Wrapping Paper

Yesterday I posted about the "fun" the boy and I had re-organizing our gift wrap and gift bags. We had lots of fun, mingled with moments of frustration.
I was reminded when I stopped in at Shannon's Rocks In my Dryer that today is works for me Wednesday and I thought...hey...this works for me. Maybe it will work for someone else too!

So Go to Shannon's to read more hints. Below is mine.

People give me gifts.
I tend to go...cool wrapping paper... rip! Or wow...NEAT BAG! And carefully remove item from gift bag. Then I am left with
1. ripped wrapping paper
2. nice gift bag
3. tissue paper

I keep the wrapping paper if I didn't destroy it too badly, after all, it can always be used to wrap a smaller gift in. I also keep the bags and tissue paper as it is nice and does not come cheap.

Of course then comes the problem of what do you do with it all? Over the years, you get a lot of paper and bags especially if you have events happen in your life (as I did with a wedding and baby and leaving job).

One Christmas my hubbie got me a long rectangular box that is made just for holding gift wrap. It has a storage for ribbons and tape and scissors. I can get about 10 gifts bags in, as well as lots of wrapping paper rolls (the standard size, not the really long ones). I keep ALL my Christmas wrap in that box. He got it, I am fairly sure, at Canadian Tire.

In box two I keep all other gift bags and the tissue paper that came with them. I also have been able to keep five gift boxes in there are well. Folded down nicely. It's just a regular flat under the bed storage container, that you can find most anywhere..this one I think came from Wal-mart.

In box three we have anything that's odd that is used for wrapping gifts. I.e. cloth gift bags, plastics for around blankets etc. This container I've had for years, so it probably came from Zellers or K-mart.

Anyways, saves lots of aggravation to have all wrapping paper in one area of the house. In fact it was really neat to see that I have excess baggage and should be able to sell some at my spring garage sale. Woohoo! :)

Love God First ..... Count the cost....

I have to admit, I find this a hard saying of Christ's

5Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

It's a hard one. It's found in Luke 14. Jesus has been, throughout this chapter, saying what it means to follow him. How we should deliberately be kind to people who can't repay us. How those who refuse the invitation to come should not be invited again, but that others should be drawn in and so forth.

And then he says... hate your family, your friends, your very life.
If you don't, you can't follow me.

What do I do with this passage?
I know that God wants me to put him first above all, and maybe that's what this really means. To love God so much that any love you have for anything else would appear to be hatred.

But at initial reading I think... but I love my boy child. I love my parents. I love my hubbie. The friends I have I treasure them. Because I love all these things so dearly, does that mean I can't truly follow Christ?

I think, when it comes right down to it, if God chose to take all this away from me, I would still love him. So then, my love for him is great.

But sometimes I just don't know.... maybe it just means that I have to learn to love God more. And it's the process that makes me a believer...not just blissfully saying : I love God. But its the whole process of turning and realizing and seeing God before all other things.

Perhaps that is exactly what God means in this passage.

Can I truly say I counted the cost before I became a Christian?
No. I didn't. I was a fourteen year old teen in a Christian home.
I didn't know that God would lead me through heartbreak and pain and hurt and sorrow and joy and suffering and awe and wonder.
I didn't really think all that deeply about the fact that Christ died for me.
It started to become more real to me in my early twenties....

It's, as I've studied scripture and talked with God and listened to the quiet voice within and heard good preaching, that the cost of Christ has become more real to me, something that I can better "count". And the Christian I am today, is different than the Christian I was back then. I know more, I care more, I want to reach out more, I want to "be better" "be more" in my relationship with Christ than I ever did back then.

So does that mean I wasn't truly a follower of Christ then?
Does it mean that I am not truly a follower of Christ now? Because I really don't know the full cost of what God will ask of me.

These are good questions to ponder.

It takes ONE boy

It takes ONE boy who refuses to stay on the main floor of the house.

It takes ONE boy to make a 15 minute job take ONE hour to accomplish.

Take: one boy
Take: three wrapping paper containers
Take: all the wrapping paper and bags stored throughout the house
Place in one area.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Sort neatly into piles.
Add one boy.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

See piles go astray.
Re-sort piles and make a new one....these will be sold in garage sale.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

See boy empty one wrapping paper container, carelessly tossing paper hither and yon.
See boy grins.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

ADD : Three favourite stuffies (who, like the boy, want to explore EVERYTHING).
Three stuffies into piles, containers, laps, paper.
See them nose dive into gift bags and travel.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off (while hiding in a bag none-the-less).

See tissue paper fly through air.
Decide tissue paper is best placed behind you away from boy.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

See Container lid used as launching pad INTO said container.
Listen to boys' chortles of joy.
Add three favourite stuffies who just have to bounce off the lid as well (sometimes missing and hitting mommy in the head)
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Finally manage to tear all Christmas bags OUT of boys' hands and into it's own container.
Swiftly (over boys tears) place under bed.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Watch boy tear off "little dog" off one of the bags meant for selling as he scatters the rest throughout the room.
listen to his chortles of glee! Success, he has a prize! :)
Look carefully at prize little boy shows his mommy. smile at him.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off. (resist urge to throw pat-a-cake out the window)

Re-sort all gift bags into their respective piles (to keep and to sell)
Watch as boy discovers another item he can rip off another gift bag.
Watch boy get VERY upset that it is stuck on tight!
Rescue boy who is in distress over this, realize it's only a silly gift bag, who cares if it is ruined. :)
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Over boys' tears and grasping hands manage to gather all To be sold bags into one large bag
Place said bag out of reach of boy child.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Fight with strong toddler hands over delicate tissue paper and where it really AUGHT to go.
Lose battle more than once.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Finally manage to get all bags and tissue paper into proper container.
Rapidly place under bed.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off. (once again, resist urge to toss pat-a-cake)

Realize that the boy has scattered the real wrapping paper throughout bathroom, bedroom and hallway. (suppress sigh)
Gather it up.
Replace container UNDER the bed.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Manage to convince boy that it is a FUN game to put wrapping paper into remaining box.
Listen to Pat-a-cake bear go off.

Welcome Hubby home for lunch and show him the bag full of Garage sale bags to sell! Celebrate by asking the boy what he wants for lunch.

YEAH!!!! He'll eat pasta again (after a two week refusal). Make lunch.

Be very glad that this task won't need to be again for a good long time! :)
Be hopeful that the extra gift bags will bring in decent cash at spring garage sale (which will make this hour well worth the effort).
Be glad my boy is healthy enough to want to "help" mommy so very thoroughly.
Be glad that I can do a blog post on this too... and maybe make someone laugh over his antics. :)

The Hypocrisy of Legalism

Reading this morning from Luke 13, these verses

10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability." 13And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." 15Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?" 17As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

All these "Thou shalt nots" that the Pharisees had about the Sabbath. They even berated Jesus for healing on the Sabbath AND they got made at people for coming to Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus likened it to how we care for our livestock on Sabbath days. Just because its' the Sabbath doesn't mean our livestock doesn't need to be cared for.

So to today. People still like to put rules around Sunday worship.

• You are a good Christian if you come to church properly attired.
• You are a good Christian if you go to two worship services.
• You are a good Christian if you attend Sunday School
• You are a good Christian if you bring your own bible to church.
• You are a good Christian if you don't shop on Sundays
• You are a good Christian if you never eat out on Sundays
• You are a good Christian if you do no house work or field work etc on Sunday
  
• You are a good Christian if you ________________

You understand what I mean right?

Some rules are good to have. Rules that continue to point us to God and worshipping him in FELLOWSHIP with other believers. But just because you follow all the rules doesn't make you a better Christian than joe next door. All it does is make you a good rule follower.

Now doing your best to show Sunday (the Sabbath) as important is a good idea.
For instance, I know some people who won't go to church on Sunday because they are tired. Tired from working or being up late or driving and so forth. So why not, if God is important to them, don't they rearrange their lives a bit to make Sundays more "doable" for themselves.
i.e. getting to bed on time. not working too hard on Saturday. having their wife drive. even moving closer to church if they need to. Those types of rules, that help a person be prepared for Sunday worship are good things.

The Pharisees were good rule followers. But they didn't seem to really know the heart of God.

Do you know the heart of God?
Do you strive after him?
Do you want to gather with other believers and truly worship God?

I have to admit, I've had moments where it was "oh man, I don't want to go to church this morning." I've been there. Or.. I want to shopping or to this movie or.... so on and forth. But then I have to stop and think..... who am I focusing on here? Am I focusing on myself, or on the things of God?

This is what the Pharisees failed to do. They focused on themselves, and not on God.

Blogs I've Appreciated this week

I appreciated this post by Kim this morning. Called Discerning Readers. It warns people about the dangers of reading Captivating and Wild at Heart. Poor theology mixed with worldly wisdom. It helped me better understand why I felt a "check in my spirit" when one of my brothers strongly recommended that I read it.

I have to admit, I like visiting Voice of Vision. I find Even So to be a clear writer with good things to say. I have learned to look past some of the pictures that he posts in order to read what he's actually written. What can I say, sometimes pictures can turn me off reading. More than one post that I was initially turned away from proved to be good reading. Mind you, I didn't have that problem today though. :) Anyways, I liked this post he did on Church of the Living Dead.

As a New mom I appreciated this post by Titus2Talk on Loving your children.

So loving our children is hard work. It will sometimes hurt, as it is certainly tempting to take the easy road and pander to our children's wants to attain a bit of peace now.

Well, I'll have to read more later. My boyo is up now. Time for breakfast. :)

Wisdom and Understanding.

Today I was reading from Job 28, I came across these verses which reminded me of just where wisdom comes from.

23"God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25When he gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned the waters by measure,
26when he made a decree for the rain
and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28And he said to man,
'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Throughout this whole chapter Job is searching out the places where people find wisdom. In the earth, in the sky, on land, in the sea, it can't be bought or sold and so forth. All he comes up with is this :

20"From where, then, does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21It is hidden from the eyes of all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.

I have to admit. I don't see myself as a wise person.
I don't have a great memory.
I 0ften don't phrase things the way I want to.
I'm not "well-read of non-fiction books".
I have moments of wisdom to be sure, but I don't tend to think of myself as wise.

But I do have a fear of the Lord. I see him, I see his majesty, I see what he has wrought in this world, and has wrought within me and I am just in awe of him.

I know that I cannot stand against him. And that very fact humbles me. That very fact puts me in the proper respect and fear of him.

I then I read the second part of this line "to turn away from evil is understanding". Wow... I think I have more understanding to do, but I am trying. :) I will admit, I do fail. But when I look at wisdom and understanding.... I think I just might be stepping in the right direction. :)

More Autism Research

Part of my pre-marriage life was working in social services.

I enjoyed working one-on-one, particularly with autistic people. And I have maintained an interest in that field. It wasn't easy, but it was interesting.

I found this study quite interesting.

Some notes from the article

Discoveries in two areas of the genome — a region on chromosome 11 suspected of having links to autism, and aberrations in a brain-development gene called neurexin 1 — could spur more targeted research, the experts noted.

"That's the real promise here," said Autism Genome Project co-researcher Dr. Stephen Scherer, director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. "When you identify certain genes, you can then develop genetic tests — in some cases prenatal and in some cases postnatal — because early diagnosis is crucial here."

Now mind, I hope that people would use that as a reason to look for early treatment, and not to kill unborn children.

Autistic children can be fascinating with how they view the world. I would hate for that to be lost.

Is there pain in raising a child with an Autism Spectrum disorder? yes. But from parents I know, there is also joy. Joy in re-learning simple refocusing techniques. The joy in hitting two sticks together because they might not always sound the same. The joy just in having children.

Genetic discoveries can also further research toward a cure for autism, Scherer said.

"When we have this type of knowledge, we can actually think about designing better therapies based on what we know is not happening properly in the [brain] cell. We can try and design things to make it work better," he explained.

This research will help point the way to other new research, which I just think is neat. Hopefully will be a great help to parents and others in helping these children function well.

One thing is for sure, however: Autism research holds more promise now than ever before, the experts said.

"Anybody that's working out here can use this information now, and it really provides a great path forward as to how we need to do our experiments over the next five years or so," Scherer said. "We've now got all these new candidate genes — the neurexins, the various copy number variants — and we can tackle the problem in a much more focused and organized way."

1 Corinthians 13 - without love, nothing

Some passages just speak for themselves. :)

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

What do I Covet?

I was also reading in Luke 12 this morning, and these words spoke to my very heart.

13Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 18And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

I have learned that I like blogging. I like sharing stories about my family, sharing emails that I receive, sharing what I am learning during my devotions. I like the "somewhat accountability" of having a place to post my devotions so that I remember that keep having them. To keep thinking about what I read. THAT is the primary reason for me to keep THIS blog. I have blogs for other things, but this blog's primary focus is a place for me to be accountable in my devotional life. My prayer is to grow as a believer and to, if possible, encourage others to know the marvellous God that I serve, and to encourage them in their walk with him.

But lately I find myself wishing two things
1. that other bloggers that I really respect would notice me and put me up on their blogs
2. that more and more people find me and comment on me

I covet these things.

This is NOT good. It is sin. I don't know what God holds for me, but I know in this coveting, that I turn from God and see myself and my needs only.

And for that I must repent before my living Lord and say God, I'm sorry. Help me to keep MY focus on YOU. Not on others, not on comments, not on getting noticed, but on you and you alone. Help me My Father God to see you in my devotions, not just in what I can say that might get people to talk back to me. Continue to have your Holy Spirit guide as I read your word that I might be changed by you. This I pray through your son's name, amen.

He Sinned Yet Again

I was reading from Exodus 9, and this verse popped out

34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

Exodus 9 tells the story of the plagues five, six and seven. Livestock dying, boils, and hail. I read somewhere once that each of the plagues that God sent against the Eygptians dealt with one of the main gods of the Egyptian people.

All those livestock died, all those people suffered, all those people and animals died and still Pharaoh said no to God. It was like all that God did meant nothing, as long as it didn't continue. Pharaoh sinned and hardened his heart. But not just Pharaoh, so did his servants. But I find that in the Old Testament, the direction the leader of the people goes, so often goes the whole nation.

AND YET>>> some of his servants feared the Lord. For when hail was promised

20Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

So you see how some of the servants decided that bringing in their slaves and livestock would be a good idea? They knew that what Moses said God would bring, God would bring. They feared the Lord.

Kinda like later in the story of Israel, God always preserved a remnant for himself, even when their leaders were evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Kinda like how today, in the midst of churches being changed by the world around us, influenced to become more like the world, there are churches and individual believers who say NO, this is what God's word says, and it alone we will follow. God always preserves a remnant for himself. May he always preserve me.

Aprons - an email

I remember aprons .... Do you?

Aprons


I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

Dead Church

I have been unable to verify if this story is true or not. I still thought it was thought-provoking and innovative.

The Dead Church

A new Pastor in a small Oklahoma town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the
members, inviting them to come to his first services.

The following Sunday the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the Pastor placed a notice in the local
newspapers, stating that, because the church was dead, it was everyone's duty to give it a decent
Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice said.

Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the "funeral." In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed
coffin, smothered in flowers. After the Pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his
congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church.

Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a "dead church," all the people eagerly
lined up to look in the coffin. Each "mourner" peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a
guilty, sheepish look.

In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror.

Saying Grace in a Restaurant

Saying Grace In A Restaurant

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Children today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?" As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

THE END

I loved this story!
Please keep it moving.
Sometimes, we all need some ice cream.
I hope God sends you some Ice Cream today

Wet Pants

Come with me to a third grade classroom.....

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat."
He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!" Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been
his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out.
You've done enough, you klutz!"
Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."



May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.

This Life - a poem

My Aunt sent me this poem. I thought it was good enough to share with everyone else. :)

THIS LIFE

This life is but a moment

Compared to yonder shore....

Eternity is waiting

When time will be no more.

Our grief is temporary,

Our struggles and our sighs;

They have a deeper purpose

Than we can realize.

The Spirit's busy working

Through trial, pain and fall,

And when we get to glory

It will be worth it all.

--Viola Jacobson Berg

Who God Can Use - an email

Prescribed by the Great Physician *****************************

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer... AND
Lazarus was dead!



Now! No more excuses!

God can use you to your full potential.

Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.
And one more thing... share this with a friend or two...

In the Circle of God's love, God's waiting to use your full potential.

1. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
2. Dear God, I have a problem, it's Me.
3. Growing old is inevitable... growing UP is optional.
4. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.
5. Silence is often misinterpreted but never misquoted.
6. Do the math... count your blessings.
7. Faith is the ability to not panic.
8. Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.
9. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you pray, don't worry.
10. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home everyday.
11. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.
12. The most important things in your house are the people.
13. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.
14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.
15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.



Have a great day!!! The SON is shining and he can certainly use you!

A Woman's Yearly Check-up

A WOMAN'S YEARLY CHECKUP

The Washcloth...

Ladies, this has to read, laughed at and passed. There is not a woman alive today who won't crack up over this!

I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the week. Early one morning, I received a call from the doctor's office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school, and it was already around 8:45a.m. The trip to the office took about 35 minutes, so I didn't have any time to spare. As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, but this time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So, I rushed upstairs, threw off my pjs, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash in the area to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, hopped in the car and raced to my appointment.

I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called. Knowing the procedure, as I'm sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended that I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away. I was a little surprised when the doctor said, "My, we have made an extra effort this morning haven't we?" I didn't respond. After the appointment I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day was normal...some shopping, cleaning and cooking.

After school when my 6-year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, "Mommy, where's my washcloth?" I told her to get another one from the cupboard. She replied, "No, I need the one that was here by the sink, it had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it."

I am never going back to that doctor ever...

Let It Go - an Email

WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN LET GO "

Let it go ...by T. D. Jakes

There are people who can walk away from you.

And hear me when I tell you this!

When people can walk away from you: let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you.

I mean hang up the phone.

When people can walk away from you let them walk.

Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.

People leave you because they are not joined to you.

And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay.

Let them go.

And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person, it just means that their part in the story is over.

And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead.
You've got to know when it's dead.

You've got to know when it's over.

Let me tell you something.

I've got the gift of good-bye.

I believe in good-bye.

It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me.

And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it.

Stop begging people to stay.

Let them go!!

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to. LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains ...

LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth...

LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you ...

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge ..

LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction ...

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents ..

LET IT GO!!!

If you have a bad attitude...

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better...

LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him...

LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship....

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves..

LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed ....

LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to...

LET IT GO!!!

Let the past be the past.

Forget the former things.

GOD is doing a new thing for 2007!!!

LET IT GO!!!

Get Right or Get Left .. think about it, and then

LET IT GO!!!

Open your Bible and turn to...sex

Humble Orthodoxy has posted a series on what the bible says about sex. I've listened to a couple of the messages and they are good. Give a listen. :)

Denominational Proposal

Our denomination is proposing to make some changes to the structural set up of our denomination. The proposal can be found here.

Scott over at Ars Theologica has made some comments on this already. You can find that post here, just scroll down to the post "end of the rca"

when I read proposals like this:

R-___
To instruct the General Synod Council, by 2010, in support of the report of the
Missional Structures Task Force and in dialogue with classes, regional synods,
and with its Missional Church Guidance and Support Team, to pursue
development of a specific plan by which our present 45 classes and 8 regional
synods will be replaced with not fewer than 15 “middle assemblies” whose
structure and ministry is focused on missional engagement; and further,
To include the following cooperative actions in its planning and work:
• In consultation with the Commission on Church Order, to develop
proposed changes in the church order that will support and enable the
formation of not fewer than fifteen middle assemblies;
- In consultation with the regional synods and classes, to develop means
for equitable staffing and funding of church-wide and middle assembly
mission, ministry, and support services for consideration by General
Synod not later than 2010;
• In consultation with the seminaries and MFCA, to develop the means by
which examination and ordination of ministers of Word and sacrament
would be assumed and carried by the General Synod;
• In consultation with regional synods, classes, and the Commission on
Church Order, to ensure that any proposed plan or process of
realignment of classes and regions does not violate current
responsibilities of the assemblies as defined in the Book of Church
Order, or violate assembly bylaws, corporate charters, or state/provincial
or federal laws.

I have to admit I feel somewhat alarmed.

I will freely admit that our system of government doesn't always work. Things get lost along the way, classes and synods don't always do the work that they are supposed to do.

BUT putting the power in the hands of 15 assemblies?
Making the power structure smaller?

What would that do for the Canadian churches which are already relatively disregarded within the denomination?

What would happen with pastors and churches that didn't fall in line?

R-___
To instruct the Commission on Church Order to prepare BCO changes that will
bring deacons into full voting participation in the higher assemblies of the church,
in parity with elders and ministers of Word and sacrament.

One of the biggest problems facing churches in the inclusion of women helping to govern churches. I can see women deacons NO problem, but not women elders. If women deacons are made to be equal (governmentally) as pastors and elders, then what becomes of the real role of deacon?

This just strikes me as a way to continue consolidation of power in the hands of the few in order to push an agenda that doesn't need to be pushed.

Updated Blog Roll

So today while my boyo decided to sleep in, I thought I would update my blogroll.

I can't say I am all done with it, but it is good for now.

If I have listed you, let me know if there's any errors.

Thanks

So what did I learn?

The whole blurry vision, feeling unsteady thing kinda freaked me out, So I thought I'd look them up a bit. It's called having an aura...and though unpleasant, should be seen as a good thing as they prepare a person for what is coming next.

From the Migraine Clinic I learned:

If you have two or more of the following symptoms during an attack it is probable that you are suffering from migraine

Neurological disturbances lasting around 15-60 minutes which normally occur before the headache begins; most commonly visual disturbances including blind spots, flashing lights or zig zag patterns; confusion, inability to concentrate, problems with articulation or co- ordination, or tingling, pins and needles or numbness on the affected side. These symptoms, known as aura are most often identified with migraine but in fact only about 10-15% of sufferers experience them. Migraine with aura was formerly known as classic migraine.

Although some people experience aura symptoms only, the attack normally proceeds after a short interval in the same way as migraine without aura, formerly called common migraine, with some or all of the following symptoms:

Intense throbbing headache, often on one side of the head only
Nausea and/or vomiting and/or diarrhoea
Increased sensitivity to light (photophobia)
Increased sensitivity to sounds (phonophobia)
Increased sensitivity to smells (osmophobia)

You may also experience stiffness of the neck and shoulders, tingling or stiffness in the limbs, an inability to concentrate, difficulty in speaking, or in rare cases paralysis or loss of consciousness.

A general rule of thumb is that if a headache and/or other associated symptoms prevents you from continuing with normal daily activities it could be a migraine.

Although headache is the most obvious event during a migraine some migraineurs start to feel "strange" a day or so before the attack begins. These strange feelings, known as the prodrome, are the first signs of the attack and can include cravings for certain foods, excitability, hyperactivity, tiredness, yawning or a change of mood.

Migraine attacks normally last between 4 and 72 hours and sufferers are usually symptom free between attacks.

From the neurology channel I learned:

Migraine with aura is characterized by a neurological phenomenon (aura) that is experienced 10 to 30 minutes before the headache. Most auras are visual and are described as bright shimmering lights around objects or at the edges of the field of vision (called scintillating scotomas) or zigzag lines, wavy images, or hallucinations. Others experience temporary vision loss.

Nonvisual auras include motor weakness, speech or language abnormalities, dizziness, vertigo, and tingling or numbness (parasthesia) of the face, tongue, or extremities.

From Wikipedia:

An aura sensation can include:

• Visual Changes.
  • Bright lights.
  • Zigzag lines.
  • Distortions in the size or shape of object.
  • Slowly spreading spots.
  • Shimmering, pulsating patches, often curved.
  • Blind or dark spots in the field of vision.
  • Total temporary monocular (in one eye) blindness. (in retinal migraine)
• Hearing voices or sounds (auditory hallucinations).
• Strange smells (olfactory hallucinations).
• Feelings of numbness or tingling on one side of the face or body.
• Feeling separated from one's body.
• Anxiety or fear.
• Nausea.
• Weakness, unsteadiness.
• Being unable to understand or comprehend spoken words during and after the aura.

The stuff highlighted is what I was dealing with. Aren't you glad I got off the road? :)

I also learned that "Most people who have auras have the same type of aura every time." So oh joy...if this happens again I'll know that I will feel really bad for about three days and then I'll be fine again.

The doctor did tell me it was unusual for a person who normally doesn't get headaches to suddenly start getting them, particularly migraines. So I think should this happen again, I will mention it to my doctor and ask WHY. I did ask why this time but he really had no idea and he was totally sure what all was going on with my head.

Life this week

Life has been....shall I say a challenge this week in our household.

Monday.. I see lights dancing, everything is blurry, I get dizzy, VERY freaking when one is driving a car on London roads. Pull over. AH safe. Go into pharmacy, watch self closely so don't fall over. Get back into car, my hubbie drives. YEAH! (probably just total fear for his life at this point) :)

MASSIVE HEADACHE! BLURRY VISION. I am NOT a happy camper.

I even take something because pain is bad. (I hate taking stuff)

Make doctor's appointment, go in Tuesday evening. My hubbie at meeting, My MIL comes down to care for J.

Doc hems and haws. Threatens to send me to UH because wonders if I have brain bleed. But is not sure because some of my symptoms indicate migraine. Ends up making me promise that I will take myself in if I don't get better, or if I get worse, said he was 75-85% sure that it was a migraine, but a somewhat odd one.

The next day it's a wee bit better but I feel like I've been beaten over a head with a brick. Thursday I was just TIRED. Like just massively tired. Today (Friday) I'm fine. :)

Well...except for the fact that I tripped over a child gate and now have a badly sprained left foot. NOT FUN! Went to emerg...not broken, badly sprained, stay off it and elevate it. Take pain stuff if I need it.

And through it all, my hubbie, my sweet, generally patient hubbie, is fighting um...what shall I say here.... lack of being able to write sermons. It's Friday night, he's been working hard all week and has NOTHING (Well four pages) but basically nothing! FRUSTRATING!!!!! So not quite as patient.....

Makes him tired.
Makes me want to help and I generally end up not helping, and somehow I end up thinking that I make things worse.... ARGH!

And the old dog Riley has been battling diarrhea this week. Almost hit me with it this morning. I was unimpressed --- BUT very glad that I was smart enough to move quickly. :) he walks all sad and old looking. ARGH!!!! Now I can worry about the old dog too!

Then Sassy growled at the boy for petting her. Bad dog. Gets a spank and sent off to lie down. Get to re-worry about her and handling the boy and ARGH!!!!!

Do I sound like a whiney child yet? :)

So on a positive note
1. I made a brand new recipe for a meatloaf that my hubbie really likes! he does! it's too spicy for my taste...but he likes it! YEAH!!!! I like making him happy! :)
2. J. ate good today!
3. I got the fridge cleaned out, the counter well cleaned
4. the boy was well-read too, fed, cleaned, pajama-ed, and bedded. :)
5. the dogs were walked...by my hubbie this afternoon (they had a good walk this morning).

So life isn't completely bad...just been a bit rough this week.....

Blogs I've Appreciated this week

Steve over that the Hemmeke Blog has done a series on Leviticus. I have to say, I've appreciated the work he has put into this overview.

The lady over at She Lives just made me smile with this post of hers. Go ahead...try it!

The Old Paths is a blog that I have just recently started reading regularly. This post on how we glorify God was a good reminder type post for me. :)

There are others out there that I really liked, but I"m running short on time so will update this as I get a chance...just not right now. :)

Fear turns to refusal

The other day when I read from Exodus, about Moses and the burning bush, I was caused to ponder how I show fear when I face the Lord of Lords.

I still ponder that. :) But today I was surprised, well, okay..not so much surprised as I do know this story, but I was reminded of how quickly one's fear and reverance of God can turn to be something else if God asks something of us that we don't want to give.

Moses was called of God to go to Pharaoh.

He wasn't really wanting to go.

He offers up excuses
1. From Exodus 8: what if they ask me your name? What do I say to them? God says

"I AM WHO I AM."And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

2. Exodus 9: But they won't believe me:

The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." 3And he said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4But the LORD said to Moses, "Put out your hand and catch it by the tail"--so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand-- 5"that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." 6Again, the LORD said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak."^[a] And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous^[b] like snow. 7Then God said, "Put your hand back inside your cloak." So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8"If they will not believe you," God said, "or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground."

3. But I don't talk so good. I am slow of speech and tongue.

Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."

4. GOD! Please. I don't want to go. Send someone else!

14Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs."

God answered each one of Moses' objections.

It didn't matter what Moses said. God had an answer.

Moses went.

And it's interesting. Moses, in the end, obeyed. AND he obeyed KNOWING that Pharaoh wasn't going to listen. He knew the task that God was setting him on would be tough. he knew the road would end in hardship and death.

God told Moses

21And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23and I say to you, "Let my son go that he may serve me." If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'"

Moses got permission from Jethro to return to his people. He gathered up his wife and sons and set off for Egypt. He took the staff of God with him.

Moses met up with Aaron in the wilderness and off they went to do the bidding of the Lord.

29Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Reminds me of all the times that I fight against God.
And he answers my objections. He calms my fears. He reminds me of who he is.

And I am caused to obey, even when I know the road will be tough, I know who has called me to task. That's what happens you know, when God meets all your objections, you see things in the light of who HE is, rather than just your own self. :)

Though I must admit, sometimes I wish I listened just a bit quicker! It is always a good thing when I listen to God's call.

New Feature

So I'm starting to think that I will add a new feature to my blog.

My boy loves reading. So do I . So does his Daddy! :) I am hoping that my boyo continues to love reading.

That said...I'm thinking of reviewing different children's books that we read.

I'll list the books that J. likes, and I'll add what I like, and kinda go from there. I don't do exhaustive reviews. I like a book or I don't. And right now it seems the same with our boyo.

First off we have the Jane Goodall books.

Wildlife Family Book Collection (Animal Series (Shell retailers), Set of 8 books) (Hardcover)

J. LOVES THESE BOOKS! he has his favourites.

He likes the lions, the zebras, the elephants, the giraffes and the wildebeest. He usually will grab Zorro (zebra) and Jacko (wildebeest). Additional books in the series are Chimpanzee, hyena and baboon (these books he is quite vocal with NO).

They are for the most part, well written books. They are above the level of a 19 month old, so I shorten the story for him. He likes the pictures, especially when Jacko and Zorro are running through the water. He also likes the baby elephant standing under mommy and the lion cubs playing. He will look at those pictures over and over again. He has enjoyed these books since he was oh... about 13 months old or thereabouts.

The story is simple, probably good for grade one?
Pictures are wonderful, not too gruesome for a young child (with the lion and hyena ones).
They provide a good basis for additional learning later.

My grading?

• 4 out of 5. If you can find them for your child, especially if they like animals, get them. :)

J's rating?

• in his words.. A sit-sit! Plunk the book down in mommy's lap. Grabs collie and tiger...boo(he says)....and wants to read. But NO (complete with head shake) when it comes to hyena, chimp or baboon.