Food For thought

Sent to me in an email

Here was a short reflection I found in a local newspaper that I wanted to share with you.

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone.

• What if we carried it around in our purse or pockets?
• What if we flipped through it several times a day?
• What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
• What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
• What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
• What if we gave it to our kids as gifts?
• What if we used it in case of emergencies?

This is something to make you think, “Hmm…where is my Bible?”

Unlike our cell phones; there will be no dropped calls!

Oh, and one more thing. We don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!

ACK!

Look at the first picture, carefully before you look at the second. I still get the hejebegees.





Look at the picture above and you can see where this guy broke through the guardrail,
right side where the people are standing on the road (pointing). The pick-up was traveling
from right to left when it crashed through the guardrail. It f lipped end-over-end, across the
culvert outlet, and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert, facing the opposite
direction from which he was traveling.

Now look at the 2ND picture below...






If this guy didn't believe in God before do you suppose he believes now?

Wal-mart Job Application

This is an actual job application that senior citizen submitted to Walmart in Arkansas

They hired him because he was so funny.....

NAME: Kenneth Way (Grumpy Bastard)

SEX: Not lately, but I am looking for the right woman (or at least one who will cooperate)

DESIRED POSITION: Company's President or Vice President. But seriously, whatever's available. If I were in a position to be picky, would I be applying here in the first place?

DESIRED SALARY: $185,000 a year plus stock options and a Michael Ovitz style severance package. If that's not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION: Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD: Target for middle management hostility.

PREVIOUS SALARY: A lot less than I'm worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT: My incredible collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.

REASON FOR LEAVING: It sucked.

HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK: Any.

PREFERRED HOURS: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS?: Yes, but they're better suited to a more intimate environment.

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER?: If I had one, would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP TO 50 lbs.: Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR?: I think the more appropriate question here would be 'Do you have a car that runs?'

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION?: I may already be a winner of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, so they tell me.

DO YOU SMOKE?: On the job - no!
On my breaks - yes!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?: Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb sexy blonde supermodel who thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I'd like to be doing that now.

NEAREST RELATIVE....7 miles

DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE?: Oh yes, absolutely.

***Old People Rock! ***

Mind Boggling

How do they do it? ... don't know but they did

I Still don't quite get how they do it.




Mind boggling!

CLICK ON HOUSE

Carry Your Books?

Faith Cup

Two Boxes

Two Boxes

God's Boxes

I have in my hands two boxes,
Which God gave me to hold.
He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box,
And all your joys in the gold."

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,
Both my joys and sorrows I stored,
But though the gold became heavier each day,
The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black,
I wanted to find out why,
And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,
Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused,
"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"
He smiled a gentle smile and said,
"My child, they're all here with me.."

I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,
Why the gold and the black with the hole?
"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,
The black is for you to let go."

We should consider all of our friends a blessing.
Send this to a friend today just to let them know you
are thinking of them and that they are a joy in your life.
A ball is a circle, no beginning, no end.
It keeps us together like our Circle of Friends.
But the treasure inside for you to see,
Is the treasure of friendship you've granted to me.

Today I pass the friendship ball to you.
Pass it on to someone who is a friend to you...

The Cross

THE CROSSWALK

Every once and a while, a seemingly-simple email comes around that ends up being quite profound. This is one of them.














Awesome!! We complain about the cross we bear but don't realize it is preparing us for the dip in the road that God can see and we cannot.


Whatever your cross,
whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine, after the rain....
Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall;
But God's always ready, to answer your call....
He knows every heartache, sees every tear,
a word from His lips, can calm every fear...
Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night,
But suddenly vanish, by dawn's early light...
The Savior is waiting, somewhere above,
to give you His grace, and send you His love.
May God fill your day with blessings!!


Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle!

And He Did It

A few days ago I spent some time with Hebrews 2, but I didn't finish off the section. Here it is again:

5Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6It has been testified somewhere,

"What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,

8putting everything in subjection under his feet."

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

10For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12saying,

"I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

13And again,

"I will put my trust in him."

And again,

"Behold, I and the children God has given me."

14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Thanks to my hubby I have a better understanding of verses 8-10! :)

So continuing on, we learn that Christ calls us family! He is not ashamed to do so. God has given us to him, we are sanctified by one source. We are family to God! :) Pretty cool huh?

See that Christ came to earth. He was made man for a short time. He knows us full well. He calls us brother/sister. :)

he had to do this. Why?

so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Being made a little lower than the angels for a short time enabled Christ to be our faithful and merciful high priest. Even though we can't see his full superiority over everything right now, we can still know that he is our high priest. He went through everything that we go through to save us. He was tempted and is therefore able to help us when we are tempted.

I don't know...but I look at all this and I think how cool is it all.

Christ, God's very own Son. The one through whom all things were made, the one who has superiority over everything, was made a little lower than the angels, so that he could be our faithful and merciful high priest. So we could be saved and brought into right relationship to God.

Oh how much we owe God. How much we need to show forth HIS GLORY to the world around us. Look at all he gave up for us, look at how he worked it all out.

It's just very awesome.

Prayer Request - Jim's friend

A friend of Jim's from college days is not doing well.

As a person with MS he has been up and down in his health for several years but these past couple of years have been particularly difficult for him. He is currently in hospital and not doing well at all.

Your prayers for him and his extended family would be appreciated.

Things Jim has Pointed my way to...

Canadian politics... this made me laugh! :)

JollyBlogger made me think with hyper-controllers.

When I first saw this book page that Jim sent me to, I thought...I don't want to read that. Then I listened, and thought ... okay..this would be an INTERESTING book.

oh....and one thing that someone on the meatrabbit board pointed my way to, and that I then pointed Jim's way to. NOTE: it is graphic. I just found it fascinating. Heron Catches Rabbit.

All is in Subjection to him

Now when I study the bible I try to take chunks at a time that make sense. This next chunk is rather large, not sure if I'll get through it all today or not. But from Hebrews 2 we get these words:

5Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6It has been testified somewhere,

"What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,

8putting everything in subjection under his feet."

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

10For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12saying,

"I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

13And again,

"I will put my trust in him."

And again,

"Behold, I and the children God has given me."

14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Remember, the author is talking about how Christ is superior to the angels, and since he is, the words he speaks are all the more worth listening to and heeding.

In this next section he quotes a section from Psalm 8 (one of my favourite psalms by the by). For a short time, Christ was made a little lower than the angels, just for a little while. And Christ has been crowned with glory and honour. AND God put everything in subjection to him. Now what does that mean?

To have something placed in subjection means that someone else has the authority, the control over you. God put everything in subjection to Christ. Even though we don't see it all the time, that's the way it is. Everything is under the control of Christ.

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

I'm not going to say that I understand it all. After all, if one has been given the control, why is that same one made less than something that is in subjection to you? But I do know that the author is being clear about the superiority of Christ to the angels. Angels aren't to be worshiped, CHRIST is. Christ is better, his words are better. He's just better all round. He is the one that everything else is in subjection to.

The author goes on to say that it was through Christ that all things exist. It was through Christ that salvation is found. Salvation was perfected through the suffering of Christ.

The rest of this passage has deep stuff to think about so I'm going to leave it for now. Please leave your thoughts on this passage if you have them. I feel like I am merely skimming the surface of all God can teach me here.

Meet Chester

If you have children, grandchildren, or just like to read fun children's stories. Go to the library, go find this book and read it. you'll laugh, you're children will laugh. It's a good wee read.

AND there's a second one coming out. We are being patient waiting for it to show up at the library. Patience, patience. :)

Chester is WAY too catty in this book. Just way too catty. :)

Sadness, prayers needed.

A blogger that I read fairly regularly is New Lumps.
His family is in need of your prayers. Their daughter was murdered.

All I can say is prayers are needed in this time of mourning. Go here to Terry Stauffer's blog.

for those interested, here's the write up in the edmonton sun.

And God said.....so it happened

Jim's passage for this week Sunday is Genesis 1:14-25

14And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens." 21So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

And God said....Let there be light. Light to show the seasons. Light for the night. Light for the day. Light and Dark were separated. And it was so.

And God said....Let there be water creatures. Let there be air creatures. And it was so.

And God said... Let there be earth creatures. And it was so.

God said it. It happened.
I just think it's so cool. God's word was sufficient.

And God saw that IT WAS GOOD.

And it is, isn't it? When you look at the world around you, can't you see the goodness of God. Despite the effects of sin, it is good isn't it?

I am sometimes amazed at the sheer creativity that God displayed.
Who would have imagined a platypus? Or a giraffe? Whales? Frogs that can change their sex? It's just amazing.

Birds that can fly!
Fish that can swim down so far and NOT be crushed by the water above them.
Animals that can live in harmony with each other.
Ants.... Justin's into a book in ants right now. Seeing how they work together and are busy all the time. Who would have created ants?

And it was all God's doing. He said let there be....and there was. It's just very cool.

Oh I am Saddened

I was browsing some blogs and came across this at Godward Thoughts, that Ray Boltz claims to happily homosexual. I have LOVED this man's singing. His songs have touched my heart and at times caused my relationship with God to deepen as I considered the words to his songs and went to scripture.

He's apparently left his wife and children and is living as a homosexual while proclaiming the name of Christ.

Oh but I am so saddened to hear this news. It does nothing for the cause of Christianity, and shows how easily deceived we can be.

I found this written at onenewsnow:

"If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live...I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself." Those were the words of Ray Boltz in an interview with the Washington Blade about his decision to engage in homosexuality. Boltz, a father of four who was married for 33 years before officially divorcing his wife this year, is well-known for his widely acclaimed songs "Thank You" and "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb."

I have to wonder....how can living against the word of God bring someone closer to him? That makes no sense.

Seems I will need to add Ray Boltz to my prayer list that he
1. receive some good teaching from a solid man of God
2. come back, or at least really turn to, the God of the Bible

rather not, though it's kinda cool

So I have a very sick momma rabbit with eleven 13 day old kits.

I'd rather not have her sick.
I'd rather not be trying to save those kits with goats milk and a bottle.

BUT it is rather cool when you see a kit go hold on...I"m hungry... and this rubber thing has FOOD in it! I WANT IT!!! and I WANT IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is rather cool.
the rest is well...not so cool.

And I get to do this twice a day.

Think about it

Today I start into Hebrews 2. In Hebrews one we learned of Christ's superiority to the angels. The author of Hebrews continues God's word to use telling us that we have to pay attention to what we hear. Let us read:

1Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

See...the message that we got from the angels was reliable, therefore imagine how reliable the words are from the Son of God himself! We must pay attention to these words. If we don't, we might drift away from them.

And we if we drift away from them (God's words), KNOWING that transgression and disobedience have their own retribution, if we neglect so great a salvation, what type of retribution do you think would be in hand for us? Think about it. Just think on that....

Parenting Question - You Not Going to Leave Mom?

Okay...it's been almost two weeks.

Our buggy freaks when I'm not home when he wakes up. Okay....maybe freaks is the wrong word but he's not a happy camper if I'm not in the house when he wakes up.

He doesn't want to go to bed at night 'cause I might leave when he's sleeping.

When I get up in the morning he'll be up within the half hour wanting to walk the dog with me so I'm not leaving him when he's sleeping.

It's a bit of a struggle because I want to just go and walk the dog by myself. No child. Just me and my dog chillin' first thing in the morning. No pleas to go the park. No Why questions. Just me and my dog alone in the morning, getting ready for the day.

I've tried slipping out but that means leaving my night owl hubby to deal with child when he's ill-prepared to do so...he needs his morning sleep like I need my night sleep. Differing schedules don'tcha know.

I've given up my alone times in the morning...but I miss them terribly...AH!!!!!
Tell me this is just a stage and it'll pass. I can live with this for now then.....
OR give me some hints...how do I help this boy of mine to stop being so terribly worried about me leaving the house without him.

How do I deal with this?

Angels and the Son of Man

Decided to read a bit more today in Hebrews. This from the first chapter.

5For to which of the angels did God ever say,

"You are my Son,
today I have begotten you"?

Or again,

"I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son"?

6And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

"Let all God’s angels worship him."

7Of the angels he says,

"He makes his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire."

8But of the Son he says,

"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."

10And,

"You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
12like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end."

13And to which of the angels has he ever said,

"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

14Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

So we have some direct comparisons which show how Christ the Lord is better than angels.

1. God has not called any of the angels his son.
2. God told the angels to worship his son. He has not told them to worship each other.
3. Angels are winds, and his ministers a flame of fire. BUT his son on the other hand has a throne that's been established forever and ever.
4. The son has been anointed with the oil of gladness.
5. None of the angels sit at his right hand.
6. The angels are ministering spirits sent out to serve those who will inherit salvation.

Rather neat isn't it? To see those differences. To see a bit more what angels are.

I had a conversation with someone some time back about angels, how she loves angels and so forth. I have to admit that I don't get this fascination and veneration of angels. They, like us, serve God. They do his bidding. They serve us (his called one who will inherit salvation). So I don't quite get it. I didn't tell that lady that. I just tried to point her to the one who made the angels, not sure if she heard me though.

But Hebrews One makes it plain. The son of man, Jesus Christ our Lord, is better than the angels. And that is that! :)

Whining, the dentist, whining, gardening, Long nap

Justin wet the bed during this unexpectedly LONG afternoon on Tuesday. So Tuesday night (since Tuesday evening was so busy) he slept with me. He woke up at 4 a.m. but we dozed off and on until 7 a.m. Then up to walk Sassy, followed by whining about this that and the other thing (him NOT me).

RUSHED to go to the dentist...me whining at Jim that I had no time to shower and being a bit grumpy about it all. Got to the dentist 10 minutes late...and then sat for 10 minutes until they could see us. Justin was GOOD at the dentist. So we went thrift shopping. Justin got one more pair of pants and three shirts AND a train. That boy just LOVES trains. :)

Home again.
Where life again proved challenging to Justin and myself. Justin forgetting to talk properly instead of whining his way through the world of communication. Sometimes it's a challenge.

But things picked up again later. Jim came home with two young guinea pigs. One healthy, and one sick...rather badly sick. That one died later in the day. BUT the distraction of BINNIE!!!! arriving was enough to turn things around for Justin. We rearranged a few thing in his bedroom and then played in the house for a bit. Justin was encouraged to nap but that proved a challenge for him (BUT IT'S LIGHT OUT MOM!!!!) So he played and helped me work outside, and then at 430 ish, after munching on tomatoes and ground cherries, he disappeared into the house, and since he'd been acting hungry I followed him and got him to eat a bit of supper. Left him and then checked on him at 5 and he was snoozing on the couch.

Ah...silence! :)

He slept until 8.
yes, I know...did I set myself up for a late night? NOPE! Told the lad when I go to bed...so is he. That will be eleven so I'm not too worried. and he does play quietly in his room if he's awake. (at least I hope he follows that same routine tonight).

BUT today I got
1. 5 rabbits medicated.
2. one garden emptied and turned over
3. one section of the composter repaired AND all the not-all-composted stuff scooped into that section.
4. listed my compost on kijiji to see if I can sell any of it (have two half sections that can go).
5. Justin's room organized a bit better again WITH a train track set up in the room too. :)
6. Supper made for hubby (yes, it was a cheater supper but hey...I turned on the oven!) :) I ate some leftovers as that was quick and easy.
7. ALL the laundry done...took me three days but it's done for this week! extra bed sheet loads and everything. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Week's Sermon Passage - in the beginning

This week Sunday Jim is starting his series on Genesis.
He starts off with Genesis 1:1-2.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 1:2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

In the beginning....GOD.
In the beginning....God created.

It wasn't evolution.
It wasn't the "big bang".
It wasn't an accident.
It was purposeful action.

What did he create?
The heavens and the earth.
Not like it is right now. It was just a big old mess. (my paraphrase) :)
It was something brand new.

What was it like?
It was without form and void.
It was darkness covering deepness.
I have to admit.....what I picture is a big swirling mass of confusion. Like when you're mixing a stew and you have bits and pieces of stuff just floating about which may or may not be definable, but ends up being a good thing. But this stew was dark and deep and has God floating over top of it.

AND the Spirit of God hovered over it.

This is what God did in the very beginning of time.
He made a new thing.
How?
I have no clue. He just did it.

It shows that God has been around FOREVER.
It shows that God is the one that started it all.

Think about, no REALLY think about it. It can be mind-boggling.
God made it.
We do ultimately make anything. Without God we'd have nothing to make.
We did not make God.
God made us.

If you want deeper thoughts, go to Jim's blog, he wrote these posts a bit ago. But I re-read them today and thought, yes, there is stuff to be learned here that we often don't think about.

Anyways, this is a mystery to ponder today. :)

Mouse Trap

See this trap?
These things work!

I bought one after looking for one for a while. :) Anyways, they sell from $15-30 in stores (a bit out of my price range). I got mine at a yard sale for $5. :) Yeah for me! Yeah for Jim seeing it!

I have caught both of my wayward mice.
one male.....very wild and scared. I plopped him into my boy cage (he's the only boy in there).
One very pregnant female. Not quite as wild acting. She I plopped in with my other girls.
They did well for the past two months surviving in the wild. Smart mice!

I'm hoping it will also catch any other wild mice that are running about the neighbourhood getting into my rabbit food and such like.

For all Canadians, or even those slightly wannabes :)

Check out this quiz. It's put out by the globe and mail. I have no clue how long it will be around.

Chances are you'll do better then my first try (9/20) but give it a whirl. :)

I am HIS own, I CAN call out to him

good morning

Wanted to do something for devotions this morning and can't put my hands on the book I'm reading, so.... I went to biblegateway and their verse of the day seemed good to me, so I took the whole Psalm as something I could read.

Psalm 143

1Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.

3For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
I have fled to you for refuge!
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!

11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.

A cry from the heart of a man (David) to God.
David so wants God to hear him.

• his plea for mercy
• his request for what I see as comfort from the enemies that press in against him
  
• his desire not to be judged poorly though all around him seem to not be living for God.

David is heart-sore, tired and appalled at his life and those around him.
He remembers how things used to be - all that God has done, the works of his hands.
And he is SO thirsty for the voice, the hand of God in his life.
God please answer me, quickly please is his heart cry.

David states so eloquently how it is GOD that he trusts in.

8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

He cries out to God for deliverance from his enemies, how it is God to whom he flees.
Not to anyone else folks...it's to God. Not to neighbouring countries, not to the help of an army, it is simply to God that he calls out to. Help me God. And in the midst of his cry for help he also says....God teach me your will, YOU are my God, I want to do what you want me to do. Let me be led by your Spirit.

He ends the psalm asking for his life to be preserved, that his soul be brought out of trouble, that his enemies be cut off...why? Because he is God's servant.

I had to think about that for a moment you know. This realization that like David I am a servant of God. I can cry out to God with all my heart. I can expect God to answer me BECAUSE I am one of his very own. Even as I ask for help I can also say God...continue to teach me, continue to help me know your very own will for my life.

Cool eh?

How to see God in All?

So as you know, I've decided to study the Sunday's sermons passage before church. Wow...certainly helped me listen better since I knew the basic gist of what he was going to talk about. Even missing the first five minutes due to Justin having to get some crayons which were SUPPOSED to be in my church bag but somehow weren't I still followed the sermon fairly well.

ANYWAYS>>>>>
One of the things Jim mentioned was that we need to focus on God ALL the time. To look for him in things. To make it a point of doing so. It helps us to know God better and therefore to boast in him and our knowledge of him. (I am paraphrasing).

That got me thinking.
As some of you know, we plan to homeschool Justin. A part of Jim's sermon was that folks in school need to think about how God fits in with their schooling. When taking a college course...how do you see God in your art class?

I'm thinking it would behoove me to figure out how to get Justin NOW and throughout his schooling to think about how God figures into it all. I really want to help Justin develop a solidly Christian world-view, so that means helping him figure out how God fits into his world in every way that I can think of, help him shape his thinking.

So now I have to figure out, how can I do that?
It's more I think than using scripture in study - whether that be copywork, or memorization or whatever. Though that's part of it, because the more Justin knows the word of God, the more hopefully he'll learn of it and become drawn to God more as I pray that God will draw Justin to himself. (I probably said that poorly).

But how do I teach him to really think about how God fits in with it all? That's my query. I am NOT a hugely critical thinker. Jim is WAY more discerning about things than I am. I can get the thought that something isn't right, but Jim tends to pinpoint it really quickly. :) I'm quicker at saying where I see God in something, but I don't know..... I feel somewhat unprepared for this aspect of things and want to figure out how to feel more "prepared" to help my boy in this important aspect of knowing and loving God.

Artifacts to Go Digital

Somewhere in the blogosphere I was pointed to this article. Sorry I can't remember who...so if it was you remind me. Then I'll properly HT you. :)

Decades after a Bedouin shepherd stumbled upon the famed Dead Sea Scrolls, technological advancements have uncovered additional text never before decipherable on the ancient biblical manuscripts. Using infrared technology, the Israel Antiquities Authority had recently begun digitally photographing the scrolls in order to monitor their condition. But when the first scans came back, officials noticed that formerly illegible portions were now clearly readable. Israel Antiquities Authority head of conservation Pnina Shor told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation it was “like letters coming back to life.” Once the digital scans of the scrolls are completed, the Israel Antiquities Authority plans to make the images available on the Internet where anyone can view them.

This Week's Sermon Passage

I'm going to try to do a new thing once a week. Look at the bible passage that Jim is going to preach on for the morning, and try to learn from it. :) I'm hoping that this will help me hear the morning sermon better while caring for a three year old in church. have no clue what day I will do this one...but suspecting it will be Fridays as Jim does the order of worship on Thursdays for the most part.

Sunday's passage will be Jeremiah 9:12-26

12 Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13And the LORD says: "Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink. 16 I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them."
17Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
18let them make haste and raise a wailing over us,
that our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
'How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.'"

20Hear, O women, the word of the LORD,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
and each to her neighbor a dirge.
21For death has come up into our windows;
it has entered our palaces,
cutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
22Speak, "Thus declares the LORD: 'The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
like sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.'"

23Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

25"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart."

Though his immediate text is Jeremiah 9:23-24

23Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

from this immediate text these are my thoughts....... What do I boast in? Do I boast in myself, in my hubby, in my son, in the things that "I" do, in the fact that 'my hubby' was nice and did thus and such so that I could do this other thing? This text clearly points to the error of such thinking. My only boast should be that I know the Lord. That I want to understand God and his ways. That my Lord is the one who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth. God delights in these things.

I have to admit....that's not often how I think. I am learning to thank God for the things he allows me to get done each day, but so often my first thought is .... I did good today. I got this that and the other thing done. I did good. I fail to acknowledge God in the doing, and I fail to boast in what I should...that I am getting to know God better, that I am daily understanding some of his ways better. THIS is what my primary focus should be, it makes the rest of life fall into place so much better. I want to be a delight to my Lord and Saviour and this passage teaches me how I can do that. So then..... let me do it. :)

We had Company

a brown snake.
found this one in our wood pile.

Do it again!

what we heard for the rest of the day until we went back.
Do it again, do it cars again?




Note: he started off being rather unsure about all this. Did he want the green car or the purple car. Finally settled on the green. Wanted mom to come to, but I declined but stayed close. The first couple of go rounds were a case of uncertainty and then the light came on...this might be fun! The smiles came, the conversation came, the grins.....mommies LOVE grins! :)

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Justin needed the train to stop, that he did. :)

We're back again :)

Wow, what a nice time away we had.

We camped at Bronte Creek Provincial Park.

We visited with friends of Jim's from college days. Young family with two young children. Justin played well with them.

We hung out and did "nothing".
We read lots of books (all three of us).
We slept.

Justin played with children.
He enjoyed playing in "the barn" in the day use area.
We went swimming.
We did some sight-seeing and some shopping.
We ate well. We ate poorly. :) Hey...we're camping. :)

Justin cried when we left. He wanted to stay camping. "want to stay camping and get chocolate milk!" Such a mournful cry.

When I returned I had a litter of babies!!!!!!!!! Two in fact. A singleton from a new mom. And eight from my big back doe. The new mom I expected, the eight well..... were a really, really nice surprise from a late running doe. :)

The good: relaxing, laughing, reading, camp fires, visiting, etc....
The odd: seeing a little boy rip off his clothes and run around the camp site peeing as he went. "Justin! Put some clothes on, we go pee in the bathroom!" "NO! Pee on the grass!"
The bad: LONG grass on our campsite - made the campsite seem like it was wet all the time, Yellow Jackets galore!, and mosquitos as constant.

My apologies

Sorry folks that I haven't been around much.

why haven't I?

1. I've had sick bunnies for the past bit, that's been eating up some of my time and energy.

2. It's summer...I've other things to do. :)

3. Been tired....just ever so tired...need to get to bed on time, need to stop being busy, need to....oh so many things. :)

4. this week's been VBS for the boy child which means leaving EARLY in the morning (for him 9 a.m. is early takes him a good hour to get going usually)

Anyways, next week we're on holidays. Hopefully will prove to be more restful for Jim. We'll be in the T.O. area, seeing sites, relaxing, visiting friends hopefully. Should be fun, but means I won't be here either.

Thinking I'll put Hebrews on hold. Got an interesting book from Jim's mom which has captured my interest. Think I'll be sharing my thoughts on it, and hopefully getting feedback from you all about it as well.

Cheers!

Something new for the boy to watch

Justin apparently loves this.



I just think...ACK!!! he's doing this on a road with cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This post will make 1003

Hmm.... I didn't realize it until today.

I've made 1000 posts on this blog.

Cool. :)

I've learned lots.
Met some interesting people.

Just cool.

Quietness

It was fun last night.....

Jim worked on the car.

Called me out of the backyard. Annette, come listen.

I came out, I said What? I don't hear anything.

The car is running.

It was! It was quiet...VERY quiet. I actually had to double check that it was running.

Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Power of Christ's Word

Okay, today we start one of the bigger books of the New Testament. I have to admit, I'm feeling a bit daunted. Summer time is always the hardest time for me to stay regular with devotions. So much to do, schedules are all different and it's hard sometimes to keep it all balanced. So starting Hebrews in the summer means having to try somehow to keep focused on a big book! :) But hey, we'll give her a go and comments are always welcome throughout. Let's see what we can learn.

Paul is thought to be the writer even though nothing explicitly states it. It was part of early church history and that shouldn't be discounted.

There is no particular audience it seems to me that it was directed toward. Just to believers to help them grow in their faith and understand more of God. Though there is a subscript at the end that says it was written to the "Hebrews". Just which church, or which people is still a subject for debate. So it was written to Jewish believers of the Christian faith. It's good to have that for context.

So it's a book for scholars and historians to debate, but it is also a book, that as part of the inspired word of God, is there for us to learn from.

I do know that it starts differently than all the other books we've done so far. This is a chapter that shows how Christ is superior to other messengers from God: prophets and angels.

1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

How's that for a sermon start? :)

The author gives us a bit of a history about how God has been working.
First through prophets.
Now through his son.

Who is his son?

• appointed to be heir
• heir to all things
• through his son, God created the world
• he is the radiance of God's glory
  
• is exactly the same as God in his nature
• he upholds the universe by the word of his power
• made purification for our sins
• Sits on the right hand of Majesty
• is Superior to angels since the name he inherited is greater than theirs.

Does that all make sense to me the first time I read it? No. :)
We know the Christ Jesus our Lord is God's son. This fact itself makes Christ better than the prophets. Then he talks about what God has done through his son, and what his son controls. None of the prophets can match this. In this first section he also starts to talk about how Jesus is better than the angels as well.

Here's what Matthew Henry has to say (courtesy of e-sword):

The glory of his office, and that in three respects: - [1.] God hath appointed him to be heir of all things. As God, he was equal to the Father; but, as God - man and Mediator, he was appointed by the Father to be the heir of all things, the sovereign Lord of all, the absolute disposer, director, and governor of all persons and of all things, Psa_2:6, Psa_2:7. All power in heaven and earth is given to him; all judgment is committed to him, Mat_28:18; Joh_5:22. [2.] By him God made the worlds, both visible and invisible, the heavens and the earth; not as an instrumental cause, but as his essential word and wisdom. By him he made the old creation, by him he makes the new creature, and by him he rules and governs both. [3.] He upholds all things by the word of his power: he keeps the world from dissolving. By him all things consist. The weight of the whole creation is laid upon Christ: he supports the whole and all the parts. When, upon the apostasy, the world was breaking to pieces under the wrath and curse of God, the Son of God, undertaking the work of redemption, bound it up again, and established it by his almighty power and goodness. None of the ancient prophets sustained such an office as this, none was sufficient for it.

Christ's word alone runs the world.
Can you imagine it? I can't even really conceive of it. To have that kind of power that YOUR WORD ALONE runs things? I can see in a company a boss man having that final authority, but we're talking the world and all it's complexities. Here rain, there sun, then we'll give an earthquake there, and over there smooth seas. We'll manage the animals, the people, the plants and so on and so forth. It's a huge undertaking, and Christ speaks, and so the world is.

I need to sit with that for a while. I"ll be back hopefully Monday. :) lots to think about here.

Philemon closes

The last time we met we learned that Paul was making a hard request of Philemon. To take back into his household, or at least into his group of people, a runaway slave who had been discontent and useless to him. He was being asked to take Paul's word that Onesimus was a completely different person.

I think it would be hard to do. I would have so many reservations about it. But at the same time, Paul was so eminently respected in the Christian world, Philemon might have been happy to obey this request of Paul's.

Today we come to the last couple of verses:

21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Paul was confident that Philemon would be obedient to this asking, and even do more than he asked. Makes me wonder if Paul expected Philemon to not just welcome Onesimus back but if he hoped that Philemon would once again make Onesimus part of his household. But those are just wonderings. :)

We should as believers welcome new believers into our lives, our households, our churches. Not drive them away because of what used to bes. But to see them as the useful people they now are. Useful to God himself.

The last two verses are standard closings for Paul. He extends greetings and prays a blessing on him. "the grace of the Lord be with your spirit."

Making Progress

Yesterday was a good productive day around here.

Got laundry done, got the cold storage cleaned out and I got the garage cleaned out. Three big jobs....assisted by a boy who had a nap in the afternoon.

I even had time to podge a cat box with Justin. :) Justin kept saying 'podging fun' 'painting mom?' and when we were done "these painting (the sticks) need be kept safe" "i put them here mom for little while". He happily went to bed not even having ice cream! :) A pudding cup was good tonight.

Jim went to the dentist, and then did some visiting, did some good research for sermons, and mostly fixed the muffler on my car. A gasket decided to break so Jim took the opportunity to take it all off, fix the gasket and then re-weld the previously broken part so it will hold better.

I was beat so went up to bed at 1030, only to be kept awake by banging in the kitchen. Came down this morning to a cleaned up kitchen. Wow...isn't my hubby helpful?

Today my plans are to clean out the walk in closet, and tackle the book room. If I have time I'll put up a couple shelves in the walk in closet so we have more places to put things up off the floor. Might even toss out some old shoes. :) One never knows what one finds when closets are tidied. Maybe I'll vacuum the whole main floor too, but not until the closet is cleaned, no point doing it twice! :)

Anyways, off to take the dog for a short walk, she bunged up her leg again yesterday and wasn't weight-bearing on it at all yesterday and hobbling throughout the night. So just a potty walk for her. Then to medicate the bunnies and get on with the day. Oh...first I'll finish off Philemon though. :)

What of Onesimus?

Today we come to the main reason for Paul's letter to Philemon.

8Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

17So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

There is a man named Onesimus.

This is a man known to Philemon, a man Philemon deemed as useless. This man has become a useful person to Paul and as such, Paul is wanting to send him back to Philemon, not as a slave, but as a useful person. He is asking Philemon's permission to do so, but as he asks he removes Philemon's possible reasons to say no.

• Onesimus is no longer useless
• Paul will repay anything Onesimus owes
• He can be greeted (and therefore treated) as if he were Paul himself
• He is a brother in Christ
• Paul thinks of him dearly, like a father would a son.

So what to do with Onesimus?

We don't know from the letter what Philemon's response was.
But we can catch gleanings of what it should be.
Onesimus was once not a believer. But now he is. He is much loved by Paul. He is a brother in Christ. He should be greeted as one. He is a useful person now, not just a useless slave who was discontented and then ran away. Onesimus is returning to Philemon as a useful, contented man, a brother in Christ.
My guess is the Philemon said okay. :)
This I'm also thinking is what our response should be to wayward ones.
To welcome them as brothers in Christ when they become believers.
To not hold their pasts against them, but to see them for who they are now.

b- day post

for those interested. My birthday post can be found here.

Praise to God

A couple of days ago we started into Philemon. here are the next few verses:

4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 7For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

If I were Philemon, I would be so encouraged in my ministry to hear these words from Paul. To know that someone is praying for me regularly, to know that my faith walk is being seen in a good light, and to know that my faith brings joy and comfort to someone else. That would be SO very encouraging.

Philemon just sounds like a fellow whose been pastoring his people well. And Paul's prayer is that Philemon learn to share his faith more effectively so that more may have full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for Christ's sake.

I have to look at how Paul prays for Philemon....he prays thanking God for Philemon's ministry. He doesn't thank Philemon, he gives the praise where it is due, he thanks God. God is the one who enables Philemon to engage in his ministry. God is the one who makes it all possible.

Paul praises God for the faith and love Philemon has for

• God
• for the saints

Paul praises God for Philemon's witness.
He prays the God will enable Philemon to be a more effective witness.

Philemon refreshes the hearts of those around him. Hmm.....have to admit, I like the sound of that. Someone who refreshes hearts in their ministry. Someone who brings joy and comfort as they minister. Sounds pretty good doesn't it?

And Paul is going to ask this man, his family and his church to do a difficult thing.
After reading what Philemon is like, I wonder if it was a difficult thing for him to do?

Either way, he was a man God was using well for ministry. May God also so use me well for ministry.

A Mighty Deacon

A Mighty Deacon

(to the tune of “A Mighty Fortress”)

A mighty deacon is our man;
He does what others think he can.
Qualifications he doth meet.
Electing him they thinketh sweet.
And so they cast their vote;
They do not rock the boat.
Their craft and pow’r are great:
Quorum! Electorate!
That deacon look is in his eye.

Did he is his own strength confide,
That deacon would be freakin’.
But what’s a deacon spozed to do?
His job is what we’re tweakin’.
Dost ask what tasks they be?
Might they be two? Or three?
How shall he play the game?
From age to age the same:
With deacon look there in his eye.

And though this world with deacons filled
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for votes have willed:
Electing deacons to us.
If you’re a deacon, deek!
If you’re a beacon, beak!
Let goods and kindred go,
And rationale also.
The deacon is forever.

This made me laugh. You can learn the whole story of it's creation here.

My man makes a little boy smile

see this toy?
When we bought yard-saleing on Saturday it was missing an important part.
We oft had cries of "it not working!" "help me!"

Then My Man... YES MY MAN all.....
made this:
Now we have a boy who does this, without any help what so ever. :)

He's happy. He's not crying for help (whining actually). Life is quieter and happier in our household. Isn't my man cool? :)

And now we have Philemon

Having finished off the book of Titus this past week, we now get a chance to look at Philemon. It's a small book in the new testament, the smallest I think in the whole bible. Even so, I will probably take three days to do it. :) Here are the opening verses to this little book.

1Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that Paul wrote this book. He was the most prolific writer in the New Testament. Timothy joins him in the writing of this letter.

This letter is one of encouragement and appeal. and is written to Philemon, Apphia and Archippus, and the church that Philemon has meeting in his house.

They extend greeting of grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do note that Paul calls himself a prisoner for Christ. It shows a more familiar tone with Philemon. It will make his plea to Philemon more tender and "do this for family" tone-ish. (hope that made sense). Credit Jamieson, Fawcett and Brown for helping me to see that (from e-sword). But Paul isn't trying to bossy, he's trying to sound helpful and teaching and encouraging of Philemon and his church. He's asking Philemon to do something that may be difficult for him to do. The fact that Timothy joins Paul in this plea puts some added pressure on Philemon to respond positively to the request.

The People's New Testament tells me that Apphia is Philemon's wife and Archippus may be their son.

So Philemon is a letter written privately to Philemon, his family and his church. As we read this letter we will see that it is a plea for Philemon to accept a wayward servant back into his household who has been converted to Christianity. This would not be an easy thing to ask of Philemon, but Paul asks it. It shows us how we are supposed to react to our wayward brothers and sisters. When they come back to Christ we should welcome them.

Hmmm... Let's look forward to learning more shall we? :)

Wordle

Three posts from my blog.


I had to do this a bit different since the html code thing they gave me didn't work. So I used gimp after taking a screen shot. I am so glad my hubby knows computer stuff so very well. :)

Today the first of August

Did you know that in 7 days I will 43 years old. Sounds a bit old to me. One of the girls at work (Subway, I work there Fridays 11-2:30) said, whoa...you're old! I didn't take it poorly..... after all, she's just barely 16, and young 16 at that. :) Ah..how perspectives change.

Today was a good day DESPITE my watch stopping on me this morning and almost making me late for work. But I wasn't...at least according the computer and radio. Max at work sets the clock there 5 minutes early. I find it rather irritating.

I got a lot done. I got the bricks power washed. Now to find a place to stack them.

I got the front AND back lawns mowed. Most of the mess cleaned up in the backyard. Played with Justin too (after he got up from his nap). Yes...he napped today! I got home from work to find him laying on top his dad napping. Jim had this look of...I need to get this boy child moved now! :) I helped. :)

Got my household money sorted out for the month and went shopping with the whole family. We're slowly replacing the stuff that we lost in the fridge melt down.

Justin was fairly well-behaved tonight. His default behaviour is to scream and whine when he decides that something must be done and must be done now. it gets a bit old and tiresome on the ears. But he is learning that I respond better if he asks in a nicer tone of voice. He is very helpful with the bunnies and likes to try new things. Yesterday I moved all the bunnies around so tonight he was saying things like "red...what you doing here?" "Mommy, buttons in wrong cage!!!!" "Hi sweetheart, what you doing here?" and so on and so forth. Learned that I need to fix one of the cages as in YESTERDAY should have fixed it as he pinched his little behind between two pieces of wood. NOT fun.

Jim, my sweet man, has gotten most of the work done in replacing the seals in the rear axles.

And that's about it. The buggy went to bed at 1000, I'm going to bed as soon as I'm done with the blog for the night.

Talk at yah later! :)

The end of Titus

Today we come to the last few words in Paul's letter to Titus.

When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

15All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

Paul has done what he could to help Titus pastor the Cretan church. Now he comes to his closing greetings. He lets Titus know that he'll be wintering over in Nicopolis and that he plans to send Artemas or Tychicus to him. He would like Titus to come if he is able. He urges Titus to help Zenas and Apollos, to send them on their way quickly with all that they need.

He once again urges Titus to help the Cretans learn to devote themselves to good works. To not be unfruitful. To help those who need the help.

He greets everyone and then extends grace to them as well.

I have to admit, sometimes I really like the New Testament way of signing off on letters. To give final greetings at the end. It ends a letter with love expressed clearly to the recipient. But well-crafted letters do that now-a-days too! Just in a different format. I remember once when my brother Fred was in College that he sent home a letter written in NewT style and it just seemed funny at the time. :) Just a different way of writing and helping folks.

Let me do as Paul says....devote myself to good works.
With that said, I'll be off! :)