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Because if you oppose THAT, then you're either a racist or a sexist - or both!
Let's see if the Liberal-Progressive-Nutcases are willing to subject themselves to the rules they themselves set up in 2008... My prediction? It'll be a very coooooooooold day in Hell...
This king snake is about 4 1/2 feet long, and we let him go out back byour storage shed so he can gobble up all the mice and such to his tummy's content!
Yeah, a weird title, I know. But it came out of listening to two different Christian programs today that really run together quite well. The first program was from Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church:
The second program is from Ravi Zacharias' program, "Just Thinking," from a four-part series called "Worship: A Clue to the Meaning in Life."
Pastor Mark speaks of the parable of the Lost Sheep, wherein the Good Shepherd leaves 99 sheep who are not lost to go search out the one who is lost and carries it home. Dr. Zacharias mentioned the prophet Hosea, who God called to marry a harlot named Gomer as a picture of God's relationship with Israel.
So, hello - I'm Gomer the sheep.
Sheep are dumb. They're weak, they're not very tough, and they often like to wander off and get lost. They're really too stupid to find their way back home, and when they're out away from the flock and the Shepherd, they tend to get into trouble and get beaten up, abused and into some really bad situations. Fortunately, if they belong to the Good Shepherd (in other words, if they really ARE a sheep and not a goat), He always searches them out, puts them on His shoulder and carries them back home. My Shepherd is always on the lookout for me, ready to rescue me from danger, clean me up and get me back with the flock so I can be safe, close to Him.
Gomer was a harlot. Hosea married her and loved her and had two children with her - and she left a happy, secure and loving home and went back to her prostitution. Pretty confusing, isn't it? Why would she leave a good situation to go back to the filth and degradation of whoring herself out? Certainly one could understand if Hosea threw up his hands and had nothing else to do with her - but he doesn't. In obedience to God's command and as a beautiful picture of God's love for His wayward and rebellious people, Hosea searches Gomer out and takes her back as his wife. He never stopped loving her, and he returns her to her home and cherishes her. Just like God keeps searching out His sinful people and keeps pouring out grace into our lives, even when we don't deserve it!
So, hello again: I'm a stupid, weak, wandering, rebellious and sinful sheep named Gomer.
But my Husband, my Savior, my Shepherd keeps searching high and low, chasing after me and carrying me back to Himself, showing me His eternal love and pouring out His infinite grace upon my life. He holds me tight to His heart, and that small reflection in His eye - the one you have to get very, very close to see - that's where I am. He has clothed me in the righteousness of His Son, not for anything that I've done, but just because for some unfathomable reason He has chosen to set His love upon me!
And so, I'm happy to be a stupid sheep named Gomer - and by the grace and guidance of my Beloved Shepherd and Husband, I will get better and walk ever more closely to Him in love and worship.
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
(REPEAT)
SWACGirl has a lovely roundup of this phenomenon that's becoming more and more popular, which is what sparks this brief post:
I just want to say that I love this! Ever since ImprovEverywhere started doing their fun improvisational skits, I've been enjoying seeing the creative and surprising ways that these groups bring smiles to people. I really hope that this trend keeps up, especially with the simple funny things as well as the "random acts of culture."
YouTube, of course, has several videos listed under random acts of culture, or you can check out the search for flash mob. Google, of course has extensive results here and here, detailing just what these phenomena are as well as links to webpages and videos.
So, go check them out; I think you'll be delightfully surprised by the creativity and joy that this new fad brings!
.... which provides still more proof that I am, officially, married to the Most Awesome and Wonderful Husband in the Universe™. (Just so y'all know, y'know?)
In January of 1987, just about 6 months after we were married in Corpus Christi, TX, we arrived at our very first duty station in Rota, Spain - VQ-2 (Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2, which is now based out of Whidbey Island, WA)). Thus began what was kind of a three year honeymoon; we both loved our time in Spain and had lots of fun during those three years. We met lots of fun people, ate lots of excellent food (it's stayed with me - but I can't regret it!), traveled, and basically had the time of our life for the Beloved husband's first tour in the US Navy.
One of the things I loved about Spain was a drink called ponche ("pohn-CHAY"), more specifically, Ponche Caballero. I've always called it "Spain's answer to Gran Marnier," but it's not quite that - it's unique to Spain. Ponche is a much "softer" spirit than Gran Marnier; they both have that intense orange aroma, but Ponche is a sweeter liquor. We'd have it in our cafe con leche, we'd drizzle it over a little vanilla ice cream, we'd sip it neat - we'd enjoy it just about any way we could get it!
Well, we left Spain in January of 1990 to begin our journey to two tours in Hawaii (join the Navy and see the world, folks - we lived it!), and I haven't had ponche since. I've often searched for it in liquor stores and asked them to check their distribution lists, to no avail. Once the Internet got up and running and Google really came online (yes, I AM old enough to remember that - I was one of Google's first search customers, LOL), I'd do the occasional search to try and find an outlet for ponche. I did find one about 10 years ago in Miami, but had no way to get it across state lines via a mail service (I didn't think of having it sent to my parents' and picking it up from them [headsmack]), but that one dropped off the results in a couple of years. About a year ago, I did find one source, but didn't think my Beloved would appreciate me spending over $300 to buy six bottles and have them delivered. The price for the ponche wasn't so bad, it was the shipping that cost a fortune! Plus, considering we used to pay about $8 a bottle in Spain, I really couldn't justify such an extravagance.
Well. Enter the Most Awesome and Wonderful Husband in the Universe™!
SIX BOTTLES!!! Six bottles full of yummy deliciousness...!
I think, after I've put five of the bottles under lock and key (LOL), that I'm going to have to start plotting a Spanish dinner night. *grinz*
THANK YOU to my mostest awesomest wonderfulest Beloved Husband!!!!
The love of God is far more powerful than a million suns - but it can act in a similar way. For some, God's love melts them like wax and they bow to His love and sovereignty in gratitude and adoration. For others, His bright and passionate love hardens them like clay fired in a kiln and they reject Him and rebel against Him.
One reaction leads to peace with God and everlasting blessedness in His presence, while the other brings about destruction and punishment under His eternal judgment.
Are you here?
...do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds” (Romans 2:4-6)
Or are you here?
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)
Think about it.
Pantherophis alleghaniensis, the eastern ratsnake, decided to come into our basement and give my husband a brief scare last night (thought he was a copperhead at first!).
This little guy is very cute and docile; my Munchkin and I have been exclaiming about how adorable he is, and how smart he must be to slither his way into the house.
We're going to see if the biology teacher at school wants to host this little guy for a while :-)
UPDATE - we've had his family visiting before, of course. This guy stayed outside, but this one came in to visit us as well!
... well, sort of...
OK, so *I* didn't actually swim... But I was in it!
Very salty: 20-25% salinity, and boy-o-boy, you'd better not have any open cuts!
After waking up this morning, we left out hotel in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee and wnet to the southern end to perform several baptisms. We then continued south along the Jordanian border and visited Gideon Springs (see Judges 6 and 7, I think) and then Bet She'an, where King Saul was killed back in the Old Testament. In New Testament times, it was a GrecoRoman city called Skythopolis and was one city - the ruling city, I think of the Decapolis area where Jesus ministered.
Then we passed through security checkpoints (both in Israel, leaving, and in Jordan, arriving) at the Jordan River crossing - the northernmost point to go through, I think.
Once our new drivers and guides had picked us up, we had a *ahem* rather hair-raising 2 hour trip to Mount Nebo, where God showed Moses the promised land, and where Moses then died. After another, um, stomach-challenging hour, we arrived at our hotel on the north eastern side of the Dead Sea (totally awesome hotel, BTW, but I'll really blog about it after I return to the States). Time to relax and have dinner!
Tomorrow we go to Petra (UPDATE: here is an excellent site for information about Petra: there's a LOT more than I knew was there!)
I will definitely be out of moblogging range all day, because it's a 3.5 hour trip down to Petra (and another 3.5 back, of course), and I strongly suspect that cell reception is marginal at best. So I'll use the airplane mode to preserve battery and take pics.
Time to eat. We've just ended the Sabbeth, which goes from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. Actually, they add an hour after Saturday's sunset, which is why we've started dinner at 9pm!
Since today has been so awesome and HOT, I'm rewarding myself with a glass of Gewurtztraminer from Upper Galilee.
This is how they do tilapia over here... yummy!
This is the Church of the Beatitudes, and w went to an area where each one read a verse from Matthew 5:1-17, and then all of chapter 7. We then broke for individual prayer, and, oh.... Oh, oh!
Please God, grant my plea, and I praise You for all Your grace abounding in my life.
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| From Israel, 2010 |
A boat from around the time of Jesus. Twelve guys - 13, actually, including Jesus - would have been an uncomfortable fit!
Another busy day: two boat rides, many baptisms, visiting Cesarea Phillipi... and it's going to be HOT: 105 is projected max. I will be sucking down the water, that's for sure!
Also found out I can use Foursquare here, so my Facebook friends can see where I am, too!
I can't get over how fantastic (I'm going to run out of superlatives, I know!) Israel is... Definitely the trip of a lifetime!!!
... also known on the map as the Sea of Kinnereth.... Checked in to the hotel, and dinner is soon.
Tonight begins the Sabbeth, which will be a busy day for us: a boat ride and devotional in the morning, visiting the area where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish, baptisms in the Jordan River, and an evening boat ride as well.
... overlooking the Valley of Megiddo (and how cool that I'm blogging this real time?!)
Mt. Carmel is where Elijah confronted and defeated the 450 priests of Baal and Ashteroth by God's power.
His name is Fabrizio ("fah-bree-tzee-o"), and this is a terrible pic... I hope to get a better one later. We have two busses, and each bus has its own guide, of course.
First full day in Israel...
Finally got my suitcase (yay, God! Thank You!), but have discovered I left my CAMERA battery at home (headdesk). My cell phone will have to do until I can buy a new battery and charge it up. Fortunately, I now have an international data plan for my cell, so I can blog from it!
Today, we see Mt. Carmel, Cana (where Jesus performed His first miracle), and will end up by the Sea of Gallilee. Jordan river tomorrow, and I'm considering getting rebaptized as a rededication. Thoughts?
I wasn't able to post in honor of Mothers' Day since Daddy passed that morning. But today has been peaceful, and I was honored to supply the flowers for the sanctuary in Daddy's honor.
Thank you to all the fathers out there who have stepped up and earned the wonderful title, "Daddy." May God richly bless you and your family!
Yesterday, the mail delivered the CDs of my father's memorial service from 18May, and it was an emotional experience to re-listen to the tributes we paid to him. The service was about an hour and fifteen minutes long, but I've trimmed it down to include only the personal remembrances.
First, Pastor Jim Henry spoke. Pastor Jim is the pastor-emeritus of First Baptist Orlando and past president of the Southern Baptist Convention. As you will hear, we didn't know until the very last minute that he would be able to attend, and it was a great honor that he was able to attend and participate. Pastor Jim is one of the hosts for the tour of Israel I'll be going on next month, and he was very tender toward me the day of Daddy's memorial; I know he'll take good care of us all while we're there in the Holy Land.
Second to speak was Del Wright, of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Del and Daddy had a very close and loving relationship; I am honored to think of him as Daddy's second son. During the two weeks leading up to Daddy's death, Del was a huge encouragement to me. He gave strong and kind support to us all, and his love and respect for Daddy shone through every word and action. He references an award that the local chapter of the FCA gives out, called the Harry H. Stuart Servant Leadership Award. It was created about 14 years ago, and I remember being completely delighted when I was told about it; Daddy, by God's grace, was very much that sort of man!
After Del spoke, we three kids had our say - first my older brother, then me, and finally my darling sister. It was hard for each one of us - I'm sure you'll be able to hear the stress in our voices - but it was such a blessing to be able to stand up and give strong testimony on behalf of Daddy. He was a wonderful man, and we will all miss him.
The other voice you'll hear is Pastor Don Burke, who was our pastor at Greenwich Baptist Church when I was growing up. My parents kept in very close contact with him after we moved from Connecticut to Orlando, and he has truly been a family pastor to us. I didn't include his homily from the service because he spoke more theologically about what it means when a Christian dies, and I wanted to post the tributes to Daddy. I might, at a later date, put up Pastor Don's remarks...
At any rate, this runs about 30-40 minutes I think, and I pray that it will be an encouragement to you.
(EDIT: For some reason, the embedded player that always worked for me is now... NOT. Here is a clickable/downloadable link.)
The picture below is Daddy's American Airlines pilot picture, probably taken about 30 years ago...
The picture above was taken during World War II - Daddy is standing on the left.
Got this via Da Mihi Animas... AWESOME!!!
For those who don't know, here is the full text of the "Star Spangled Banner" -
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
This is the THIRD (and last, thank goodness) truckload of 5-7 gravel spread on our driveway... I looooove living in the country, but maintaining these LONG driveways gets a bit expensive! We need to re-gravel every 2-3 years, and especially after this last winter, which really mucked things up. Fortunately, this is a pretty thick layer of good stuff, so it ought to last a while.
But the $$$? OUCH!!!
Certainly not quite the journey that Sam and Frodo had, but extremely worthwhile, and we got to do things that very few people who visit D.C. have the opportunity to do. I just got back home, however, and have about 200 photos to process through, as well as video to edit, combine and upload.... AFTER I relax with a glass of wine and maybe the latest episode of Bones!
The four and a half hour drive from D.C. went fairly quickly (especially after I stopped for some Starbucks in Rte 3 in Fredericksburg!), and I'm home early enough that I have the whole afternoon and evening to unpack, wash all our souvenir t-shirts, and see if my Beloved likes the tie tack (an American Eagle cut from a Kennedy coin, and then plated in gold), t-shirt, and beer glasses ("Beer is proof that God loves us." - Benjamin Franklin) that I picked up for him. ;-)
So, I hope that I can get a round up post published by tomorrow afternoon... One thing about this trip, though: D.C. is a LOT closer to me than I think, and I really ought to make a practice of getting up there for a week once or twice a year, if only to be reminded of the abundant blessings of this country and her Providential history.
My Beloved and Munchkin working on building the greenhouse. It's a lovely unit, but acutally CONSTRUCTING it really made us want to tear out hair out!
The company is Danish, and appears to be well made and durable, but this is definitely NOT a project for a beginner!
Unlike many, I rather like dandelions, if they are being modest and don't try to overpower the whole lawn..
Yup, spring appears to have sprung!
Tasha is avery fluffy dog, and she SHEDS!!! She sheds like mad, and I ought to be brushing her out at least twice a week ALL YEAR!!!!
But, poor dog, she only gets brushed when those hair tufts start jumping out of that thick coat of fur...
If I brush her every day for the next four to six weeks, then maybe she'll be able to endure it and get all those knotty tufts out.
I didn't think it WAS, much less that it was already published! LOL
Picture of a completely spoiled and contented cat... But I wish I'd gotten a shot of her earlier, when DadCat shifted his legs and Miss Smudgie was quite happily upside down - WITH a smug "you so love me" kitty smile!
And OH GOOD GRACIOUS they're goooooood! !!!!!!
Here's the recipe I used, and I made a couple of changes. First, since I couldn't find anise extract, I used 1 tsp ground anise. Maybe next time, I might add 1/4 tsp to that, but since I'm not an anise fan... *shrug*
The second change I made was to use 1 1/2 tsp of freshly ground Tellicherry pepper, plus 1/2 tsp of ground white pepper. I'm told that these cookies get better as they age, but I'm going to consider trying to use 1 3/4 tsp of the Tellicherry and 3/4 tsp of the white pepper - but then, I'm a pepper ADDICT! LOL
All my life, I remember my mom setting up the Hummel figurines in the manger scene. When they went on their honeymoon in 1955, my parents went to Europe, and one of their stops was in Germany where Mom bought the core of the Hummel manger scene. Over the years, she added a few extras, and for Christmas 1995 when I was pregnant with the Darling Munchkin, Mom gave me the whole crêche ensemble.
And so, each year for Christmas I've tried to keep the tradition going. I gather evergreen sprigs and white fairy lights, and set up the crêche...
I worship the God who humbled Himself and came to earth as a baby, born in a rude stable. He lived a perfect life, showed us the love of His Father, died on the Cross to pay for our sins, and rose to prove that His grace and mercy were absolutely all that sinful man needed to be reconciled to his Creator God.
Christ Jesus, I praise You for all You did for me... but Your humble birth reminds me that You know all my trials, and You know all my pains and worries. Savior, be reborn in me today, and may I praise Your Name and live so that I lift Your life up to all people!
May you have a blessed Christmas, filled with the love and peace of God who gave His Son so that we may be gathered into His family and reconciled with our holy Creator!
(Via my Cotillion sister, Greta)
Oh, yeah, right! Women have no brains, so they have to use sex and flirting to get others to do what they want. There's no need for point-by-point discussion and rebuttal, all you need to do is ignore the opposing view and lie to anyone who holds it.
Rock the Vote should be ashamed - and where the heck are the feminists? Shouldn't they be up in arms in outrage over the sexism running rampant through this video?
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Why, it's to showcase the darling Munchkin, of course!
And thank you all so much for your very kind words and prayers, both here and on Facebook and via e-mail, encouraging us after Pixel's death. I am truly blessed of God to have so many wonderful, loving friends!
This past Wednesday, 16December, I noticed that Pixel seemed to be having a bit of difficulty breathing. It was late in the evening, so I brought her in to the vet the next afternoon (yesterday) to see what was going on.
Initially, the veterinarian thought it might be asthma, but Pixel was pretty stressed, so the doc wanted to keep her overnight to get blood samples and make sure the cortisone shot helped her lungs. Later that evening, though, I got a call... The doc said there was fluid around our Pixel-purr's lungs, and that she'd drawn off almost half a pint.
Something else was wrong...
This morning, I got another call from the vet, saying that she earnestly recommended that I take Pixel down to the emergency vet in Greensboro, NC, for more testing. Pixel rested in my lap, getting lots of strokes and skritchies, almost all the way down - a 90 minute drive.
Unfortunately, Pix's breathing continued to worsen, and when the new sonogram and x-rays were taken, the doc found a large mass in her chest, along with serious irregularities on her lungs.
Oh, what a hard decision! The doc said that even with a good reaction to aggressive chemo (suspected lymphoma cancer), Pixel only had maybe another six months. She was only about 5 years old; I feel like I'd just done this with her older brother, Romeo, when he died at 19. I did not want to have to do this again - especially so SOON!
But today, at about 11am ET, Practically Perfect Princess Pixel of the Prodigious Purr went across the Rainbow Bridge to join her brother Romeo. I told her how very much we all loved her and that she had to tell him he was supposed to take good care of her until we could join them.
And then I held her and loved her as she went across...
Bye, bye, Picklepurr. I love you. I miss you already.
UPDATE:
(submitted to the Friday Ark at the Modulator)
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Well, yesterday finished an era: our two teams from my Munchkin's school were up in Harrisonburg, VA, for the FIRST LEGO League Robotics Championship for Virginia and D.C. This is the last year for our senior team, the Scream Team. The girls did great and had a lot of fun - we didn't do quite as well as we'd hoped (do we ever? LOL), but we still brought home the second place for Research Presentation! Hooray for them!
UPDATE: More pix under the cut...
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