How Do You Take Your Tea?

Together

2012-02-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

Reflections in the urban universe
A vibrant virtuosity exposed
Sparkling on the pewter pavement
Secluded sidewalk keeps us straight
Encased by water and trees
What seems like gloom to others glitters
Spitting skies secure us together
Light from God like streetlight spills
Alone in a world full of others
Together clinging under an umbrella
Together reflected as one
.
Changing seasons bring new beauties
Spring full of glittering jewels
Green, red, gold along the way
Summer the copious bounty of seeds
Ripened droplets, full and sweet
Fall replete,fiery, golden maturity
Sparkling warmth of gold, orange, and red
Winter avows rebirth at awakening
Ever present hope lying dormant
Together we find abundance in all
Together submerged in insight

Inductive Bible Study Method

2012-01-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

Time to train newbies, so here's what we're doing in Bible study tomorrow morning so they understand why Precept Upon Precept studies are designed as they are:

Inductive Bible Study Method

Observe

Interpret

Apply

Accurateinterpretation and correct application rest on the accuracy of yourobservations. Therefore, it is vital that you develop observation skills, evenif at first they seem time-consuming or you feel less than adequate and evenawkward doing them. Studying inductively is a process that does not happenovernight…

As you gothrough the inductive process, you’ll sometimes find observation,interpretation and application happening simultaneously. God can give youinsight at any time in your study, so be sensitive to His leading. When wordsor passages make an impression on you, stop for a moment and meditate on whatGod has shown you. Bring the plumb line of truth against what you believe andhow you are living.

~Kay Arthur, How to Study Your Bible

Observation

What does the passage say? Whatshould you look for observe well?

Prayer

o Truth isrevealed by the Spirit

Context

o Read entire passagerepeatedly

o See what isrepeated

Objective Facts

o Questions: Who,What, When, Where, Why, What

o IdentifyObvious Names: Author, Recipient, Historical Characters

o IdentifyObvious Events

o Mark KeyWords or Phrases:

§ They arerepeated, emphasized

§ They unlockthe meaning of the text

§ They unlockthe structure of the text

o Develop Lists

§ What do youlearn about key topics?

§ What do youlearn about God?

o DevelopCharts based on

§ Comparison

§ Contrast

§ Conclusions/Results

o DevelopTimelines

§ Expressionsof Time

o Outline flowof thought

Interpretation

What does the passage mean? How doyou prevent presuppositions (feelings, teachings, thoughts) from

coloring the meaning? What steps canbe taken when observation needs further interpretation for understanding?

o Context rules

§ Surroundingverses and chapters

§ The book

§ The entireBible

o Full Counselof Bible

o Scripturealways agrees with Scripture

o Don’t basedoctrine on an obscure passage

o InterpretScripture literally, recognizing figures of speech

§ Greek andHebrew understandings of words

· ExhaustiveConcordance

· ExpositoryDictionary

§ Understandgrammar

· Verb tense,mood, and voice

· Simile,Metaphor, Hyperbole, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Personification, Irony

· Parables

· Allegory

· Types

· Symbols

o Look forauthor’s intended meaning

o Check yourconclusions using reliable commentaries

Application

How does the meaning of this passageapply to me? Why is application important? Now is the time to be subjective.

Areas ofApplication

o Doctrine/Teaching Formed

o Reproof forwhat doesn’t align

o Correction toforsake wrong

o Training in righteousnessfor all of life

ImportantQuestions

o Is theinstruction or promise for all?

o Does thisonly apply to a certain culture or historical time?

o Has theteaching been superseded?

o Do you needto change beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors to align?

o What did youlearn for the first time that needs to be implemented or embraced?

Beware of

o Applyingcultural standards

o Usingscripture incorrectly to back up a legitimate truth

o Beingprejudice from previous teachings

No Resolutions; Just Resolved

2012-01-04T14:36:00.000-08:00

The chill in the air seems a dormant depression
But in truth the rest is refreshing.
It guides and renews like Summer cannot,
Reminding us of what is valuable and what is not.
The necessary and strong are left by Nature
So when the light and nourishment of Spring arrive
Winter's pruning gives way to life abundant.

The same is true when we periodically examine
And find what should be pruned and burned.
Its seems like an evil task that brings death,
But the shame and guilt illumined bring life.
It starts as a bud of hope that wrath can be left,
Swelling in Christ's image while knowledge shines
And flowering, growing to His perfect glory.

But each flower dies no matter how beautiful
And deadheading must take place in a cycle.
Pruning leaves what is necessary and strong to grow
So nourishment and light can be used effectively.
It's not something to fear and revolt and shirk
But something to welcome with arms wide open
for hope only comes after death and paring.

This is why there are no resolutions each New Year
For me to bandy about and then break in cycle.
I am resolved to be busy pruning all year;
To continually deadhead what's vain and a waste.
There's nothing to fear from Biblical examination
Because light and knowledge will nourish my life
to what is necessary so my hope is strong.

Mourning

2011-12-10T13:37:00.001-08:00

You know, every word and every action we take reveals where we are in relationship to Christ. Everyone has one... some may be his enemy, but that's still a relationship.

When we mistreat others, act with deceit, act with hypocrisy, proclaim looking at scripture isn't helpful, berate others' spiritual gifts, and trust in promises God never made, we show that we don't really know Him. We may often speak Christian jargon in public places, but when the heart isn't right others do notice. It doesn't matter how many times one repeats the word "grace," or what of authority position one aspires to take.

When others notice and one's unwilling to grow into a better relationship with Christ, it's a sad thing. It brings mourning for those of us unable to help. Mourning is heaped when you see other Christians encouraging the jargon and missing the heart.

I'm ready for this mourning to turn to morning. It's a heavy burden... even heavier when you're not allowed to help carry other burdens. Illogical, I know, but those of you who have watched someone you love go down the wrong path will understand the logic that is there.

A Different Kind of Christmas

2011-12-04T08:41:00.001-08:00

This year we are having a "fruit basket turnover" with our Christmas traditions. In a way, I am so glad because it would be too hard to have similar traditions with my grandmother in Heaven. The change is hard, too, but less difficult than the constant reminder that she's gone that would be in the similar traditions.

For Thanksgiving, we had very different activities and it helped a lot. Dinner with my family was on a different day at a different time and on the actually holiday, we spent it with Jimmy's family for the first time at his Aunt's house. The dinner with my family was exhausting. If we do it next year, I need to do more prep before the day guests are coming instead of doing everything that day. It worked out, but I didn't really enjoy it. I was too tired.


My Nieces, Kara and Jadyn

The girls spent a few days with me, too, at that time which made it easier. We had a lot of fun at the salon getting out nails "did," at Chuy's having lunch (and feeding out toys,) and at build-a-bear creating Hope in a beautiful red dress trimmed in candies and ruffles with coordinating red velvet and rhinestone slippers and Aurora in a pink princess gown.
.

And likewise, Christmas will be different. We'll be heading to Houston to be with Jimmy's family. We plan A Taste of Texas and a Christmas movie marathon for Christmas Eve. And a pajama party for Christmas Day, complete with presents and a gourmet meal... the guys are going to love that!! Christmas with my family will be done at some other date. I have no idea when, but that's fine with me.

Another change has been with my decorations. I have moved to a color scheme of green and brown and I love it. Here are a few photos of the changes:

Rt of Mantle; African Nativity

Tablescape

New Backing for Lenox Nativity

Bear Tree

Mantle

Left of mantle

The Phoenix

2011-11-30T22:39:00.001-08:00

Gifts are intended for sharing;
To be endowed without sparing
Any indulgence with caring
Sent to increase good-faring,
Friend to friend without paring
Our life and soul baring.

Sometimes a true gift's daring
Leaves a mark, a constant searing,
Upon our soul's visceral gearing.
It modifies our heart's hearing
And redirects our oaring.
It's love aligning, squaring.

Sometimes a true gift's daring
Impression is fairly jarring
And is helpful for out-tearing
That which always is marring.
It prevents us from veering
To a place of permanent searing.

When given in love's caring
A gift that bequeaths charring
And eyes welling and tearing
Brought from a truthful flaring
Can end with each one wearing
Into eternal soaring wings haring.

And so we gift truth with caring
For our intentions is searing
Christ into each one's gearing
So all are faithfully flaring.
We should expect suffering, tearing
But with God it's all good-faring.

Relationship Matters

2011-11-16T20:11:00.001-08:00

Something has been bumping around in my head for a long time. Something that I hear Christians say a lot just doesn't sit well nor do I find experimentally that it is true.

Firstly, let me say that I certainly believe we are to be loving, patient, kind, forbearing, and honest with each other. We are to value others as God values them. And that is one of the main parts of our calling as Christians. No question about that.

Here's what I hear others say that I'm having a problem with: If you build relationship with other Christians and encourage them often, then they can accept when you feel you need to discuss something difficult with them. They are willing to listen.

Really? Not in my reality! It's really pretty rare for me to feel the Holy Spirit say, "I need you to address something with a sister." But it is becoming increasingly clear to me that it doesn't matter how patient, kind, honest, and forbearing I've been over the past years... I am not finding that building relationship with others really makes a difference in whether they accept the rebuke.

What I do see is that in situations of rebuke that there are two relationships that matter and it has nothing to do with the relationship between me and my friend. The important relationships are me to God and my friend to God. If we're both tuned to God, we can weather anything together with unity... but if one of us is running from God, no amount of past forbearance makes the rebuke acceptable... whether the rebuke itself is wrong or whether the rebuke is fought. It goes both ways.

A friend recently pointed out Proberbs 9. In this chapter, Wisdom and Folly personified are compared and contrasted. They both call to the naive, promising needs will be met, and both get the naive to partake, but only one fulfills. This chapter also contrasts the naive ones on these paths by looking at how they respond to rebuke. The one pursuing Folly insults and scoffs at rebuke whereas the one hanging with Wisdom gains understanding from rebuke.

You see, there is a fundamental difference between the one listening to Folly and the one listening to Wisdom. The Folly-ites don't have the humility that allows them to say that a rebuke from a human can never be truly condemning and always contains an opportunity to grow in useful knowledge. Someone on the path with Wisdom will humbly say, "Let's discuss what you see in my life and look at scripture." Even when they are misjudged, it is an opportunity to clear up what scripture says and help another grow into the image of Christ. It's servanthood to Christ that the Wisdomian is all about.

So, you see, it's not the depth of relationship between friends that makes rebuke acceptable and worth a listen. It's the relationship with God, the One who calls us to wisdom, that allows us to accept rebuke and see it as an opportunity to become stronger and wiser.

I will value you in relationship amongst ourselves, but understand that if you call yourself sister in Christ to me, I will expect you to be a Wisdomian. And you can expect the same from me.

Don't Be Nice to Me

2011-09-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things this week. Last week, Bible Study started back up, so I made a tiny step there.

I'm still having a hard time being around caring friends. I haven't been to church in over a month... and I dread having to receive condolences to my face, but it's probably time. I think I've just about used up all the grace Jimmy is going to give me due to my grief. He's about to push me out of the nest. Let's hope I can fly!!

I have also got to get my hair cut. Pepi and I have become great friends over the past 15+ years that he's maintained my coiffure. I just know I'm going to cry. At least, he's married. Single men NEVER know what to do with tears. It would be amusing if other emotions weren't welling and overwhelming at the moment. I thought to call today as my hair is getting too heavy and thick, but he's closed on Mondays and I hate to disturb him on his off day by calling his cell phone.

I do dread going back to choir practice, Sunday school, worship, and out with our Sunday school class. People who are nice just slay me. I'm so ready to be out of this stage of grief... but I'm just not, yet.

Perhaps I should act as if "all I want is to argue" or "all I want is to be right" with all haughtiness, harshness, and arrogance. Perhaps no one would wish me condolences, then. Naaah! Probably not my best idea!

Does Forgiveness Require Repentence?

2011-09-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, the obvious answer is, of course, it does not, but yes. What?!? That doesn't make sense? Oh, but it does. Just like everything Biblical, there is much to acting wisely and righteously and even though things are often clear and cut and dry, we live in a fallen world where very little is done or responded to with wisdom and holiness. So, why does forgiveness not require repentance? Why does forgiveness require repentance?

Forgiveness is to come from a place in a Christian's heart because they understand the intrinsic value of others, because they understand Christ is bringing all things (including the ungracious enemy that purposefully steps on our toes when we have done no wrong) into submission & have hope that it will be before hell is sealed as a destination, and because a root of bitterness can impair our walk when we harbor unforgiveness. You see, we're to be giving without expectation in other people because our real expectation is in Christ and we are letting Him change and judge us during life... change us into His image... the image of God... who forgave us while we were enemies. Therefore, it's obvious that forgiveness must be done whether there is repentance or not.

On the other hand, for forgiveness to be full, it must be met with repentance. Only in repentance can the giving have no end. Only in repentance can the giving be multiplied by trust. When there is trust, the giving can go beyond what is needed into what is wanted... because what is wanted is done with a cooperative spirit where there is repentance. Where there is unrepentance, what is wanted is immoral and harmful for all. This is why God speaks of "answering" the prayers of a righteous man and "giving your heart's desire." Where there is virtue and repentance, there is accord and unity. In the same way that God's forgiveness is more complete where there is repentance, so is ours.

Often this doesn't happen in a vacuum... often an enemy is such because we did something wrong and must approach forgiveness with repentance for ourselves... not always, but often. This is another way in which forgiveness and repentance go hand in hand. Nothing makes an enemy more mad than feeling like they have to do all the repenting... and there are times they do... and get angry because they were wrong and can't have control over the situation... so if you do have something to repent, do so as you approach your enemy with forgiveness.

So, you must forgive where there is no repentance, but the giving will be limited where trust has been breached... and this is right. This is to have God's character to understand that it is not wise to give an enemy what He wants, because he has no care for himself or you. It is also right to allow relationship to develop trust with those worthy and for the forgiveness to deepen beyond what it can with an enemy, sometimes by requiring repentance from others and sometimes by repenting for where you have wronged an enemy.

Forgiveness

2011-09-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

Forgiveness is a word that is often misunderstood. It's taken me a long time to wrap my brain around the concept... mostly because what I see in the Bible doesn't jive with others' definition and applications. When you take the entire Bible, "forgive and forget" or "turn the other cheek" are wholly inadequate as a comprehensive and applicable definition.

Does it mean to forget wrongs?
Does it mean to turn the other cheek?
How does that fit with what David and Solomon wrote about wisdom of avoiding certain people?
Did Jesus demonstrate it at all times, including when He berated the Pharisees or allowed sinners to turn their backs on Him in their sin?
Does it mean you take beatings, verbal or physical, without a sound, like Jesus did on the cross?
Does it mean you never correct a wrong?

For a long time, there seemed to be a lot of contradictory things in the Bible. But here are two keys that helped me figure out a lot about forgiveness and gave me new applications.

1. The word itself defines itself: Forgiving. For-giving. For- giving. To be forgiving is to be for giving. It's to be pro gifts... gifts of all sort, emotional, verbal, physical, spiritual. It means I'm willing to give what I have without consideration for what that leaves me with and your level of deserving it. You do deserve it... not because you've earned it, but because you have inherent value as a creature made by God. If you are worth His time, you are worth mine. For those of you who know God well, you understand that what is given away usually returns with multiplied blessings. We don't give to receive blessings, but when we give we don't run out... in fact, we run over.
2. True love is about doing what is best for others, which is the long run is always also best for yourself. The question is this: "How far ahead can you see?" Love sometimes hurts our feelings because truth doesn't always feel fun. The patient and kind aspect of love feel incredible and are usually easy to accept, but the part about love delighting in truth? Not so much!! In love, you give what you know they need no matter what. Sometimes that means avoiding them to discourage them and to protect yourself. Sometimes that means taking a beating from them meekly to show that you don't run when the going gets tough. Sometimes that means acting in anger and giving them a verbal shake. Always, it means caring less for how they feel about you and more about their standing before God. All of this love is giving. It's giving truth, healing, protection, kindness, gentleness, safety, guidance, wisdom, and knowledge. Plus about a million other things as the Holy Spirit calls us in each circumstance.

So what I figured out is that forgiveness is being willing to give regardless of trust or the ability of the other party to reciprocate the gift. Just like Christ at the cross, he gave to all even knowing He was rejected. Does this mean He forgot the pain? Does this mean His behavior towards those that continue in their sin is the same as for those who repent?

No. In the same way, we don't forget the pain... we're willing to give through it. We also don't intentionally put ourselves in harms way with those who are untrustworthy or dangerous. At some point they may show themselves faithful in the small things so that we can entrust more of ourselves to them, just like Christ does with us... but until that time, we give freely expecting nothing in return.

By God's grace, He has guided me to this lifestyle even though I didn't realize I was fulfilling what He requires of me. Forgiveness.

My Tears Weigh Tons

2011-08-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

My heart is completely broken. I wrote a month ago about having an "out of body experience" because life seemed so surreal. Over the past three weeks, I've been having an "in body experience."

My grandmothers lays dying. My anguish is so heavy. My tears weigh tons.

In some ways, it makes nothing important but what she's going through. In other ways, it clarifies how important life is and how seriously we need to take our time on this earth. A month ago, my grandmother was living on her own, enjoying life... at this moment, she is not enjoying her life as it slips away.

I can't enjoy my life either as she passes to Christ.

Being Right vs Relationship

2011-08-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

I value relationship over being right.

This is one of the silliest statements that I've heard. It usually is spoken by someone who wants to allow truth and fact to be overlooked so they don't feel shame. They want to be perceived as having validity because their view should be treated as valid. They want to feel right. They want to be seen as True.

The truth is this: you can't value relationship unless you value being right... not being perceived as right, but coming to right... possibly being found as wrong so you can move to the right. When you truly are valued in relationship, helping you to become right and listening to you to help me become right are the priorities. Lies and validating feelings based on what you imagine only exacerbates the problem. Being too concerned with feelings and having no concern for truth shows a lack of care in relationship.

One of the things that is lost between different personalities is the respect for both sides of truth and love. If you prefer one at the expense of the other, then you haven't really preferred it... you've shown yourself to not understand what you believe yourself to prefer.

Real love always bows to truth... and real truth has an easy, acceptable side. We just need to have understanding.

What's so frustrating is that no matter how gentle truth giving is, there is always someone who doesn't care to understand the acceptability of it. They like their own way and learning is too much trouble... So then there is the false attack to deflect from the truth:

I value relationship over being right.

Perception

2011-07-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Perspective is a funny thing. We all feel like our perspective speaks of Truth... and in a way it does, but perhaps it reveals what we want to keep hidden instead of revealing the "truth" we think we see.

Take the phrase "doom and gloom" in reference to dealing with sin. I've seen this phrase used several times recently. Today, I saw it used correctly to mean "overly pessimistic; without hope." Several weeks ago, I saw where it was used incorrectly due to perception. To some, it is perceived that if you deal with anything negative or use any sort of warning that it is "doom and gloom." This couldn't be further from the Truth. Scripturally, we are commanded to give a warning or a rebuke to make way for repentance which brings hope and allows grace and love to be applied. Without the conviction, there is no hope. In the situation, "doom and gloom" was far from what was being discussed... but that was the accusation based on perception. What was revealed was a misunderstanding of God and His Just and Right nature.

Another way perception can be wrong is when we misunderstand why we have a certain feeling. All feelings have a basis in Truth, not all feelings are valid in the Truth in which we feel them. For example, validating the feeling of being "in love" with an abuser is ridiculous. Stating feelings as false accusations is another example of feelings that don't deserve validation. You might tell another that "They were condescending." The feeling of "I feel like I'm less than that person"may be valid; however, that feeling could come from a place of you whispering that to yourself or recalling when others have told you that and not because someone belittled you. Instead of revealing the guilt of the one accused, what has been revealed is that you think that about yourself. When that perception is stated belligerently as a false accusation, you leave yourself little room to trace the root of the problem and have misperceived.

This is why it is so important that we don't allow feelings and perception to rule us. We have to search out a trustworthy standard, like God and His Word, to judge and discern how our feelings and perception lines up with Truth. I've recently been through a time with a friend where her perception is so skewed that I can barely recognize Christ within her. Oh, she knows all the right things to say that sound good and are pleasing to most Christians... but she's far away from what God says. It is so dangerous to get away from the complete factual knowledge available in the Bible, but perception can lead you there. I am praying that she comes to understand and that I can continue to weed out this area of "judging by appearances" in my own life.

Guilt

2011-07-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out
Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out, now
.
She was a guilt..... tripper, one way ticket, yeah!
It took me so..... long to find out, and I found out

.
Ever notice this? Confusing the standard? Confusion about where one stands against the standard? Deliberately changing the standard to make others feel guilty? Deliberately pretending you've crossed the standard when you haven't?
.
There's a certain personality type that does this and I think it's for a certain reason-- They don't know that guilt is a state and not a feeling. They also expect the rest of us to bow to this ignorance... to live and die by feelings... to worry about perception... to snap to their standard if they indicate a hurt feeling... to be scared of knowledge.
.
Fortunately, some have a complete opposite personality where there is surety in the standard and self examination to determine the state of guilt... There still may be feelings of fear about making restitution or fear of punishment, but these feelings don't override the examination process.
.
Every one tends towards one of these two sides. I'm the later. I spend a lot of time getting to know standards for the purpose of applying them, including self examination, and my feelings don't rule the standard nor the application. And I've experienced the previous in others...
.
In fact, I ran across one quite recently who thought they would muddy my waters and send me off in great anguish. However, since I'd put the time in to know the standard and to examine myself I knew they were blowing smoke. The only question I still have about the encounter is if they were ignorant enough to actually believe it or if they were aware that they were trying to distract me. There's no telling as sin is a funny thing... sometimes we participate with full knowledge thinking it makes sense... sometimes we are deceived into thinking it makes sense... sometimes it's because it feels good to do so... sometimes we have been discipled into the sin, say it was a parent's MO. There's no telling if this person knew their guilt. I know they didn't know the standard because of the content of the conversation, but you never know when you're dealing with a guilt tripper.

You can't generalize with sin!!

Sin; How to Not Deal with It

2011-07-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what we will do to try to cover our sin ourselves and which Bible verse we will pull out to comfort ourselves within our sin.

God is a loving God, but He is not permissive about sin. Making sin seem logical or useable by God is no excuse. Here is a list of some wrong ways in which we try to comfort ourselves and end up making things worse:

Lying- I'm reminded of Aaron saying that he just threw the gold in the fire and (Lo! Behold!) out jumped the calf idol. We may think we pull the wool over others' eyes with this one, but they often see our lie... and God always knows about it.
Misjudging- It may seem helpful to belittle others to distract from the sin at hand, but again this is a tactic that is easily recognized, especially when you judge on things you can't possibly know because you haven't spent the time learning. Assumptive judging is always wrong. I am reminded of Job's friends and Jesus' words, "Don't judge by appearance, but judge rightly."
Projecting- The weakness that could arise isn't necessarily there and projecting the extreme onto others is a misjudgement. Just because it is possible to misuse a spiritual gift doesn't mean every time you see evidence of that gift that it is used in sinful weakness. Callings and Spiritual Gifts can be used immaturely, to be sure, but your gift is not the only one sent from God without flaw... in fact, your gift has the ability to be used immaturely. If you're resorting to these things in this list, odds are really high you have your gift out of sync with God's ways and commands.
God Uses All Things for Good- Very true, but are you interested in being the bad that gets used? Isn't hell too hot for this risk? How much more noble to be a friend of God than be His enemy and be used as an example for all time like the Pharisees.
Comfort Verses- God is a strong tower and He is love, but most of these verses or passages in context say that these comforts are for those who are faithful, obedient, and clinging to Him, not loving an idol based on Him. The few comfort verses that don't discuss obedience speak of repentance. If you're not being faithful or actively turning from sin, these verses are not for you at that moment. Before repentance and faithfulness happen, the application of these verses is that God rewards those who are on His side and you should move to His side. There is hope that one will accept Him, but dismay if one won't.
My Interpretation Is Best- Really? I think God's interpretation stands above that since He knows what He meant. I've experienced people who can interpret the scripture to mean the EXACT OPPOSITE of what it says. Our God-given mental facilities are amazing, but you can't tell me that he gave us those to logically nullify what He says. It's one thing to have an oddly out of context seeming verse that must be interpreted for obedience, but it is uncool to pretend God says the opposite of what He repeats over and over in clear language. If you're having to use the word "interpretation" to describe a belief, that is a possible sign that your belief isn't in the Bible or isn't something to hang your hat on. There are a few things that must be interpreted to be understood, but most things are clear that require action.
Hypocrisy- If you say you believe one thing and then act the complete opposite way, you might reevaluate what you believe and why. Why did you feel led to act that way? Is your belief wrong? Are you sure you believe it? Are you believing it out of context? Is that action a God's Image moment that you are misusing because you misunderstand how God commands use of it?
I'll Stop Thinking about It- Paul says that we are to be thinking on what is true, pure, and lovely. David says we are to meditate day and night. His ways are to be our delight at all times. Putting rightly evaluating and applying God's word on the back burner is a sin in and of itself. You can drive yourself nuts thinking about what isn't valuable (worry, for example,) but meditating on God's ways is right and valuable.
I'll Amend, But You'll Be Sorry- Don't you love when people get so angry at the one helping them to defeat sin because they had the audacity to be observant and caring? They will change enough to think they can worm out of conflict--still being dishonest-- but then let the demon's fly in their speech. Sadly, changing a tiny behavior isn't the point. God and people who love you are after a heart change and understanding of Him, not a slight behavior modification because you get a tiny portion of the seriousness.

As I make this list that is merely the tip of the iceberg, I'm realizing something: Not dealing with sin God's way piles sin upon sin. There is no reconciliation with God using this method. There is no reconciliation with others using this method.

Humbly saying before God and others that love us in Christ when we are in sin, "I was wrong. Wash me clean. Show me the way. Forgive me. Let me make restitution as far as I can." is the way to shortcut the mess we make of ourselves and relationships.

Random Thoughts

2011-07-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful couple of weeks... and in the summer, no less.
.
Mostly, it's been good... even what appears to be bad on the surface is actually good. But if you look below the surface, God is moving. I almost feel like it's been an out-of-body experience. While there has been pain, although not the sort intended, there has also been a detached awareness of the intent to distract as well as amusement at the fear of "I told you so." One thing's for sure: God gives you peace that passes understanding when you're obedient no matter what the fall-out. And at some point, I'll stop being amazed that Christians like their own way and would try to wound you for speaking about God's way. That day is not today.
.
I pray He continues to move... to soften hearts and train us up in the way we should go. I have been so blessed for God to instruct me and doubly blessed to have a church that is supportive of God. I've spent a lot of time in churches that prefer to "interpret away" things they dislike and I am so glad to be away from that atmosphere. It's really sad to see in others because I know growth from it is so painful, especially when You're doused in that environment and you can't find others that understand. It's so disheartening to wake up and think how you've misled others by participating in the "My God would never..." conversations when God has, does, and foretells doing it more. But God is faithful and those He calls He will complete in His timing. I will certainly have responsibility for following my own way, calling it His, and leading others to follow Me... but His grace covers that, too, as well as continues to instruct me to godliness and has given me many people who do care to follow Him fully to shepherd. There may be that occasional black sheep that believes it's self to be a Ram with vicious horns, but (Thank God!!) most of those He's told me to minister to have very soft, understanding hearts. That certainly makes following His calling more pleasant!
.
Jimmy working from home is going well in and of itself. He's not happy with his company missing timings, choosing to out-source to a country in which there is NO hour of the work day that overlaps, and taking advantage of his time. I realize programers are supposed to sit in their undies in front of a computer 24/7, but (believe it or not!) he does have interests outside of work. There are only so many hours a day he can sit in undies!
.
Although Bible study and choir have suspended for the Summer, I'm still keeping busy. Of course, there is still a lot to study. I could continuously drink from God and still be thirsty... not because He doesn't satisfy, but because I have so much to learn!! I am hoping that the next study on Revelation in the Fall includes the Minor Prophets because I'm not making much headway on studying The Day of The Lord on my own. Things keep cropping up to distract me... good things... but the end of the Summer will be here before I finish what I had set out to do. I need accountability to stay focused.
.
The humidity has been ridiculous. I can't wait for Fall!! I'm convinced Summer as we know it is directly related to being in a fallen world. I wonder what Summer was like when God said that it was good.
.
On a better note, I started a new food blog so I can keep up with recipes and our reaction to them. It's mainly a journal for my own records, but you are welcome to pop in.

Freedom is Costly

2011-07-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at the freedom that comes from following God. When we cease to have our eyes on making our own petty judgements that seem so right and just, we can experience what is spoken of in the Bible:
.

“Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday. ~Is 58:6–10.

.
I can hear Mendelssohn's Rise Up! Arise and Shine! Every time I read this verse even though the movement was based on a later verse in Isaiah.
.
Although this is an Old Testament verse and applies to the Israelites, we see echos in the New Testament where the God that doesn't shift or change tells us similar things. Repent and I will make you a light. Follow me. My yoke is light. Don't judge by appearance, but judge rightly.
.
Following God costs us everything, including giving up being ourselves... or rather being ruled by Satan and believing we're ruling ourselves. Removing the yoke of prejudicial and wrong judgement and giving ourselves to those in need will cause our light to shine. It illuminates the gloom... all that negative stuff that isn't fun to deal with... sins... ick. But we still have to deal with it honestly.
.

And when we do take God at His word and follow in obedience, we can have peace, freedom, and joy. However, peace, freedom, and joy elude us when we are disobedient. Disobedience causes us gloom that results in finger pointing, speaking wickedness, and getting off point in our justice and righteousness.

Kill the Messenger

2011-07-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

.
Even Sophocles, a pagan, thousands of years ago knew what we like to forget today: Killing the messenger doesn't work.

It may delay the message's receipt. It may anger the speaker. It may bring comfort for a time.
.

But eventually the authority that sent the message and the truth of the message will come to bear.
.

As Christians, we're commanded to speak the truth in love... to be God's messengers with love. Have you noticed that when that love is not perceived that the inclination is to ignore the message? Let's say the love is absent... completely missing in motivation and in perception... does that still absolve us from following God's way? From listening to God? From doing what He commands?
.

Absolutely not. We are to be doers of the word. We are to be obedient out of love for God. It's not burdensome to do so, but it can lead directly to suffering. Not heavy, but can earn us hate. Hmmmm... that's interesting.
.

Sadly, there is a trend in our society that is centuries old and deeply implanted in our sin nature to "kill the messenger" thinking we can get around the message and authority of the Writer. It doesn't take much thinking to come up with a slew of Biblical examples who suffered for the way they delivered God's message... Joseph, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul, Jesus... In none of these cases was God thwarted, although many others in history refused His blessings with this rejection of the messenger and had heavy consequences to pay, often multiplied to many others... Reuben, the Israelites, Ahab, the Gentiles. It seems to come down to the choice of whose side you will be on... God's or Satan's? The messenger makes his choice; the listener makes his choice.
.

Although God is love and always is loving, he doesn't always mince words so a listener will feel graciously inclined to listen. He often gave prophets direct quotes of scathing set downs to those who should have been on His side. We see in the book of Jonah that the main message was "Repent or else." Jesus often blistered the Pharisee's ears with words of rebuke... Will we blame God that sometimes that technique was used by Him? Will we insist that it never worked when there were times it did? Will we not obey when God calls us to this technique?
.

To be sure, there were just as many times that God used a incredibly soft voice to turn hearts. He was gracious to widows through Elijah and loving to outcasts through Jesus. It is wise to understand and use a soft word to turn away wrath. I am not in anyway implying that it isn't. I am not implying that God doesn't also send messengers with a soft technique. However, these times and these calls to obedience don't negate the other commands that we feel are too harsh nor do they ensure the message is heard and obeyed by the listener. Christ was very kind to the rich young ruler, but the message was still rejected.
.

I think what we fail to understand is that the technique of delivering the message is secondary. The primary factor is the heart of the listener and the heart of the messenger to Him, not to each other.
.
Whether God speaks in a tornado or in a whisper, His sheep hear Him. They know Him. They recognize His voice however His tone is... and the Bible is clear that He uses many tones, many techniques, many situations. Whatever His mood is... they know Him.
.

When we are His sheep, we don't need to destroy the messenger because we know his commands are light, if difficult. They bring us all manner of good things, even though the fight with Satan batters us. At some point, we have to realize that fighting the technique is an utter and complete waste of time. The technique is between God and the messenger... The listener is still accountable to God.

Jimmy to Work from Home

2011-04-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

So... Jimmy is going to be working from home starting in June.

That means a lot of changes in our home. The major one for me is getting me out of our office and moving to a laptop. I've been concerned that I will not like a laptop because they are so horrible ergonomically and many of the screens are so small. But I think most of my objections have been met to my satisfaction.

I plan to use the TV as my main screen so "gargantuan" is more descriptive of it than "small." I also plan to use a wireless keyboard and mouse to alleviate the less-than-impressive keyboard and "mouse" on a laptop. The one kink that still needs to be worked out is that I need to find a small table that will extend over our couch. This is not going to be easy to find since our couch has about 1/2 inch between the bottom and the floor.

The other major change will be having Jimmy here all the time. In a lot of ways that will be wonderful, but I will need to be careful how much noise I make and not interrupt very often. It will be a great time saver for him and give us extra income due to lowered taxes, reimbursed expenses that will not be raised from where they are now, less gas, less temptation to eat out, etc.

Smaller changes include needing to reorganize the office, to make room for Jimmy's technical books, and to cover the Palladium window top with matching wooden blinds.

All in all, I am expecting this to be an easy change and a smooth transition.

Never Stumble

2011-03-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

... seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ... Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 3: 3, 10-11

Amazingly, we will search everywhere for God's way aside from the source of "true knowledge of Him," the Bible, and "His divine power," the Holy Spirit. We look for it in others' examples, a homily, a self-help book, advice from friends, etc. All of those things are good and God has given us strong, faithful examples to help us find Him, whether those examples be found in a book or a sermon. However, when we get our information from a source like a friend or an author, we must not forget that we are getting away from the source and getting second hand information... otherwise called, gossip.

Gossip can be true, but often contains misinformation. Often the teller has no idea that they pass on misinformation because they are sure of what they heard or read or saw. Sadly, many are not observant nor discerning enough to pass on second hand information effectively. This doesn't have to be a problem for us, because we have the source to which we can go back.

In the Bible, God Himself wrote for us through men a first hand account of what He expects of us. In the Bible, we can see in context why He says what He says, the punishment for not following, and the mercy given for repentance. In the Bible, we don't get confused about what is right and what is wrong because it's stated simply. In the Bible, we find God expounding on what He said simply to show the balance of how it all works together. In the Bible, we have the penultimate example of Jesus, which is very different from the weak, poor feeding, always-kind-and-soft-spoken portrait painted of Him.

In life, we have the Holy Spirit also guiding us. We can test Him by seeing if He lines up with the Bible. He tells us when the time to rebuke is and when the time for silence is. He tells us when the time for justice is and when the time for mercy is. He tells us which good thing to become involved in and which good thing is for another to be involved in.

So, let us be diligent in testing the spirits behind the advice we get. Let us be careful what we read. Let us be knowledgeable when we sit in a sermon. Let us be observant to test the spirits behind a good example. Let us never forget that Satan reveals himself as an "angel of light."

At the heart of the scripture I quoted, is Bible knowledge. We're only sure of Him through what He has revealed in the Bible. We can only test "His divine power" based on what we see in the Bible. If we want to have "everything pertaining to life and godliness," we have got to know our scripture inside and out... not commentaries about scripture, not examples of people who are strong, not Christian books, not rousing sermons, not sweet homilies... so we can test all things and make sure of our calling so we can "never stumble." Never stumble. Never stumble. Never stumble. Not a book, sermon, careful friend, can claim such a thing, because they ALL contain pieces that will lead you astray. God is the only one who can give us "hinds feet." Never stumble. Never stumble.

Go to the source and remain there. He will satisfy you like like nothing else can, no matter how good and no matter how it speaks to you for a moment. That moment will pass, but the things of God will never fade. The things of God will never stumble.

Duet To His Love

2011-03-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

by Elisa J. Rush for Jimmy Rush

Valentine's Day 2010

A duet flying high to the sun, over the nested treetops,

While all is new, sparkling, and brilliantly colored below.

The mild breeze refreshes and gives life cheer:

A joy that rests on certainty of continuation.

A pair happily splashing in the blue, wet puddle

And diligently finding the nourishment that sustains life.

In the shade they find comfort to preen and show their love,

Sheltered from the hot sun at noonday.

The couple soars in the blue skies of Autumn

Over the Orange painted trees.

They store up for Winter in wisdom and care for the future,

Knowing the seasons can’t always be abundant for life.

Two birds nestled together in a stark tree;

Their warmth shared to keep the winter at bay;

Working together to beat back the harsh world;

Committed to protect and promote mutual life.

Their life is not valued above a penny by most.

They’re buffeted by the elements on every side;

But God will uphold them together to share His nature.

His love will endure a lifetime; His love will be shared between them.

Preparing for Spring

2011-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

Today is beautiful!! Spring is coming and it feels good... today. Spring is not my favorite time of year because it gets so hot in the middle. Hot, humid Summer will be just around the corner and people will begin to talk of summer LONG before it gets here... just like Spring has been for the last month.

Sadly, I've been having a lot of headaches. I'm starting to believe I have migraines... that I've mislabeled them as "sinus headaches" for years. We'll see what my Family Doctor says on Monday. Hopefully, she'll treat them with something that works and I won't have to go through seeing a neurologist... assuming I can find a decent one in Birmingham. I know not to try the fools at Brookwood. The nurses there were heavenly... the doctors, the complete opposite... namely the neurologists!! So...

Here's to hoping when I get out in the sun and with the blooms my head doesn't begin to ache!!

I need to get on the stick about planning my garden!! Last freeze should be around the beginning of Spring in about three weeks and I've barely given the garden a thought. I suppose I'll have to grow tongue-torch jalapenos for Jimmy. One year I got mild, tasty jalapenos, but he doesn't like those. He likes the ones that burn your hands to pick. I need to figure out the rest. I'll think about that tomorrow.

I've been trying to refresh my wardrobe. There is so much in my closet that needs to be given away, but just like every spring, I have trouble finding summer-friendly clothing that is flattering. I suppose it doesn't matter... in a climate where you could sweat to death if you went around naked, you might as well wear a winter sweater!! I've bought several light sweaters for layering, but I haven't found any cotton shirts with flattering sleeve lengths and flattering seeming. What is up with the flutter sleeve and skinny jeans? Those two should be rarely seen. Almost no one has the body-type to be flattered by either! And who is buying all this polyester? I can't stand to touch it and certainly couldn't wear it for any length of time!! So the search continues for flattering, cotton clothing...

I must be hungry. That was a lot of complaining!

Spring Sweet Comfort

2011-02-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

by Elisa Rush
Air rife with honey to breathe
Inhale! And give me rest,
Sweet comfort upon me wreath
And comradarie in soul be kist.

A bee, a bird, a friend, a word:
Which one do I crave today?
For all act as a balmy curd
To take me to Heaven's sway.

The cleansing breeze upon my soul;
The flower that opens my heart;
The flowing, song-bursting fowl;
But sweeter she who won't depart.

Step the fair one to my mind.
The rhythm of being one;
Help me know that we are twined;
Nature dancing 'neath the sun.

The twists in solid friendship moving
To gather growing as a throng
As Spring dips and curtsies, grooving,
The bird and I held one in song.

Small Rant

2011-02-24T20:29:00.001-08:00

I've been noticing over the past couple of years that I believe things completely opposite to most people. The more God shows Himself in His Word, the sharper this becomes because one of the applications that had happened has been that my mind has changed... my worldview is different... the things I profess are transformed. Behaviors change, too, but having always been a fairly good girl I find it's the inside that's morphed.

The distinctions would not be notable if my friend set was mostly unbelievers. And while I do count quite a few professing-unbelievers as friends, and a few 100% fruitless professing-believers that I would be shocked to see in Heaven, the vast majority of my friends profess Christ and show at least a measure of true fruit... some even a large measure. Obviously, I can't judge the heart and understand the workings of how fruit is produced as well as I don't have insight, so don't get antsy about that last sentence!! No power to condemn here and there is full acknowledgment in the lack of power and heart x-ray vision!! I am also fully aware that we each learn at a different pace and often communicate poorly.

However, the more Christ transforms my behaviors and mind to what I observe in the Bible, the less I have in common with so many people!! I can no longer countenance sayings like, "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." It might could be amended to something like," If you can't say anything true with the motivation of love then don't say anything at all." But "nice?" I can't agree. It's close to right, but just wrong enough to mislead. And that small amount of misleading disgusts me because I know how far off you get when you start following that trajectory. In the Old Testament, that small trajectory often led to immediate death and now it will lead us to death, although usually God chooses to delay that physical death so none perish. Nonetheless, being off from God is serious!!

That's merely one example.

I keep going back to reexamine myself... Am I misunderstanding God? Taking things out of context? Ignoring some of the counsel of God because it doesn't resonate as clearly with my personalty? Am I misunderstanding the person? Are we using vocabulary in the same way?

Over and over, I grow in confidence in God. Are there times I have to amend my beliefs? Apologize? Sure!! More often, God confirms the difference to me in several ways and comforts me that I can have peace in Him while being out of unity with others. He's working to bring us individually into unity and peace in Him which will result in unity and peace with each other.

Man!! I just wish it wasn't so painful to grow and help others grow!! But I'm ready, Lord.

Overpreening Kindness Fails

2011-02-23T21:24:00.000-08:00

By Elisa J. Rush
A hostage with a mouth to tell the truth
Is not always the one uncouth.
Perception isn't yours to shape;
Reputation isn't yours to ape;
Character will decide this night.
Fight for fight not a worthy fight.
Flight, no, but faith in The Seed
Truthful and loving was your need.

Agreement is something I'm after,
Even if I'm the one wrong oft'r
Who has to serve myself as turkey.
But what was seen to be lurking
Was a heart full of self-righteousness;
Repressing your self-blame, a must!
You spun that it was mine condemned.
Your words belied that you felt hemmed.

Machinations for your name you tried
Until my heart in anger cried.
Still, compassion to prevent your maim;
Deflection was ever your game.
"Peace!" you urged with your words
While tearing at me like hook-billed birds.
Clear who you tried to please.
I wonder if she really sees.

Open all hearts to help see truth
So compassion can be seen as couth.
This hostage was freed with insight,
But who was damaged by your sleight
And who got glory while you tried
To gather your disciple to your side.
The Lord you should have pleased that night
You rejected Him with all your might.

Tangled Morality

2010-10-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering if people are as tired of self-righteous moral indignation as I am? I see it so often. We're trying to maintain what's politically correct and generally thought of as moral while trashing the substance of morality... then refusing to admit the roots of the problem.

How crazy is it to be admittedly embarrassed because you got caught and still pretend there's nothing wrong with what you did? Or to pretend that you were bullied because you were urged to flee immorality? I understand the urge to preserve yourself that comes when we are in these situations ourselves. I've fallen into these behaviors, too. But where are the objective observers holding our society's collective feet to the fire?

What I am concerned about is the lack of objective observation of these things and acceptance of stupid justifications of immorality by people not caught up in the situation. For example, people who read and accept as normal a news story about a woman caught in immorality mad that men don't get hurt by such stories.

Is this really what we've come to as a society? Is the double standard really the problem we want to address?

When we make up our own ideas of what's moral and immoral, this is where we end up:

blaming others for our bad reactive emotions or behaviors
condemning ourselves
pretending others are the ones who are immoral for seeing us
using words like "bullied" or "abusive" when they don't apply
trying to walk a line between two immoral behaviors
making no sense
entangling ourselves in our own web
reaping the negative things we sow
hurting others

When we allow God to set moral perimeters for us, here's where we end up:

blaming ourselves for our choices
proving our salvation by "running the good race"
accepting discipline from others
allowing negative emotions to either lead to repentance or confidence to be brazen
maintaining purity
being logical
reaping the positive things we sow
blessing others

How I wish for a world where God is followed and all we have to reap are benefits from our wonderfully holy behavior!! Until that point, let's be a knowledgeable as we can about His ways and us critical thinking to evaluate what we're told or read.

Let's love justice and do mercy after having rightly discerned a situation.

Daily Life in the Fall

2010-10-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Big AL. My favorite mascot.

I couldn’t believe it when… I realized it's been May since I blogged. What ever happened to my promise to blog regularly?

My dream is…to be a successful advocate for God. How it pains me to see others ignoring and misunderstanding Him. Of course, He hasn't been clear about everything and hasn't mentioned some things at all... But so often we misunderstand because we won't take the time to listen, meditate on Scripture and to keep it in context. Being successful is not defined by others' reaction, but rather by how true I am to God. The gospel is divisive and smells of death to some. To others, it is a sweet smelling life that leads us to unity. I wish for it to be a pleasant fragrance that brings us together, but my success is not defined by that. I simply want to be faithful to God.

I recently learned… about patent leather. In short, it's dyed leather that is then lacquered by a process that was patented several centuries ago.

A scripture that touches me right now… is Romans 8. We have "no condemnation" in Christ; therefore, we can "be real." We don't have to fear rejection, so we can honestly deal with our sin and accept critique from others. What freedom!!

A prayer I have is… that our country will turn back to God and see fruit in keeping with repentance as a society.

Something unusual that happened was… the potato topping on my Shepherd's Pie disappeared into the filling. I need to figure out why and how I should change my recipe.

Something that is bothering me is… how we communicate with each other. We speak words we don't mean expecting others to interpret correctly. Many people do understand, but we need to be careful because not everyone has the same worldview. Further, some are using the wrong word purposefully so they can adopt a new meaning. The words "liberal" or "progressive" are perfect examples of this. I also have been thinking of how we denigrate written communication to exalt face-to-face communication, but each has its weaknesses as well as strengths. Each is harmed by human faults. Face-to-face doesn't win.

Something that is pleasing me is… the fall weather. It's been so beautiful with gorgeous temperatures. The evenings area bit cool and we had a fire last night. A lizard fell down the flue and ran out of the fire. Jimmy caught him before I could freak. It wouldn't have been pretty if he'd been loose in the house!!!

I am wearing… pajamas and its almost 2:00 in the afternoon. I love it!

A short term goal is… to finish the laundry. no sense in being too lofty and ambitious!

Stolen identity

2010-05-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday I discovered my hotmail and facebook accounts had been hijacked. The passwords have been changed and I can't get into either account. I have no idea what else has been hacked or what other information the hackers have taken from my emails. The frustrating thing is that facebook and hotmail aren't communicating with me... Unless you count the canned response telling me my email had been received and asking me not to reply to the email. I'm not counting those messages. I've opened a new email with my dsl service, but I'm not interested in losing all the info in either account...obviously... So i'm not interested in opening a new facebook account. Waiting is the hardest.

Simply Life

2010-04-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Whom I’ve dined with this week… I've eaten alone all week, which is highly unusual. This Sunday, we skipped church so Jimmy could write his research paper for his class and we've had a lot to do at home between Jimmy needing time to write and having to file federal and state taxes by today. I suppose you could count the chickadees and cardinals that thoroughly scolded me for daring to show my face in my own backyard to eat my dinner and read a bit of a novel in the cool, sunny evening.
.
I couldn’t believe it when… our bed came on Monday. We had been told it wouldn't be manufactured until August and then it would take 6 weeks before delivery. I was expecting to get it in October. It's huge, but it's beautiful!!! You can see the bedding we chose, but we're not sure about wall hangings and other furniture that we'll get... so the picture is only of the bed. It's much too grand for our other stuff.
.
My dream is… that Christians would become more unified. I'm not dreaming of an artificial peace that ignores problems and includes hypocrisy. I'm dreaming that all Christians will grow more Christ-like through deep, balanced knowledge of Him that leads to mature attitudes and wise behavior. I'm dreaming we'll be unified by default because we're all like Him.
.
I saw… a mouse today. There was an accident on Old Rocky Ridge Road and traffic was stopped for about 20 minutes while the tow truck lifted the car on it's back from an awkward angle. When I pulled up to behind the stopped car in front of me, movement in the yard next to me caught my eye. I kept looking and it was a brown mouse foraging.
.
I recently learned… that people who are hypersensitive have led me to believe that most people are like that. However, I am learning that there are many people who can handle listening to opinions and discussing the differences between our thoughts without taking offense.
.
A scripture that touches me right now… there are so many, but I have really been dwelling in those words that are abhorrent to our culture. The scripture that are ignored because we don't want to have the burden of judging properly to apply them in balance with the ones that seem loving to nonchristians. I can't just pick one.
.
A prayer I have is… that my friends struggling in their marriages will remain faithful and see their own sin. One friend is leaving his wife due to "things in his head" and it's killing me to see him hold fast to his sin when he could have such a marriage if he would go through the pain of dealing with the stuff in his head. There are too many friends with hard situations to spell them all out, but I pray that each spouse will become more Christ-like.
.
My husband… finally finished his paper and taxes. I thought I was going to have a meltdown over all the important papers he had scattered before doing taxes. It drives me bonkers that he won't file important papers and then we have to spend hours looking for them. But all that is over for this year. Tonight he was going on a motorcycle ride with a coworker from New Orleans, getting dinner with coworkers, and then going to a beer tasting with them. I hope he's having a good time. He deserves it after working so hard for the past couple of weeks.
.
Something that is pleasing me is… that I found a new store called "Charming Charlie's." They have loads of accessories all organized by color. It's all costume jewelry. I bought the funniest ring last night. It's a parrot head, about 1 inch tall and the width of my finger. It's bejeweled red, yellow, green, and blue set in silver-toned metal. It cracked me up when I saw it. It reminded me of Sunshine, so I knew it was the perfect ring for me!!
.

I am wearing… A pink short sleeved Swiss dot button-down with a plum 3/4 length sleeve cardigan, a green flowered scarf, and brown twill pants. I wore brown sandals earlier, but of course they came off as soon as I walked in the door!! Shoes are the worst, even comfy sandals!
.
A short term goal is… to clean off the back porch. We still have wood stacked from the winter and covered in a tarp. It's hard to enjoy my bench and to relax out there with it being such a mess. It won't be long before it's too hot and humid to enjoy, so I want to get it spiffy before that!!

Growing in Christ Alone

2010-04-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

I am consistently hearing Christians proclaim ideas that are contrary to what's in the Bible. We all need to guard against these ideas because they affect our personal walk with the Lord as well as society. If we don't know fully who God is, then we can't apply it to our own lives... we can't give out good advice... we don't know what to support politically... we don't know what to encourage in others... we don't know how to show Christ...
.
There are a lot of good things being said in the name of Christ that are, to put it bluntly, half-truths. They are partially true, but just off enough to actually be a lie. We have to have the entire truth kept in balance for it to qualify as truth. We act in wisdom when we apply the entire truth. We act as fools when we apply part of the truth. There's no middle ground.
.
This is something I have fought and will continue to fight in myself. We don't come into this world wise and we have to grow in Christ's image after coming to Him. It's process. I'm consistently finding areas in my own life and mind to correct. I also quite often see these areas in other's lives that I deeply respect and view as "mature believers." These are people who I see chewing the meat of scripture regularly. So, don't think I am preaching to the choir. The choir needs to continue to mature and weed out issues every bit as much as the new Christian... and it is even more important for a mature Christian to do this because the more mature you become, the more people look to you for discipleship.
.
So, I wanted to encourage my friends to begin to study their Bibles book by book until they have worked their way through the entire Bible. There are several reasons why I would suggest such a thing:
.

~Context is key. Sometimes a sentence means something totally different when you pull it out from the surrounding sentences. There have been full doctrines that denominations are founded on that couldn't be believed except for taking a verse out of its immediate context and the context of the entire Bible.
~How can we be Christ-like when we only study what is presented to us here and there? Listening to sermons and doing topical devotions are good, but they can leave out information that is vital. Many pastors have their “go-to” verses that they rarely stray from. It’s great to have special verses that you love and quote often, but not venturing from these verses can be crippling.
~The Bible interprets itself most of the time. The vast majority of our questions can be answered if we will just take the time to familiarize ourselves with the scripture.
~Sometimes, there are questions you don’t think to ask. When you study book by book, you answer questions before you even have a chance to ask. This can be so helpful in application because when you have a question and are desperate for the answer, you often don’t have the time to study all God reveals on the topic, meditate on what the full application is, and put it into practice. It’s much better to have a plan of action before you get into a stressful situation.
~You learn of false teachings and ideas that you never even thought to question before. There are many catchy sayings that many Christians believe because they don’t know God says the exact opposite. We need to weed those things out of our lives. We all have Christians in our lives that mislead us with false teachings. It may be someone who claims Christ, but who doesn’t really know Him. It may be your pastor. It may be your parents. It may be a respected Christian author. It may be you. We have to be on our toes so these lies don’t spread. You are protecting yourself, your family, your immediate friends, and your neighbors when you don’t allow these lies.
~There are many scripture passages that are difficult to deal with. They aren’t very hard to understand, especially when in context of the whole counsel of God, but they are hard to act out or they are hard to reconcile with what we want to believe. They are hard for nonchristians to understand because they seem cruel and don’t do along with what the world calls good. It is harder to live in the balance God calls us to than to the unbalanced good that many Christians easily follow. When we don’t put every teaching into balance, but follow our own way we are worshipping an idol.
~It is impossible for you to know if you are following God and His disciples or if you are following Satan and his followers without knowing every word of the Bible. Satan comes as an angel of light and has planted a lot of good looking things among his followers. We need to be able to tell the difference.

All in all, we’re crippling ourselves by not weeding these things out. We hurt our families. We hurt our society. We mislead others. We lie about who God is and what He expects. Studying your Bible isn’t about knowledge for knowledge sake or for boasting… it’s so we can act in a manner worthy of God, receive blessings from good consequences, and be the light God expects us to be.

.
Please consider regularly doing these things. Because I can assure you that nonchristians see our hypocrisy and recognize it. Sure, there are things nonchristians don’t understand and mislabel as hypocrisy but that is no excuse for us to not be careful.

Simply Life

2010-04-05T14:00:00.001-07:00

A picture… Jimmy and I finally ordered a bed for our bedroom, and I can't wait to get it! But I'll have to wait until October probably for it to be delivered. Hopefully, we'll get other pieces to go with it including a bookcase, a chest, a dresser, and two small nightstands over the next year or two. Here's the bed:

Whom I’ve dined with this week… Last night, we went to California Pizza Kitchen with the G&C Class. I sat next to Lindsey Hicks and across from Norman Dean and Emily Lyle. It was the first time Norman and Lindsey had talked, so most of the conversation was about them getting to know each other.

.
I couldn’t believe it when… I heard someone at church say they would only be held accountable by Christ for what they personally know. Certainly, they will not be judged on the laws they kept as they are covered by Christ's blood; However, they will be rewarded on how obedient they were to all of God's expectations not just the ones they took the time to notice. I'm still formulating what would be the best way to reintroduce this subject with the person and what scriptures contradict our obedience to our knowledge being foremost in our reward when we meet Jesus.
.

I hear… the air conditioner and Sunshine eating in her cage.

.
Something that is bothering me is… the contrast between Easter and all other Sundays. I wish we would show more respect, reverence, and preparation constantly so Easter would not glare out so badly.
.

Something that is pleasing me is… that I am feeling better. I was sick last week with my lungs hurting and running a fever. I'm glad to not feel so tired and puny and am looking forward to planting my garden in the next few days and enjoying the spring weather.

Christmas in Review

2010-01-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was lower stress than normal, which is surprising since I went back on my promise to myself of always purchasing gifts before Thanksgiving. Most Christmas shopping was done online, which saved a lot of stress: no traffic, nothing out of stock, free shipping, no harried holiday shopping Grinches.

We also had very few holiday parties/ events to attend... much fewer than normal and the ones we had took place of events we regularly attend each week. Two events (Dawson Memorial Baptist's Choir Program and our Sunday School Party) took place on Sunday evenings when we would regularly be at church for the evening service and out to dinner afterwards. Since I'm no longer working, there was no office party for me and Jimmy's company has been excluding spouses all year, preferring to have a lunch party with employees instead. Strange, but I've missed some of his coworkers or their wives that I enjoy spending time with.

Anyhooooooo... The choir at Briarwood only does one performance on a Sunday night, which is in contrast to Christmas in the Magic City that we used to do at our old church with 7+ performances and a gillion extra rehearsals. After 5 Christmases of being at Briarwood and having that schedule for 5 years, you'd think I would be used to it. For some reason, all that hustle and bustle over a Christmas Program weighed heavy on my mind this year and I was extra thankful for a church that isn't entertainment oriented.

We spent all day Christmas Eve with Jimmy's family. He has a quiet family and the day is always enjoyable. We had our traditional dinner of Standing Rib Roast (over cooked, but still yummy, just like normal,) Green Beans Bundles, Strawberry Glazed Fruit Salad, Mac & Cheese, & rolls; Two things different were Mashed Potatoes in place of Twice Baked Potatoes and no Corn Casserole b/c Delina put twice too much butter in it and it was soupy. Oops!!

.........................................Jimmy and his Grandaddy, 91 yo

Green Bean Bundles are my favorite part of the meal and they are always my responsibility. They are very easy to make: marinate cooked, whole green beans in French Dressing overnight, drain, bundle with strips of bacon, and bake until bacon is cooked and green beans are hot. This year, Mom called me a few days before Christmas and said that she was sorry but she had accidentally gotten all the ingredients for them so I didn't need to worry about making them. Apparently, when she made her grocery list from her traditional menu she wrote down those ingredients, forgetting my assignment. Ooops! So I just brought snacks for the middle of the day since we don't have a formal lunch.

We spent Christmas Day with my family starting out with Sausage Balls at my parent's apartment and then lunch at my Grandmother's house. My family is chaos!! Everyone talks over each other and carries on two or more conversations at once. It is very tiring. My parents, Grandmother, Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Doyle, and Nicole (15 yo 1st cousin once removed) were there for the day... then late in the afternoon my Great Aunt and Uncle, Linda and Grant, came to visit and have a plate of our leftover lunch. My brother's family came at Thanksgiving, so they stayed home for Christmas. We had Ham, Pork Loin, Purple Hull Peas, Spinach Salad, Baked Potatoes (Irish and Sweet,) Squash Casserole, and rolls.

Here's what I was given for Christmas:

Jimmy- Gold & Blue Chalcedony Earrings, Crash Bandicoot Mind Over Mutant, Coffee Grinder, Espresso Beans, The Broadmoor Legacy by Miller & Peterson

Parents- Barnes & Noble Gift card

Brother and SIL- Wii Storage Tower

Nieces- Decorative Skates

MIL & FIL- Brighton Earrings, Tiny Silver Teddy Bear Box, Electric Meat Carving set

SIL & Nephews- Make-up Bag, Red Table Scarf, Mulling Spices, Blue Long Necklace, Brown Short Necklace, Mixed Signals by Higgs, Tennessee T-Cakes

Pam & Darryl- Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea, Bangkok Tea, The Body Shop Hemp Body Butter, Christmas Corner Paper Punch

All in all it was a wonderful month filled with wonderful people and wonderful things reminding us of the grace, love, and beauty of Christ coming as a baby to bring salvation to all men.

Back to Blogging

2010-01-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

........................................Me at The Dismals Canyon

Today, I got my camera lens back from Nikon. It's been broken since September. One of the first things I thought when I saw it... crazy as this is... was that I can start blogging again because my camera is whole.

I'm not sure what that reveals about myself.

Maybe that deep down I don't think I have anything valid to say... anything that people want to hear.

Maybe it says that I am a visual person and showing life is more important than what I say.

Maybe I just like the artistic balance that isn't just prose, but is prose broken up by interesting sights.

Maybe you, as a objective observer, would have better insight about me than I have.

But there you have that very real moment that reveals something about me that I didn't even know was there. Something that I don't understand about myself. Something that may highlight an insecure vunerability or something that may show my deep-seated preference.

Whatever the case... I'm going to be blogging more now that I have photos to go along with what I have to say.

Shrine Pass thru White River National Forest

2009-09-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today we drove down a dirt road looking for beautiful Aspen trees turning golden. We went from Vail Pass to Minturn with cameras in tow and found many beautiful trees. Aunt Mary stayed at the condo and watched cooking shows. She has been full of advice on how to improve my Chicken Cordon Bleu. The show gave her some good ideas.

The pictures don't do the morning vistas justice. We found many signs of beaver, including dams and a lodge, and saw a few birds: Red Tailed Hawks, Stellar Jays, and White Crowned Sparrows. The only wildlife that I photographed was the fam.

We lunched at The Turntable in Minturn. I had a Burrida with incredible roasted chili enchilada sauce and a cup of green chili. The have the reputation of serving the best Green Chili out of some group... but I can't remember if it was the state of Colorado or the Rocky Mountains or what. Good thing that isn't an important detail!!

When we arrived back at the condo we all laid down for a nap. We we awoken by sweet sounds. After I came fully awake, I thought I was hearing kittens. When I went to the balcony, there were three red tailed foxes including Jinks, lying on grassy are between our condo and the road behind. They were fussing at each other. We figured they were pretty young and were probably from the same litter. They gamboled a bit and there was definitely a hierarchy between the three.

After a while, one fox caught something live and then he let it go. An older fox would have killed the prey instead of playing with it until it got away. They were so cute and acted just like a litter of puppies or kittens. It's hard to realize they are wild animals.

Tonight we ate Chicken Pot Pie and Salad that Aunt Mary got ready made from a cafe. It was delicious and was gone in a flash! Afterwards, everyone watched a program about National Parks (namely Yellowstone) on PBS.

The Colorado Springs to Breckenridge Express

2009-09-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

The second night of vacation we spent at Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Mary's house in Colorado Springs. We'd no sooner entered their neighborhood when we spotted three different groups of mule deer and five bunnies. It's amazing to live in the city limits and have such common sights daily.

They also have lots of birds we don't have back east and bears. We saw Magpies, Scrub Jays, and Black Capped Chickadees. I'm hoping next week we'll see a bear or two. Jimmy's afraid I will run right up and hug a wild bear... and grab his ear and drag him to bed to snuggle.

Our route detoured through 11 Mile State Park. That was one flat, brown place between the rugged mountains. We did see Bison and Pronghorn Antelope, which was pretty interesting.

The we trekked through South Park, Hoosier Pass, and Alma. We stopped to photograph the Aspens. As we got closer to Breckenridge, we came upon some snow. The contrast between the hot weather at home and seeing snow within a few days is striking.

Our condo is really nice: three bedrooms and two baths nicely decorated. To top all the indoor amenities off, there was a very friendly fox begging at dusk. He apparently comes frequently and the hotel has named him Jinks. We photographed him for some time. Uncle Kenneth laid down in the grass close to the fox and as Jinks got really close to his shoe. Jinks was very curious about Uncle Kenneth.

We stayed in and ate BBQ beef brisket and salad. Aunt Mary is a good cook!!

The Long and Winding (at times) Road

2009-09-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

We set out for Colorado on Friday morning. We'd spent the night with Jimmy's parents so we could leave early.

I listened to Camille by Alexander Dumas most of the way. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book due to the subject matter; It's about a courtesan named Marguerite. However, the writing is clever. The wording Dumas uses is beautiful and he uses irony without seeming to be negative. The logic he uses in arousing sympathy for people caught in sin (and happy to be caught there) is also interesting. It's good for me to see how others think so I can be more sympathetic... that's not my strong point!!

One of the funniest parts of the trip was when Mom ate a Warhead. She wasn't expecting it to be so sour. She made the best face!

Through Arkansas and Oklahoma we saw bunches of Hawks. They were on treetops and fence posts. They were circling through the air. I'm not sure why I get such joy from spotting hawks as I travel... maybe it's just a way to pass the time... but I do love seeing them.

That night, we stayed in Tulsa. My camera fell and broke. I was really disappointed b/c photography is one of my favorite hobbies, although I'm not very good at it. I hated the thought of being without a camera during the whole of our vacation. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel, of course. Jimmy's dad loves that place and we never take a trip without eating there multiple times. I tease him that his car goes there without guidance from him.

That second day of travel was a lot harder than the first. I was tired of listening to my ipod and the land was so flat!! When we first started out there were hawks to find and the land was very interesting... as we went on, the animals disappeared and the land got boring until we were within about 3 hours of Colorado Springs. I did spot a Ring Necked Pheasant and three turkeys in the morning. I'd never seen a pheasant that wasn't stuffed before!!

Simply Life

2009-06-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

A picture… Here's Jimmy at the beach a couple of weeks ago. We started to eat at this restaurant, but ended up at another because of the wait time. Our friends had fun chatting in the parking lot even if we didn't get to sample the food!

.
Whom I’ve dined with this week… On Monday, the guys of the Single's Monday Night Prayer Group had a dinner for the women to celebrate their purity and womanhood. Barbra and Frank Barker shared about the importance of women and how that balanced with submission and feminity. I had the honor of doing the flowers for the tables. I did some wild looking greenery with white roses. Each girl took home a rose as a gift.

.
I couldn’t believe it when… I heard Obama wanted to be responsible about spending. It's too little, too late, Mr. President.

.
A prayer I have is… that eyes will be opened and hearts turned towards God so our nation can get back on track. It's not right the way the laws and constitution are being run over in the rush to socialism. Other countries have the choice to be socialistic... the USA constitution forbids it. I pray we will be a nation that would follow the law and hold Christ close so we can use our freedom wisely.

.
My husband… skunked me in tennis last night. I didn't win a single game, although I did get a few points here and there. It was still fun and we both got lots of exercise.

.
My bird… flew to the top of the Laundry Room yesterday and wouldn't come down. The ceilings are 12 feet high. Eventually, I turned out the light to encourage her to fly to the lit kitchen... the nut took a nap for about an hour until Jimmy came home and rescued her. Thanks God for a tall husband with long arms!!

.
I hear… Rush Limbaugh saying goodbye.

.
The menus I’ve served… haven't been many!! Sunday, we ate Worchestershire Grilled Steak with Corn on the Cob. Tuesday, we ate Asian Grilled Chicken Thighs with Salad and Grilled Orange Bell Pepper. Tomorrow, I plan to have a veggie dinner with Fried Green Tomatoes, Corn on the Cob, Steamed Cabbage, and Pinto Beans.

A short term goal is… to clean out my closet and get all the laundry in the Laundry Room put away.

Having a Positive Attitude

2009-05-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

When I talk about having a positive attitude, I think that means understanding that God is faithful and that we have hope in Him. It's viewing the circumstances from His view.

You hear people say that happiness and rejoicing are different because rejoicing doesn't look at the circumstances... however good that sounds, that's not quite true. The Greek word for "rejoice" (chairo) is the the root for the word "grace" (charis.) When Paul says to "rejoice" in all things he connotes that these two ideas are related. It communicates the idea that you rejoice because you understand the grace of God... you have a right view of circumstances based on His unfailing character, not a view that will pass away as the earthly circumstances change.

Sometimes it is better to not show negativity or dwell on the negative. However, sometimes it's better to not be overly positive. When you have an "attitude" about something, the way you behave communicates your expectations to others. Sometimes, you communicate these things without meaning to, say in your tone of voice or in your facial expression... but others pick up on them just the same. People react to expectations. Depending on the mindset of the person reacting, an expectation can cause them to clam up and try to prove your expectation wrong or it can cause them to excel to gain your approval. I think wisdom has to come into play here because sometimes it is beneficial to let your expectations or attitude be known and sometimes it is beneficial to hide your expectations (or at least carefully couch them.)

I'd also like to add that none of this means we're not to ever be negative. There is a time and place for hard warnings. There is a time and place for a relationship to be broken. There is a time and place for punishment. We can't go through the world wearing rose colored glasses, lying to ourselves and anyone else who will listen to us.

I think people who have a hard time being obedient to God and who want to pretty up the Gospel and Christian life into all easy to accept positive attitudes and encouraging statements of blessing are fundamentally harming other believers. It doesn't take a very long passage of scripture to prove a sappy, all-positive attitude wrong.

We have hard things to deal with in life and we have a deceptive enemy in the devil. We're to deal with things as God and Christ did, using wisdom to know when to be "positive" and when to be "negative." The more I know God, the more I think the Christian life is about being an advocate to others for Him. There are times that includes judgement & hard words and there are times that includes forgiving & forgetting. If we're on His side, though, we will be clinging to Him for the wisdom to know which side of His balanced character to walk in at each moment.

Simply Me

2009-05-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

A picture… This picture is of me before we went to "The Beatnik Benefit" for Leah Williams. Do I look ready for acoustic guitar, raw folk songs, and poetry at The Urban Standard (a coffee shop downtown?) Anna Godwin, Greg Summerlin, The Tin Cans, and Samford poetry students were some of the performers. We had a fun evening and I'm hoping Leah made enough money for her year of ministering to French college students.

.
Whom I’ve dined with this week… On Thursday night, we ate with Anne Marie who is going to be a recruiter for Campus Outreach. She showed us how she will be a missionary and we're going to support her.

.
I couldn’t believe it when… I heard Obama say he was cutting the US budget. Ummmm... didn't he just pass trillions of dollars of spending? The lack of foresight and discression is staggering!!! What a fool!! I wish I could say differently, but honestly, I cannot.

A Scripture that touches me right now… is Hosea 14:9 "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them."

.
A prayer I have is… that my friend experience marital problems would hold steady and be Christ to her husband and children.

.
My bird… couldn't wait to get to a bowl of popcorn and flew into it. She caused popcorn to fly out of the bowl and landed in the center of the bowl. I'm sending her to etiquette school.

.
I hear… the crunch of a Doctor Kracker cheddar cheese and pumpkin seed cracker.

.
The menus I’ve served recently… are Cornish Hens with Meyer Lemons with Brussel Sprouts, Creamed Corn, and Acorn Squash; Chicken Kabobs with Bella Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper, Onions, and Zucchini; and Roast Beef Tenderloin with Carrots, Potatoes, and Onions.

.
Something that is pleasing me is… Mr. Knightley's Diary. George is one of those characters that has grown on me over the years and I am thoroughly enjoying Grange's creative ideas about what his perspective is. The first time I read Emma, I didn't particularly like Knightley; but he has the type of character Jimmy has which is exactly what a wife needs.

.
I am wearing… my light turquoise duck pajamas, but will have a bath really soon and change into real clothes.

.
A short term goal is… to turn the comforter in the dryer so it can become dry.

My Scrapbooking Area

2009-05-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

.
.
In the guest bedroom, I have a scrapbooking closet. I have it set up with a table and organizational tools so I can work. When we have guests, I can just fold up the chair, slide it under the table, and close the closet.

As long as I keep things fairly neat, there is plenty of room for me to work. The small space is good inducement to maintain orgnization! I need all the motivation I can get to not be so messy!
.

For lighting, I have an extension cord run to the closet for a lamp or chinese lanterns. That also gives me power for my heat embosser.

The thing I like most about this is that I can leave everything out without taking up the dining room table. When I used the dining room table, I felt like most of my scrap time was spent hauling everything out and putting it back up!! Now, I can just be creative as the mood strikes. If inspiration flies... I just leave the page half done for the next time I am inspired.

All in all, this area has worked out well and hasn't taken up too much room!

Spring Feelings

2009-05-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Lines Written In Early Spring

by William Wordsworth

.
I heard a thousand blended notes,

While in a grove I sate reclined,

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link

The human soul that through me ran;

And much it grieved my heart to think

What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,

The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

And 'tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,

Their thoughts I cannot measure:--

But the least motion which they made

It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,

To catch the breezy air;

And I must think, do all I can,

That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,

If such be Nature's holy plan,

Have I not reason to lament

What man has made of man?

I love this poem because it speaks of exactly what I feel. God created us for good works and to enjoy Him which should cause us to all work together... but what a mockery we've made of the good He created. If we could only get back to the simple life of doing good and enjoying the good, how much better off would our society be? How much better would our relationships with each other be? Instead, we're ruining our society with worrying over things and calling immorality admirable--we're setting up a division so deep. The consequences are going to smart!!

Garden is Planted

2009-04-25T14:27:00.001-07:00

Today, I planted the garden and repotted a lot of plants.

I saved the lettuces in pot to hide in the shade by the back door. It gets so hot here, I don't think they will last long... but I'm going to try.

The herbs got repotted into a large brown pot. I have basil, rosemary, pineapple sage, thyme, and curly parsley. I kept separate pots of mint, oregano, and lavendar. I'm trying to train the lavendar into a topiary. All of the herbs except the rosemary, curly parsley, and basil, and pineapple sage are from last year. I'm rather proud of myself, the Plant Grim Reaper, for keeping them through the winter. Even better, my thyme is about three years old. Maybe my black thumb is turning dark green?

In the raised bed, there are two zuchinnis, a Roma tomato, a Better Boy tomato, a japanese eggplant, two jalapenos, two bell peppers, and onions. I have enough room for another squash and either two more bell peppers or another large plant, like an eggplant. I'm not sure what I will chocse. I'd like to go to a specialty store and see what they have available... but I don't know if that will actually happen!!

Keeping It Simple

2009-04-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes what I really want to say should never be put into print, so I'm going to keep it simple.

For Today...

Outside my window... the grass is growing out of bounds on a cloudless day.

I am thinking... about something I shouldn't put into writing that would hurt others and doesn't really need to be said... especially not in a spot that's public.

I am thankful for... God showing us how to live well and Christ upholding all things.

From the kitchen... there will be a sparkle when I finish cleaning that should last as I don't have to cook dinner tonight.

I am wearing... pajamas, but will be bathing and changing soon.

I am creating... plans for the Birmingham Figure Skating Club Awards Banquet.

I am going... to a Pampered Chef Party tonight, to shop in Homewood tomorrow, and to crop at Church tomorrow night.

I am reading...Shenandoah Series by Michael Phillips about the end of the Civil War.

I am hoping... my youngest nephew will make good choices as he grows and is given more freedom. I'm hoping he learns Christ's ways and wholeheartedly follows Him. I am hoping his grief and anger don't overwhelm him.

I am hearing... the soundtrack to Brigadoon, right now. I'm listening to my Broadway playlist on itunes.

Around the house... is indoor work. It would be a perfect day for outside work, but (Alas!) I am doing laundry and other assorted household chores.

One of my favorite things... is a style of music that I don't know the name. It reminds me of old foreign movies. Some research is in order!

A few plans for the rest of the week... are to enjoy some time without stress. After last week I'm ready to enjoy some time of relaxation.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

This is me and my first true friend. When he was given to me at 5 years old, we were the same size. I was probably about 16 when this was taken at my grandparent's house. I took a moment out of getting ready to pose for my brother. Gotta love this wallpaper!

Join the simple fun: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

A Simple Woman's Daybook for April 16th

2009-04-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

For Today...

Outside my window...is a perfect Spring day. The sun is shining, the spring green is in abundance, the temperature is pleasant, and a few white clouds contrast with the blue sky.

I am thinking...about how sad it is that we as a society don't value morality,substance and truth, but rather emotions, a well-turned phrase, and a pretty face.... and afraid for where that foolishness will lead us.

I am thankful for...security in Christ.

From the kitchen... there is about to be the aroma of fresh herbs. Tonight it's Grilled Lemongrass Chicken, Brown Texmati Rice and Stirfried Asian Veggies.

I am wearing... a leotard, a black longsleeve t-shirt, and fleeced cotton pants because I skated this morning.

I am creating...a scrapbook plan for a crop I will attend in about two weeks so I don't have to haul many supplies with me.

I am going...no where really fast until I get off the computer.

I am reading...Shenandoah Series by Michael Phillips about the end of the Civil War.

I am hoping...we find a really good Bible study to do over the summer and that it's about the Gospels.

I am hearing...someone doing yardwork.

Around the house...it looks like a tornado hit.

One of my favorite things...is Citrus Blend Tea that came from Harney & Sons this week.

A few plans for the rest of the week...are to have lunch with friends from High School and pick up after the two tornados that live in my home: Tornado Jimmy and Tornado Elisa.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Sunshine's the best!

Join the simple fun: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

My Life is In Shambles

2009-04-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

Okay... so my life really isn't in shambles, but I do feel like it is... yet more proof you can't live life off emotions.

I had ordered tea from Harney & Sons last week, and was so glad to see it on the stoop when I got home an hour or so ago. I could already feel the comfort of a cup of hot tea in that box, even though it wasn't even in the house yet. Crazy, I know... but there you have it!

The "shambles" have been going for a while. It started with allowing dirty dishes to pile up and mail to get strown over the house for a few days. It's blossomed into a cluttery mess that is overwhelming. I'm quite sure it will take a full day to straighten up the mess and another full day of cleaning surfaces that haven't been seen this last week.

I'm also behind on my Bible Study... I have 5 hours of homework to do today and tomorrow.

The storms last night accentuated the "shambles." Jimmy and I didn't sleep well, so we're both tired today. I'm also headachey again, which doesn't help anything. To top it off, outside there's a littery look with tree limbs down and needles and leaves blown hither and yon. I can't seem to get away from the clutter.

I planned to take care of the clutter today and get out from under this feeling of my life being in shambles, but that hasn't worked out. Here it is 5:30 pm and all I've gotten accomplished today is signing mortgage papers, going to the grocery store, and checking my email.

I'm hoping I can get things back in order such that I'm no longer feeling oppressed by it all. Tomorrow and Wednesday will both be days that get away from me, too, judging from my schedule. I have a skating lesson, baby shower, & helping Jimmy with taxes tomorrow and Bible Study, lunch with Pam, & choir practice Wednesday. There will be little time for serious work around the house and little time for preparing for Bible Study.

Maybe Thursday I can ensure the "shambles" are dusted away...

Until then, I'll just be comforted by my citrus blend tea and concentrate on my Bible Study... and try to reclaim my sanity with lots of loud sighs.

Easter Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be

2009-04-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

I'm a little concerned by the joy I see over Easter. Is that too shocking for a Christian to say?

You know, we should celebrate Christ's death, burial, and ressurrection... we should feel great joy at the salvation His life brought... we should celebrate the new life that spring reminds us of... however, I'm a little concerned by the pomp associated with Easter and the lack of sober respect in worship... I'm a little concerned by the high feelings I'm seeing associated with Easter. I'm concerned by the commercialized object lessons we use to explain Christ.

What happened to the rest of the year of praising God for His grace? What happened to daily study that brings a steady relationship with God and not a rollercoaster of spiritual highs and lows? Why in the world would we make this service more special than each week's service? What happened to using each opportunity to share Christ, and not relying on special holiday traditions?

I must admit Holy Week isn't any holier to me than any other week God has given me. I must admit I'm turned off by the congregation being spit shined for this one service. I must admit I'm turned off by the dramatic parade worship becomes on Easter Sunday. I must admit that I don't understand the special place Easter has in other's minds.

This doesn't mean I don't understand the gravity of Easter or the hope it gives. It doesn't mean I don't love Christ. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy spring or like ham dinners. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy a new dress now and again.

It simply means I want every day to be Holy Day.

Lamb Roast

2009-03-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

Last night, I cooked my first Leg of Lamb using Nicole's seasoning techniques. She also gave me cooking instructions, but as our ovens are different and our cuts of meat were prepared differently I chose to use slightly different cooking times and temperatures.
.

I chose to serve it with rosemary potatoes and asparagus w/ hollandaise sauce.

Recipe

1 Leg of Lamb

4 Cloves of Garlic (peeled and halved)

3-4 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary (snipped into 2" pieces)

1/2 Glass of Red Wine

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper (to taste)

Cut slits into the meat and stuff the slits with rosemary and garlic. Drizzle with Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour wine over top. Roast in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes per pound or until the temperature inside the roast reaches 140 degrees, basting occasionally. Allow roast to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

How It Played Out

Preparing the roast was a breeze. It just took a few minutes and was very easy. I planned to cook it for 2 hours because of the size of my roast... but it took three hours plus the resting time. Needless to say, we ate a very late dinner!!

While the roast cooked, I cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Mine also got rosemary and garlic, but Jimmy's were left plain. They were supposed to cook for 1 hour, because I like potatoes a bit over done and brown. Because the roast took so long and the potatoes didn't burn, they ended up cooking for 2 hours. They tasted wonderful, but they were crispy little shells with little to no soft, potato-y interior. I couldn't pierce mine with my fork!!

All in all, the dinner was wonderful. Jimmy liked it, and that's the real test since he's pickier than I am. Next time, I'll try it at either a higher temperature or plan for a longer cook time. Good recipe, Nic!

Layout for Blog

2009-03-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

So, I think I'm going to go "public" with my blog... which is funny, if you realize that I've never had any security settings on it since I opened my blogspot account to try blogging. It's time to give blogging a real try. I have a digital camera now that will make blogging so much more interesting and pleasing.

Finding a template for th1s blog has been a nightmare!! I thought it would be so easy to chose one, but so many were visually unbalanced and so many didn't fit my personality. I finally found a couple that I thought would work, but each had a serious flaw once I downloaded them. I'm really glad I didn't have to learn how to program my own! I have enought to learn without adding THAT!

Now for relaxing... I have a glass of wine and celtic music going on tunes. Dinner is ready to be Kabobed and grilled.

Spring Cleaning

2009-03-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today I cleaned the backyard for Spring enjoyment. It's so much nicer to grill when everything is arranged pleasantly and is swept clean.

We can finally enjoy the weather and spring birds. The birds are flocking to the feeder already. I found this American Goldfinch sneaking around the suet while I took some shots of the clean porch for my online friends. He sure was brave to come up to the feeder while I was standing only 2 yards away!!

Over the weekend, Jimmy and I planted lettuces in the raised bed garden. I am expecting them to be eaten quickly so I can plant other veggies for the summer. The Red Leaf and Romaine will be yummier since we grew them ourselves!

All in all, I think we're making a good start on the spring. Nothing like cleanliness and fresh spring veggies to make you fell refreshed from the winter.

Do you want you tea with additives or just a lie?

2008-07-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Over the years, the nutrition of food has gone down across the board in the US, whether it's cheap foods or expensive.

It has to do with foods being processed and cheap fillers and flavorings being used. It has to do with the false idea that soil only needs three nutrients found in fertilizers and protection from pesticides. It has to do with people wanting convenience foods and foods with a long shelf-life. And those things transcend economic situations.

It is true that healthier foods are more expensive and that theoretically wealth ought to play a factor, but I don't see that much where I live. I see the wealthy buying the same bags of chips (crisps ) the poor are buying. I see them buying the same brands of pasta. I see them ordering the same dinner of chicken fingers and fries. I see Sunny-D (a sugary citrus flavored drink) in million dollar homes and in rentals on the poor side of town. I can go on and on. Sure, they may be able to afford out of season blueberries, yogurt advertised to help digestion, or applesauce with the latest popular additive (like calcium) where someone with less income can't afford them... but not all things that are healthy are expensive- like whole grains, dried beans, and in-season produce. And some of the things that are expensive go a long way- like a bag of nuts or seeds.

One thing that leads to the nutrition problems is that most Americans have bought into the idea that processed foods are OK. Bread is enriched, so it's healthy. Pasta is enriched, so it's healthy. A hybrid, conventional apple is red and robust, so it's healthy. Pasta sauce is full of tomatoes, so it's healthy... but reducing food to synthetic nutrients, produce grown to be big and sweet instead of natural, and gross additives (including High Fructose Corn Syrup) is not healthy. We're coming out of that some, but there are still some who associate health foods with the 1960's sexual revolution and the results of that associate a generation or two later. Some don't know that's where the stigma comes from, but the stigma still remains.

We're also stuck into a marketing driven mindset where the products we buy claim greater health and nutrition, but they don't deliver. Organic and Natural are big draws market and many companies don't care about sticking to true organic & natural practices... they just want to be on the band wagon pulled by the cash cow.

Americans have also given their time to all sorts of things (good things, mind you) but are neglecting their health because they don't have time to educate themselves beyond what they see on commercials, don't question what they have been taught by parents, and don't take the time to prepare their foods. I mean, ask how many Americans believe milk is the best source of calcium and you will begin to understand how uneducated we are about food.

May Already?

2008-05-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

Is it really May already? Almost June?

Where has this year gone? It seems just yesterday we were enjoying the spring weather, but today it is humid- so summer-like!

Joy of not Working Outside of the Home

2008-02-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

No crazy bosses
Time to make the home comfortable
Being able to prioritize better
Time to have a healthier diet
No crazy bosses
Time to educate myself on life
Time to spend with God
Less time needed to "unwind"
No crazy bosses
Time to get exercise
Time to live
Being productive

Can you tell that my last job was awful, with a "mental" boss who thwarted productivity in the work place and made me feel like I was wasting my life? I am so thankful to no longer be in that situation and to have my husband's support in working at home to make our lives better.

I don't know how women can stand to work outside of the home even with productive jobs that they enjoy, especially once they add children. If they are led to, then so be it. Some of my bad experience was due to my situation, but some of it was not having enough time to spend on things that matter: God, health, comfort, giving to others. But know that I am not superwoman able to juggle everything well. Having more money just can't trump being happy.

2008-01-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

Ice Skating

Icicles

Snow

Job 37
1 "At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.
2 Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.
4 After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back.
5 God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'
7 So that all men he has made may know his work, he stops every man from his labor.
8 The animals take cover; they remain in their dens.
9 The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.
10 The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.
12 At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them.
13 He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love.

Health, Happiness, & Holiness

2008-01-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

Okay... so here I sit with a cup of Hot Cinnamon Sunset Tea. The scent is beautiful, the taste relaxing, the warmth refreshing... This moment is mine, away from all the day-to-day bustle. It's a priority to take this time for myself often. I started it when I first married and realized a truth: A man could come home from work and relax in his home; A woman's work in the home is never really done.

I guess I always knew inside that a happy, healthy, holy home was a priority for me even though I couldn't have always verbalized it. I dreamed of relaxing in a place where I belonged, where all the consequences of my actions were favorable, a place where everyone thrived... a type of heaven. Through God's help, that's what Jimmy and I have built in our home. I am so blessed to have this moment here... healthy, happy, and holy.

3 John 1:2-4

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well
with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy to have
some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you
continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my
children are walking in the truth.

Autumn

2007-10-30T10:15:00.001-07:00

October
by William Cullen Bryant

Ay, thou art welcome, heaven's delicious breath!

When woods begin to wear the crimson leaf,

And suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief

And the year smiles as it draws near its death.

Wind of the sunny south! oh, still delay

In the gay woods and in the golden air,

Like to a good old age released from care,
Journeying, in long serenity, away.
In such a bright, late quiet, would that I
Might wear out life like thee, 'mid bowers and brooks
And dearer yet, the sunshine of kind looks,
And music of kind voices ever nigh;
And when my last sand twinkled in the glass,
Pass silently from men, as thou dost pass.

October is such a glorious time of the year, and I am sad to see it go. The deep skys with a crisp edge that herald a time for cozy comforts and that leave behind the stiffling, miserable days of summer... A wonderful time in life caught between the heat of summer and the chill of winter.