Wednesday, July 30, 2008

My Crazy Squash Plant


I've learned what it is! It's a buttercup squash!

I figured it out!
Justin says :
"we gonna eat that mom??"
"That a squash?"
"It of butter?"

I'll have to take a pic and show you just how invasive it is being. :)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

BBC's top 100

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you love. (these in red)
4) Strike out the books you have no intention of ever reading, or were forced to read at school and hated. (don't know how to do this, so I highlighted in green those I will NEVER read again)
5) Reprint this list in your own blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma- Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (why is this on the list?)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Have to admit, many sound familiar but I didn't bold them as I can't remember if I've read them or not. :) Yes, poor memory...but also bad headache and I read LOTS AND LOTS of books. :)

Devote yourself to Good Works

Do you remember yesterday how we are to be passionate to do good works?
Today Paul tells us to be ready for every good work.
1Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Paul says to us this is who you once were. This is who Christ redeemed you to be. Therefore give up those old ways, don't be divisive and troublesome, be ready to do good works. Devote yourself to such things.

The more we know the truth of this:
4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
the more we will know that we must devote ourselves to good works. to be passionate about them. So make good works a point! As Paul says "These things are excellent and profitable for people". Don't we all want to do what is good for us in the long run? Paul makes it clear what is good for believers...to seek out, to be passionate about doing what is good. We don't do it to be saved, we do it to show who Christ is and what he has done for us. That's it. And seeing as Christ saved us from our own ickiness....isn't that enough?

Monday, July 28, 2008

To be Zealous......

Today we get to finish off the rest of Titus 2.

11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

15Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Paul had just given us a list of how we are supposed to be.

Now it seems he tells us why we are supposed to be like that. "for the grace of God has appeared, bring salvation for all people". Neat huh? God's grace showed up. God's grace brought salvation for us. God's grace lest anyone not know who that is, is Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul just finished enumerating who all those people are young and old, male and free, no distinctions about Jew or gentile. Servants, slaves etc. all are included. Credit Matthew Henry for making sure I was aware of that. :)

And what happened when this grace of God appeared?
We found ourselves being trained to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions.
We found ourselves being trained to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.
We remain waiting for his return, when the glory of God will return. Christ gave himself for us. He came to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify a people for himself.

And we are to be zealous to do good works. hmm....think on that for a spell. Are you as a believer, am I as a believer zealous to do good works. To be zealous is to be full of enthusiasm or eagerness; passionate; excited. I have to admit, I'm not always like this when it comes to doing good works. I do them because they have to be done...and sometimes have that attitude. But God wants our attitude to be one of eagerness, one of excitement. That brings to mind thoughts of the eagerness of a child to eat ice cream in the park. :) How much fun it would be, how much joy it would bring. This is the attitude we are to have. God is raising us up to be like that, Christ is purifying for himself a people with this kind of attitude.

Let me then, Let us then, cultivate it. Let us be a people eager to do good works.

Paul closes this chapter with an exhortation to Titus to declare all these truths to the people, to continue to exhort and rebuke with authority. To not let himself be ignored. To be a man of God leading his people. Hmm.....kinda like Paul is urging Titus to remain zealous in his position of pastor to the Cretan church. :)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Man Brag

Have to admit it.
I love it when my man fixes stuff on our cars.
I don't know if he knows how thrilled I am, or proud of him that he can do this stuff.

My car...a Mazda Protege. I like Mazda.....Jim doesn't. Part of that is because the Mazda dealership in London isn't a good dealership. It gave us a bit of a run-around and ended up costing us a fair bit of change. I even ended up being rudely propositioned by the car boy. VERY irritating. Doesn't give a good impression of Mazda.

Anyways, um..... there's a sensor in the car that is a bit oversensitive. Goes off when the gas tank lid is on too tight or too loose. Jim did some research, learned that replacing the sensor that controls that often fixes the problem. It took a bit for him to fix it BUT HE DID IT! Big sense of accomplishment. AND no irritating lights on in the dashboard anymore (that's a yeah for me).

He also has been learning how to weld. His welding is a bit spotty yet, but it's good enough that he was also able to fix the muffler on that self same car. :) next....the brake lines......... (now THAT will be a big job).

he's looking at doing a front end kit on the van (ask him what that is) and putting in some air shocks (I think) on the van.

My sedate pastor Hubby is repairing cars...saving us cash ... learning new skills. He rocks! :)

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

What Happenes when....

What happens when a refrigerator stops doing it's job and no one is home.

1. things thaw
2. things explode (aka the pickles that we found all over the fridge because they over heated and went pop.
3. overheated, thawed meat that isn't cooked STINKS! It will make a whole house stink.
4. fruit gets VERY mouldy
5. Cooked celery in a bag...oh joy..what fun. Becomes VERY slimey.
6. goo... that's what happens...Goo.... (I still shiver thinking of that goo)
7. things get tossed post haste into bags and dragged outside where one warns one's neighbours that that horrid odour is from a fridge that stopped working.
8. one gains sympathy due to the fore-a-mentioned.

What else?
Parents have a chance to ease a daughter's heart by coming to help.

Back from Holidays

No Pics at the moment, but they will be coming.

Got home Monday mid-afternoon from a week of camping.

It was fun. Justin had a hoot. Making crafts, swimming, playing with take-along Thomas, going for walks, making camp fires, playing at grammer's, listening to music in the park. He had so much fun and was for the most part a really good boy. :)

Jim relaxed and read.

It had it's ups and downs. Got there later than planned on Monday due to lack of sleep on Jim's part, needing a new trailer hitch and then learning we needed something to help the chains reach the van hitch with the new trailer hitch. All sorts of little delays that made things a challenge. The girl who set us up on a campsite made an error in judgment so we needed to move the trailer. Doing this at the end of a day after one has partially set up already.... NOT FUN! :) And the campsite debit/credit machines were down which was just not so good when one doesn't do a lot of cash. Running around every where it seemed that day. Monday night the brakes weren't working so hot....... Should add that all the small delays of Monday have got Jim thinking that we need a high side trailer OR a hard side so that more things can be permanently or more easily packed into the trailer.

Tuesday we had (absolutely had to) take the van in for work. We learned why....it needed a whole whack of brake lines put in. $600 later that we didn't budget for.... Meant that Jim did a lot of biking back and forth from the campsite to the car repair. Tiring day for him, a mostly alone day for Justin and I. BUT I learned that I can get our gazebo up all by myself. Just takes time and patience. When Jim was there we went to the pool.

Wednesday... swimming, sleeping, relaxing, reading. We headed out for the splash pad in downtown London for Justin to just play and play some more. Jim's birthday! He's now 42. I managed to get myself a lovely migraine. My second one. Still don't like them. Makes everything look odd and just is NOT fun. We went out for dinner at the Mandarin (buffet dining), everything looked ever so bright to and Jim brought me most of my food since brightness and a wonky head make for lots of dizzy spells. Dizzy spells, a boy child clinging and a plate of food, NOT a good combination we learned.

Thursday ... more of the same. :) Jim let me nap a bit while he watched Justin in the morning. Justin managed to scare the day lights out of me when he pounced on me. NEVER have a 39.5 lb child pounce on you while you are sleeping. It's just too good of way to check if your heart is still beating!!!

Friday ... more of the same. :) We hoped to get to the folk festival in the evening, but Justin didn't nap and was getting grumpy by music time so we said...ah, this year we don't need to go there.

Saturday, we stopped at gramma's house to drop off Sassy for safe keeping as music festivals and strange dogs is not a good combination for her. Justin decided rather firmly that he wanted to stay at gramma's rather than go to a park with no slides. :) So he changed those plans on us. Just as well because it turned into a rather drizzily day which would have made things a challenge for Justin to stay dry. Heard some good music. Upper Thames music society does some good bluegrass and the blues workshops are always fun to listen to.

Sunday. We went to church at First Baptist down town. Sermon wasn't great. People were welcoming. We listened to two workshops and then Jim got a massive headache, went to go pick up Justin and take some pain pills at his mom's house. Justin had fun listening to music, playing with some other children, he made a sand balloon ball and picked up some plastic chain things for making a necklace. Saw lots of crafts and pictures of dogs which just captured his interest for a fair while. Rained overnight.

Monday I had a doctor's appointment in the morning. before I left for that I set things out to dry. Things were getting well on their way to being dry when I left, Jim commented that he'd start putting things away for the trip home, while I was gone it rained buckets! Everything got soaked through and through. What a mess! Just a total mess. Hard to pack up things when everything is soaked through.

So we got home mid-afternoon to a smelly house (due to rotten meat in a fridge freezer that stopped freezing) and a wet trailer. But life is good. God has blessed us with a week away from things.
  • My rabbits were well-cared for (if a bit overfed), the garden got weeded Tuesday morning as an excellent way to reduce stress levels and I had two litters of rabbits born and one of mice.
  • My mom came over and blessed us with a mostly clean main floor.
  • The Deacons finally decided they might do something with the fridge late Tuesday night. YEAH!!! They might do something!!!!! :) Oh... I need a fridge........
  • Jim had fun playing golf and managed to find what he needed to fixing a thing on my car. he got it fixed!!!
YEAH!!! Isn't he good??? Not just my man (though he is...having the skills and patience to repair my car)...but God. God is good and gives us what we need to get through.

I think I got all the days straight. When I can locate cameras and such like again I'll post pictures either here interspersed, or in a separate post. Cheers all!

Called to more

Last time that I was hear for my devotions I considered the opening words of Titus 2.
1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
We saw how, for the Christian believer, there are certain expectations of us.

Yesterday was a crazy busy day. Our fridge had broken down which was just a total mess after coming home from camping. When we left our campsite it had poured buckets so the trailer needed a huge clean-up as well. I had a grumpy boy who had a LOT of fun camping, but was tired from the busyness of being away from home and so forth. It was feeling totally beyond me to handle. I had a time of it. I was feeling incredibly disappointed that the folks I called from church seemed to care less about it. All that combined just seemed to make it all a bit too much.

I called my mom for moral support and she said....Why don't I come down and give you a hand. I said sure...that would be good.

While waited for her to come Justin and I tackled the trailer. I got out sponges which made it fun for Justin. He even learned how to wring them out. :) He helped by sponging off all flat surfaces ...which occasionally included his mommy's back (accompanied by lots of laughter). I tossed everything out on the front lawn to get dry.

Jim had a golf benefit that he had to go to. Since it's been at least 15 years since he last golfed he came home with sore arms and feet from walking so much and swinging the clubs. In his words "if the aim of the game was to have the highest score...I won".

My mom was a huge help. She helped me get the kitchen in order in what it seemed like no time flat. She was a practical help and a practically minded teacher. She asked questions, got some answers, gave some advise about how to keep things in relative order a bit easier. Taught me a trick of cleaning out a really stinky refrigerator and just was a good moral support.

I'll admit I'm not the greatest housekeeper in the world, but I am getting better. And I like it when people take the time to say...you know what...if you do thus and such little trick...it will make it easier to just get it done and out of the way. Was it always easy listening to advise and sometimes feeling criticised? no...but that's not the point...the point is learning and growing and being able to say help all of this is bit beyond me, and then being able to accept that help.

This folks, is what Paul is talking about. How we live our lives as believers matters...we are to support each other, we are to teach each other, we are look beyond ourselves and our own needs (which are often selfish needs) and be there for each other.

We need to live in such a way that we don't shame our living God. Let us help each other, teach each other and build up the body of Christ in such a way that we are good examples of Christ One's. That is what Paul calls us to here. Can we live up to the challenge?

Monday, July 14, 2008

Going on Holiday

not ours, but it will do.

We're go..ing on holiday
we are going on holiday

We are going on holiday
we are going on holiday.

We are going we are going we are going oh...
we are going on holiday....


Yes I know... silly
But this jingle was going through my head when I got up this morning.

I'll be back in a week.

We're camping here going to take in this and do some fishing, some reading, some play at the spray pad with Justin, perhaps go to storybook gardens and just relax. Fanshawe does crafts with the children and has a decent pool that doesn't get crazy busy and has a really nice play area out by the beach. Pictures will be taken and barring any weird things happening...shared. So stay tuned. :)

As for you....

Paul starts off Titus 2 telling Titus what he needs to focus on as he leads the Cretan churches.
1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
Teach sound doctrine. This applies to all as Paul states it before he goes into what to teach the various ages of men and women.

Older men are to be:
  • sober-minded
  • dignified
  • self-controlled
  • sound in faith
  • sound in love
  • sound in steadfastness
Older women
  • reverent in behaviour
  • not slanderers,
  • not slaves to much wine
  • teach what is good
  • and so train young women to .....
Young Women are to be trained to
  • to love their husbands and children,
  • to be self-controlled,
  • pure,
  • working at home,
  • kind and submissive to their own husbands, so that God's word is not reviled.
Younger men:
  • self-controlled
Titus is to
  • show himself to be model of good works
  • his teaching is to show integrity, dignity, 8and sound speech that cannot be condemned
  • So that our opponents have nothing evil to say about us and therefore are put to shame
Slaves are to
  • be submissive to their masters
  • well-pleasing
  • not argumentative
  • not pilfering
  • showing all good faith
  • SO THAT in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour
Wow...what a weighty section isn't it.

Do you see how over and over again...if we act in a certain way we are showing who God is in a better light? That we are not giving ammunition to the enemy?

Have to admit that the older women train younger women to love their hubbies and children just kinda sat with me.
It's HARD work being married. To consider the needs of others and not just yourself. It's nice to have role models on how to do so well.
I think of how easy it is for folks to get divorced...and then I read this passage and it's like... you know what? If more women took the time to teach other women how to just love their hubbies, not so much divorce would happen.

But I can't sit here and ponder this longer I must get moving....but LOTS of food for thought here. I will probably continue this when I return.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Sunday Hymn - In Sweet Communion, Lord

In sweet communion, Lord, with Thee
I constantly abide;
My hand Thou holdest in Thy own
To keep me near Thy side.

Thy counsel through my earthly way
Shall guide me and control,
And then to glory afterward
Thou wilt receive my soul.

Whom have I, Lord, in Heaven but Thee,
To Whom my thoughts aspire?
And, having Thee, on earth is naught
That I can yet desire.

Though flesh and heart should faint and fail,
The Lord will ever be
The strength and portion of my heart,
My God eternally.

To live apart from God is death,
’Tis good His face to seek;
My refuge is the living God,
His praise I long to speak.




Words: The Psal­ter, 1912.

Music: Pray­er (Butch­er), Will­iam U. Butch­er, 1860
I could not find any information out about the author.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Five things... a meme

Jen gave me this meme to do. Meme's can be fun. :)

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Working a night job. Growing in my faith as I attended a church completely different than what I grew up in.

Five Snacks I enjoy:
1. Chocolate
2. Cheese
3. Gummi Bears
4. Chocolate :)
5. Fruit

Five Things On My To-Do List Today:
End of day so....
1. Brush my teeth
2. Go to the bathroom
3. Pray with Jim
4. Read for five minutes
5. Sleep

Things I Would Do If I Were A Billionaire:
1. Buy a farm.
2. Pay off all debts.
3. Get my dad the biggest scooter that I could buy for him. Help his mobility
4. Visit my sister and her family out west.
5. Give my hubby a six month sabbatical.
6. Learn a great deal about people, probably quicker than I want to.
7. Other than that....I have NO clue. :)

Five Jobs I Have Had:
1. Pig farmer's assistant...liked this, could easily do it again
2. attendant for elderly person....disliked this job intensely
3. one-to-one worker with special needs children
4. Counsellor in Group home for special needs
5. Owner/operator of AT home pets (rabbits, mice and guinea pigs)

Five of My Bad Habits:
1. I love Free stuff. Will collect it until I drive my hubby nuts. Granted...I do have a large yard sale every year and make dollars off it....so It's not all bad
2. I don't consider certain words to be bad language...other people do. it's a battle to retrain myself. :) I lose often. :(
3. I am not the words neatest housekeeper. My attitude is...It'll do.
4. ???
5. ???

Five Places I've Lived:
1. with my parents
2. in Grand Rapids - dorm and house with four others.
3. in Elmira
4. in Kitchener-waterloo....several locales
5. in our current house on a busy street with my hubby, child, dog, cat etc......

Five Random Things (most people wouldn't know about me):
1. I have never met anyone famous, not even once...at least not that I knew (would I even know...that would be the question).
2. I am 5'10" tall, really...even if my family members seem taller at times (they are mostly 5'10" as well).
3. I have no stylist. I get my haircut only when I've cut my bangs at least twice and the rest is just starting to make me wake up feeling angry.
4. I used to get really odd dreams if I got overtired. Bears chasing me and I could never just get away from them. used to leave me in tears many a night.
5. I being outside...even just having a picnic lunch, or walking to a park, gardening, watching bunnies binking, and so forth.

5 People I Want To Get To Know Better (yep, you're tagged*!)
I have NO clue who to tag.
Most people I read tend not to read me (at least I don't know that they do). Probably because I'm not always "on" in leaving comments.
So if you do this and do know that you are MOST welcome to. Just let me know and I will link to you quite happily.
Oh well... there is
1. Holly
2. Kim
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???


I liked this

I liked this post by Kim. Feel free to go read it. :)

Our cat...look...he's not sleeping! :)

Do you see his ruff up though?
He's been scared by either the dog, or the boy. :)

He survives both with fairly good humour.

And yes...I know it's not Sunday....but sometimes one just needs a Sparks Friday. :)

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Things one Teaches a child without meaning to

1. to drink out of a pitcher without a glass (in hubby's words...gross!)

2. to have bunnies swim with them (mommy saves them before boy child drowns them)

3. to eat donuts for breakfast when nothing else is available (what? you don't ever??).

4. rabbit pellets taste good (if one is a rabbit) so one boy child mysteriously becomes a rabbit (go figure that one..... ) :)

5. pouring milk from a pitcher into a pop bottle results in a big mess (no I didn't teach that one inadvertently, but he saw me pour something from a pitcher into a glass and thought he could do the same).

Birthday and other such things


Justin is now three years old. We celebrated his birthday on Sunday, family came up, seemed like folks had an enjoyable time. I even made a cake AND decorated it. Wasn't the worlds best decorating job but hey...he's three, he was happy and he got to help! :) I'll need to post a pic but right now my camera is somewhere in this house where I can't see it. :) Being three has meant some changes in Justin's life.1. No more bottles during the day except at nap times and bedtime. All other times nada. he's not happy. But he can do the other, so I want to encourage the other. I haven't forced a complete separation, but I am helping him give them up a bit more. (I'm getting sick of bottles)
2. No more car seat. He is now in a booster seat. Wow...what a change for a boy who likes things to stay the same. Yeah for Uncle Fred bringing us their old booster seat. :)
3. A bit more is expected from him in helping to clean things up around here. He's a big boy now don'tcha' know! :)

What else.....plants are growing well in the garden. I'm a bit unimpressed that my "bush" squashes aren't bush squashes and seem to be taking over the world at this point. They are vining everywhere it seems. I don't like. No I don't!

Next week we are on holidays. Had a bit of a panic yesterday. The girls who were going to care for our bunnies canceled on us. I called the CRC church to see if they knew anyone in town with youngsters who might like to make some cash and a family came through for us. BUT WOW...what a bit of a panic.

Jim managed for the most part to fix the muffler on my car. Welding and everything. :) He's my man!

Going to the market tomorrow. Bringing some bunnies with me to sell to folks who requested delivery to Kitchener. Four bunnies to find new homes. Yeah! :) $40 bucks in my pocket--- double yeah! :) Update: brought four with me, came back home with two of them. Fellow backed out at the last minute. Hadn't spoken with all affected parties first.

Anyways, got to go walk Sassy and care for the bunnies. talk at yah later.

The Cretans are.....

Continuing from my devotion the other day, we finish off Titus 1.
10For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
Last time we met we learned about what is needed in a leader/overseer of a church. How the matter of being above reproach was important. Here Paul talks abit about the problems Titus is seeing in the churches he is overseeing.
People who are
  • insubordinate
  • empty talkers
  • deceivers
  • belonging to the circumcision party
  • Professing to know the truth but living their lives in opposition to that
These folks need to be silenced. They upset whole families with what they are doing.

These folks need to be rebuked so that they become sound in their faith.
---- wow...isn't that just so true. THIS is the reason to rebuke ---- to help people become sound in their faith. That's the true reasoning behind it all.

In this passage we also learn
  • that those who aren't sound in their doctrine will turn away from the truth. They will devote themselves to things that aren't true to God.
  • that those who defiled and unbelieving have no purity in their lives. Everything about them is defiled and they are detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work, even if they profess to know God. Their works show them for what they are.
I have to admit, I'm always taken aback by what today would be deemed as politically incorrect speech in Paul's note here: One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. It always seems a bit "left field" to me to describe a whole set of people this way. But I suppose it was Paul's way of pointing out to Titus that he had his work cut out for him here, to help the Cretan churches become true churches of God with good leadership.

May we be a people given over to the rebuking of the untrue among us. May we strive to build them up in the their faith and doctrine that they may be fit for any good work that God puts before them. May WE (may I) be fit for any good work that God gives me.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Above Reproach

Ah...I have time this morning. T'is indeed a good thing to spend time here with God. :)

These words from Titus 1
5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
I won't get through this all today, but it all seemed to kinda go together.

Elders....what qualifications do they need?
  • Above reproach
  • husband of one wife
  • children are believers
  • Not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination (not sure if this is for the children, or for the man himself)
  • as God's steward, must be above reproach
  • Not arrogant
  • not quick-tempered
  • not a drunkard
  • not violent
  • not greedy for gain
  • hospitable
  • a lover of good
  • self-controlled
  • upright
  • holy
  • disciplined
  • one who holds firm to the trustworthy word as taught
  • able to give good instruction in sound doctrine
  • able to rebuke those who contradict the same.
Quite the list isn't it? Shows I think, the importance of choosing a good leading man of God.

Paul mentions it twice, the the overseer, the elders in a church must be above reproach.

Had to think on that for a minute. What does it mean for someone to be above reproach?
Does it mean perfection? Does it mean that everything must be "just so" all the time?

I don't think so. Everyone makes decisions and choices that are sinful, but the question is how does an individual respond to such things? Does he live a life of open repentance and dependence upon God? Does he live life in such a way that shows the importance of God in his life and in the lives of those around him? Does he try to know God more and live by what he learns of God?

Let us choose wisely and prayerfully the men that God sets in place over us.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Garage Sale Update

I had my garage sale today. Well... that is I finished it off a bit. :) Had one originally two weeks ago, but it was a rainy, rather icky day so had lots to sell yet. So thought I'd work on the rest today. HOT day. Not as busy as last year, but not too bad. Next time I'll advertise I think.

Tired.
Made over $255.

Sold one guinea pig YEAH! :)
Sold one older Lionhead girl, one I had thought I might keep, so sold for $25, higher than my normal $10.

Life is good. :)

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Christian Carnival is Here Again

Lots of posts this week. Here they are in no particular order of importance. :) Listed for your reading pleasure.

Your Wife is God's Gift of you was given to us by Nick at Ignite her Passion.
So if you are wondering why your wife may not be as sexual, romantic and passionate as when you first met, consider how you have changed. Have you become more or less selfish? Trust me: I was a pretty selfish person before I got married. Of course I was, it was just me - everything I did was in my best interest. The old "look out for number one" attitude. Yes, I did nice things for others, but at the end of the day, it was about me. Most men are in the same boat.
Michael claims this post The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone.
The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is a huge boulder on the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, approximately 35 miles south of Albuquerque. This stone shows the Ten Commandments written in ancient paleo-Hebrew script.
From Ched we get this post, the image of God and personhood of the unborn as foundation for thinking about abortion.
Abortion is one the most controversial and highly charged moral/political issues of the last quarter century, and still remains a hotly debated topic in the public square and even in the church. Since that day in 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state abortion laws (Roe v. Wade), over 48 million lives have been stolen in the womb. Because this is literally an issue of life and death, a biblical understanding of the concepts that inform the abortion debate is imperative.
Counter Culture dips into gender issues with Gender Roles in Genesis.
The substance of Ware’s address consists of ten reasons “why we should affirm that God designed there to be male headship” in the original created order. In essence, Dr. Ware explains how Genesis 1-3 teaches male headship as a part of God’s pre-fall creation.
Helping the Poor Biblically was presented to us by Homeward Bound.
If we want to be faithful followers of Jesus, we have to let our faith inform every aspect of our lives – not just what we do on Sunday. Nowhere is this more important than how we, as citizens of a republic, let our faith shape how we vote and otherwise influence our government.
The Baglady shows up with How a Man Retired Early on $565 Per Month.
Today I read a rather refreshing article called “Casting off life’s cares” on the LA Times. Basically it tells the story of an ordained pastor named Dave Dixon who gave away pretty much all of his possessions and started to live on a boat and sing songs in a restaurant a few hours a week. His expenses are $565 per month, and he says that “time, not money, is the real commodity in life”. He says that his lifestyle is divinely inspired and “sees himself living out God’s message that faith and people, not possessions, are what is of true value.”
FreeMoneyFinance gives us Stay Low Key for Financial Success.
The temptation is to try and keep up with the Joneses. But by doing this, you're simply "pretending to be somebody" yet you "have no food." As for me and my house, we'll stay low key and keep watching our net worth grow!
David from Boomer in the Pew stops in with Justification: A mind blowing, intelligence warping, tear generating, praise inducing, simply incredible Gift from God.
Justification, though not without contemporary controversy, is one of the greatest gifts of God to us as His children. God's message to this woman, if she is truly a Christian, is that not only are you forgiven, my dear child, but you are righteous in my sight.
Kay over at Thrive Christians engages us in Half Baked.
Reading in Hosea I found a wonderful verse: "Ephraim is a cake unturned." Hosea 7:8. The only way to fully cook a "cake" in a pan over a flame is to turn it so that heat gets all the way through.

I've got to admit I have been "half-baked" more than I want to admit. If I were a "cake" I'd probably be burned on one side and raw on the other. I can get so caught up in one area of my life and totally disregard another. In seeking to thrive in the Lord I am finding the need to seek God's leading so that I am balanced and He is the center of all of my life.
Albert Schweitzer: reverence for life is presented to us by Change Therapy.
albert schweitzer vowed never to kill an animal again, unless he needed to. and i, seeing this, was in awe, touched deeply by the magic of the transformation that took place for that little boy.
Standing Straight claims What is that Smell?
I may be off base, but don't you think that the Church's use of the Greek word "Christ", instead of the Hebrew "Messiah", has needlessly put an additional barrier in the way of Jewish acceptance of him? We know there is a veil, but this extra covering might well be taken away, and anything which contributes to sight promoted.
Jennifer at Diary of One submits America: the good, the bad and the ugly.
This next weekend ushers in the birthday of the United States of America! Here are a few word pictures from this past week from me, in small town America, 232 years and still going. I’ve included the good, the bad, and the ugly, but as you’ll see, in America, we take the good with the bad and roll with it, and even the ugly - well, it’s a free country and we can call ugly if we want.
Richard Anderson shows up with this thoughtful post on Blindness in Luke-Acts.
Lack of understanding is an important theme in Luke-Acts. It provides an interpretative guide to the work from the beginning to the end.
Allan from Journey Across the Sky makes his presence known with Is there a Doctor in the house? Here's a tidbit from his post, read on to see where he takes it.
Inside this miserable excuse for a human being lies a true doctor. Although addicted to pain killers and dealing with his own demons, “House” remains focused on the patient before him and tirelessly works to find a cure. It is his “inside doctor” that redeems an otherwise hopeless individual. Many who did not know the doctor inside Gregory House might easily dismiss him as just a rude, nasty person. Even those who think House is totally out of control have to stop and marvel at his unsurpassed ability to cure what seems to be the incurable.
Annette over at Fish and Cans (hey! that's here) :) lends us this post God Doesn't Lie.
Think about this... God cannot lie.
No white lies. No lies at all. None of this.....lest shade the truth a bit so that this person doesn't get hurt feelings, or get angry or whatever.
God does not lie.
Ken from C. Orthodoxy graces us with this post on Inclusivism and Injustice.
One the one hand, I don't think God is as much concerned with our particular beliefs as he is with our trust in him, with our love for God and neighbor (see, for instance, Matthew 22:37-40).
Unashamed to Follow is shared with us by Inner Fulfillment.

This year the theme at our church has been ‘unashamed to follow’ with an emphasis on discipleship and the importance of not being scared to share our faith outside of the walls of our church.

This used to be such a challenge for me. I have loved Jesus since my early teens but until a few years ago I was not very open about my beliefs, only answering questions or saying something once I knew where the other person stood in their life.
This week at Light Along the Journey John thinks about what makes for a really worthwhile read in his post Four Words in Every Great Book.

I had just finished reading a really great book, Crazy Love (here is my review of it). It was one of those books that really blew me away, made me think, made me cry. I was thinking, “What was it about this book that was so great? What made it worth reading?”

Four words came to my mind, four words that summed up what I most appreciated about that book. And as I thought about it, I realized those four words were the standards that I wanted to use to judge any book.

Brian Russell of the Real Meal blog wrote Divine Presence and Mission.

We all laughed about this change of perspective. But she learned a key lesson. You can overcome fear when the right person accompanies you. Such lessons make it easier to act boldly from the outset in the future.

In the Scriptures, God repeatedly promises “I will be with you” to those whom He calls to serve in his mission:

Lisa hands us A Time to Cry and a Time to Laugh.
A breakthrough was made and the owners were utterly amazed to see a turn-around in the dogs behavior.
Everyday Liturgy shows up with Why one Abandons Christian
Radio.What is so destructive about Christian radio and TV is the wall built between congregation and individual. The whole media of worship as radio or TV disconnects one from the body. Paul has written that we are tied together as one body in community, and these ties should be made of hand-shakes, holy kisses, hugs, tears, singing, prayer, silence, and communion. None of those things happen over the radio or TV.
Have to admit, this post on Immunosurveillance seemed a bit beyond me. The title threw me. :) Written for us by Glado Mentis, it was a good read none-the-less. :)
Not only do believers have no reason for complacency, we have no right to it. An immune system that helplessly watches the cancer spread is worthless. The immune system doesn’t just grumble about the constant influx of tiny cancers, it obliterates them. Philosophically, intellectually, and culturally, we ought to be waging war on cancerous ideas, while they’re manageable. To do otherwise invites catastrophe.

Commentaries on Genesis can be found over at Jeremy's blog Parableman.
This is part of a larger project reviewing commentaries on each book of the Bible. Follow the links from that post for more information on the series, including explanations of what I mean by some of the terms and abbreviations in this post. This is not an exhaustive list, just the commentaries that I think are most worth paying attention to.
This post name gave me borg flashbacks. :) Prepare to be Assimilated by Tiffany.
First of all, allow me to mention that my husband has exposed me to inordinately large quantities of Star Trek of late. Thus, the title of this post. However, I am not talking about the Borg, here. I do want to broach the subject of being assimilated into religious Christianity. What does that mean? Well, let's explore it together.
Participatory Bible Study Blog lends to us this post on Romans 8:1.

So there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. — Romans 8:1

Oh how we long to get to this verse in studying the Bible. If we’re reading through, we may be tempted to rush it. It’s like working forward through a tragic book to the point at which we know there will be a happy ending.

Tom gives us Ehrlich Was Wrong.
World population growth is leveling off. We are not birthing enough children to replace ourselves as we age and die. The health revolution hides this trend for now: increased lifespans mean that total population is not falling yet. It is aging instead. The social and economic results appear dangerous if not catastrophic.
Jody Neufeld hands us God: Mystery.

What is it about a ‘mystery’ that makes most of us feel the need to solve it? Mystery novels, movies with a mystery (some special effects and an alien or two – and don’t forget a love story!), and TV CSI shows are very popular! Why? Mysteries keep our interest. They give us a sense of adventure as we run to see what is around this turn or behind a door. We like to see how the characters around the mystery will respond and react.

God is a mystery. There are many, many facets of God that have challenged and confounded theological detectives for centuries.
All I need is a Miracle by Rodney Olsen.
If we’re to believe the hype, we live in an increasingly secular society that is losing its religion. Atheism is on the rise and less and less people have a belief in God. But is that really what’s going on?
Wickle gives us Listening to Each Other.
If we really want to learn anything, then we need to do two main things:

(1) Listen to what the other side is really saying, not just what we can pretend that they’re saying to attack them.

(2) Look to Scripture for the right answers.

Thanks all for your contributions. I don't think I missed anyone. Two posts weren't included because they either weren't blogs or contained no obvious Christian influence. Talk with me if somehow I missed you.

For a late arrival: 75 Gas saving tips from ChristianPF.