stepson, Hippolytus.

Phaedra's nurse finds out and tells Hippolytus about it, and he gets very, very angry..He's a man of virtue, see. But the nurse holds him to an oath he made,, so he won't kill Phaedra and he won't tell the king...I stopped there.

That's a pretty rough summery. And I borrowed a book of Harvard essays, to stretch myself a little. But after reading Emerson, It's intriguing, curiously so, to read material that jogges the brain. I find that after reading rich, complicated works, like Moby Dick, Jane Eyre, things like that, you develop a taste for it. I go to the teen section at my library and all the books seem so dry...'fluffy'.

Okay, done rambling...

Lucy

Feminist

2007-01-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

I don’t know for sure where I stand, I am not a feminist, yet, I don’t like wearing skirts. I hate the color pink, but not because it’s a girl color, I look great in it in fact, it’s just too bright and strong. I’m more drawn to reds and grays and whites, maybe a few pastels. To me, there is nothing that feels better than to slip on a pair of Dickies and jeans and go load wood on an autumn afternoon. But I shy away from large groups of people my age, especially girls. I think maybe that stems from being the eldest, I’m used to responsibility and watching over people younger than me, hard work, thus I can relate to adults better. I rarely, if never, feel a need to fit into a crowd or make friends. I’m kind of a loner.

But I don’t understand about the deal about being a Feminist. Woman and girls alike try to prove themselves to men that they are equals in everything, it’s like they are trying to BE men! I can run just as fast as a man, or I can play just as rough as the men, I endure just as much as a man! Why can’t we just enjoy what makes us different from man? We have so much to be thankful for! In today’s world, we can play sports AND sew. We can scale mountains AND wear pretty clothing. Don’t they see that feminists are not strong women, just wanabe men?

When I worked for the Youth Park Corp, last summer, I was on of the only girls. I loved the work…Shoveling and lifting rock, squatting in the sun to paint hundreds of dragons teeth for hours on end, digging with a pick axe in water logged dirt; I liked feeling tired after a very hard day’s work. But I never tried to be as good as the boys. I made it clear on a few occasions that, ‘I can’t lift this, please help me.’ I never tried to out do the boys, I acknowledged that they were stronger and better able to do things than I was. They treated me with respect. They never gave me a hard time for not being able to do something, and why should they, if I asked for their help? I wore pretty earrings to work, yet I kneeled in the dirt with them. None of the boys in my group made lewd comments about me, or talked to me in a degrading way, unlike some of the boys in the other group, because I treated them with respect…they knew I would never talk like that about them or anybody else I knew.

Maybe I’m relaxed femininity. I were my dads old t-shirts to bed, but at the same time I also have a set of pajamas that’s light blue and has flowers. Being Feminine isn’t a big deal to me. I like earthy colors, not the generic kind that chain stores produce, but I also like them fitted, not baggy, so people know that I’m a girl. I enjoy wearing cloths that set off my eyes or complement my complexion, but I also like wearing ‘play’ cloths, I like getting dirty and I love playing sports. I never dress to make me look like a boy, the bible is very clear about that, and I believe in submitting to my husband and father with a submissive heart. I believe in being the woman defined by the bible. In fact, I love being a girl! I have a father who protects me, and will have a husband who will love and cherish me, providing for me and our children…I’m all taken care of! But that doesn’t mean I can’t play sports or get down and dirty once and awhile. I don’t have to be a ‘girly girl’ to be biblical.

I guess the only reason they would want to be a feminist, is that that they don't know what they are missing. ;)

Eight reasons I don't share my faith

2007-01-01T14:43:00.002-08:00

I thought this was hilarious...but also a little disconcerting. Why is it so hard to share our faith? I, too, wonder why I feel nervous about telling someone about Christ. I worry that I'm to young, that I don't know enough. Forgetting that all they need to know is that by believing on Jesus Christ, they may have life in His name. That's it. If you believe on Christ, our old self is dead and God makes us new. Another reason why I think people struggle with sharing the gospel is that they don't know the bible, so when someone asks a question, or strikes back with a verse out of context, they don't know what to say. And then some people take it way to far, they won't stop bugging the people about not being a Christian. I've read several letters in magazines about girls whose friend won't stop telling her that 'your going to hell if you don't become a Christian!'

It says in the bible that your lifestyle should be enough to let people know that God is Lord of your life, so that your words aren't empty. I think that is why there are so few Christians...We tell people to believe on Jesus, but our kids are not respectful, we're divorced and angry, impatient and sinful, and sometimes we are more broken then the ones we are trying to save. Our words are empty.

If I am a true Christian, there should be fruit to prove that. Nobody can act like a child of the world and say they are saved. If the Holy Spirit truly resides in you, literally, there will be fruit. We become dead to sin. What did Christ say to those he healed? "Go and sin no more." Sin no more.

Lucy

New Year's

2006-12-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

Sitting here thinking about the New Year, everybody. I bet you can imagine the LaBrasseur family table, hmmm; steaming turkey with mash potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes covered with a layer of brown sugar and marshmallows, corn, rolls…

Yeah right. We got pizza!---Papa Murphy’s ‘gourmet’ pepperoni and
Canadian bacon and pineapple---and my parents have just gone out for Chinese food, which, frankly, I don’t mind at all, I don’t much care for Chinese food. (Another thing you desperately need to know about me.) Very quiet New Year’s this time. We didn’t have any company this year. We don’t even have T.V. reception, so we can’t watch the ball drop! My mom got us big kids a movie to watch, and we have some martinellies.

Another thing, I love martinellies…And for everyone who does not know what they are, it’s not champagne, I’m too young to drink that, it’s just sparkling apple juice. Martinellies just sound, I don’t know, more sophisticated.

I’m going to have my picture up soon. Once people know what I look like, they can avoid me…It’s a little hard avoiding a name. They will see me coming from afar and think to themselves, “Holy goat hooves, good thing Lucy put up her photo so I know who to stay away from!”

--a-ha, a-ha--(My fake laugh, which I save for people who are trying to be funny, but aren’t really)

Well better get off yo tush, shuga’! You got things to get a doin’!

Toodles everyone.

Lucy

HOW TO WRITE GOOD

2006-12-30T17:21:00.000-08:00

24 thing that are a must when writing...

HOW TO WRITE GOOD

1. Avoid alliteration always.

2. Prepositions are no words to end sentences with.

3. Avoid clichés like the plague.

4. Employ the vernacular ad nauseam.

5. Eschew ampersands & abbrev., etc.

6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

8. Contractions aren’t acceptable.

9. Foreign words are not apropos.

10. As Emerson said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”

11. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.

12. One should never generalize.

13. Don’t be redundant; it is highly superfluous to use more words than necessary.

14. Be specific, more or less.

15. Understatement is insipid.

16. Exaggeration is infinitely worse than understatement.

17. One word sentences? Simple. Eliminate!

18. The passive voice is to be avoided.

19. Bad analogies are like feathers on a snake.

20. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

21. Who needs rhetorical questions?

22. Colloquialisms are grody to the max.

23. Abjure polysyllabic obfuscations.

24. Finally, chech for pselling errors and typeos.

Hey

2006-12-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, I have now officially entered the blog-sphere! Man, it is feeling pretty good! throw the confetti bring out the party hats and cake..Luuuuuucyy has entered the bolg-spheeeeeeeeeeere!!!!
And the crowds go wild.
yeah, yeah. I'm sure you think I'm a little nutty....but that's just who I am. For anyone out there reading my first post, I am an honest, down to earth gal who loves God. I don't want people who aren't Christians telling me that I'm intolerant and such...because I already know that, so don't wast your breath, or, errr, finger typing...ah... energy. But I welcome everybody to read. I didn't start this blog to 'convert' people, just to let friends and family know what's going on and to have fun, and hey, if I don't know you...Howdy. But this will be a strong Christian site always, but non-Christians are free to roam as they please on my site.
Welcome to my world.