http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYoZY9AEras
This is one of my all-time favorite songs sung by one of my favorite singers. I hope it blesses you this Easter.
Happy Resurrection Sunday
Originally posted April 24, 2011
My prayer for anyone reading is to have a closer walk with Jesus today, to cherish time with family before it's too late, to look at your children with the awe and wonder of being such an amazing gift from God, and to know His perfect will for your life then have the courage to live in that--whether it brings joy and excitement, or mundane common living.
We sure miss the loved ones who have gone on before us in recent months. I suppose at some point we all start to long for Christ to return not only because of the depravity of mankind, but also because so many close loved ones are already with the Lord, and it's just not as good here without them. ♥
My prayer for anyone reading is to have a closer walk with Jesus today, to cherish time with family before it's too late, to look at your children with the awe and wonder of being such an amazing gift from God, and to know His perfect will for your life then have the courage to live in that--whether it brings joy and excitement, or mundane common living.
We sure miss the loved ones who have gone on before us in recent months. I suppose at some point we all start to long for Christ to return not only because of the depravity of mankind, but also because so many close loved ones are already with the Lord, and it's just not as good here without them. ♥
Easter Service Invitation Idea
Taking food to neighbors is a pleasant way to invite them to church. It can be hard to find the time to make something fancy, so today instead of a sweet, we made a double batch of No Fail French bread, substituting one cup of flour with rolled oats and we added a little gluten. This recipe will make 11 small boules that uncooked, weigh 8 oz. (ok, they are basically big rolls). Rather than bake them immediately, they were allowed to rise for 20 mins or so.
It's a small gesture, but attaching a verse and an invitation to church made it easy to go visiting. I hope this will give you an idea to use on your mission field. As Christians, we can forget that we alone are the light of the world. Think about that; we know there is wretched darkness, and we know people need the light. But how often we forget that the light of God lives in us because of His Holy Spirit in us, so we are the light in this world. It is also easy to forget how messed up the lives of those without Christ are. People take medication to sleep, then to awaken, they are depressed, they have no purpose, financial struggles aren't uncommon, they live with major fears....there are so many people who feel love is conditional.
The harvest is up to the Lord, we just need to speak the truth and approach folks like we have the cure for their disease, because we do.
This is a double-sided tag, I forgot one ingredient--they are brushed in egg white. We punched a hole in the invitations our church made up and put both on the bags with the bread, using the tie to connect them.
Tutor Appreciation Dinner-Pictures (password is our Director's oldestchild's name)
A few weeks ago I received an adorable invitation to a special dinner, appetizers started at 6:15 pm and dinner was to be served at 7 pm. I'd scan a picture of the invitation, but wouldn't you know, our scanner has recently died. (A service will be held later today.)
A lovely confirmation email came to my inbox a few days ago for my reservation at Cafe Malachi. Eagerly anticipating the festivities, my family was reminded I'd be out Thursday night, March 28th!
My girls helped me decide what to wear, and in rare fashion since my husband prefers how I look sans make up, I donned some color and curled my hair. It was exciting to think of the food, fellowship and friends who had been diligently sacrificing time, resources and energy to show us they appreciate our serving as tutors. We work with some creative moms who are also terrific cooks, and with there being such care behind it all, I think each of us was feeling the same about the whole event: touched.
I pulled up behind my good friend, and together we walked up to the 'restaurant' door. We were greeted by a beautiful Italian woman, speaking in her native tongue! We inferred what she spoke to us as she pointed to a fantastic spread of appetizers and beverages in the lounge area. Following was a night to remember, full of laughter and friendship. Italian music graced the airwaves, and comical entertainment ensued throughout the meal.
At the close of the night, we received such sweet parting gifts- handwritten notes from our students, and delicious biscotti!! I was just telling my husband we needed to figure out how to get more of that tasty pastry from our wonderful friend only two nights ago!
I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. It is a night we won't soon forget!
Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening so special. I am amazed at your kindness.
God bless you~Ann
P.S. The word 'drizzle' makes all pastries sound better!
[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4089,4090,4091,4092,4093,4094,4095,4096,4097,4098,4099,4100,4101,4102,4103,4107,4106,4105,4108,4104"]
A lovely confirmation email came to my inbox a few days ago for my reservation at Cafe Malachi. Eagerly anticipating the festivities, my family was reminded I'd be out Thursday night, March 28th!
My girls helped me decide what to wear, and in rare fashion since my husband prefers how I look sans make up, I donned some color and curled my hair. It was exciting to think of the food, fellowship and friends who had been diligently sacrificing time, resources and energy to show us they appreciate our serving as tutors. We work with some creative moms who are also terrific cooks, and with there being such care behind it all, I think each of us was feeling the same about the whole event: touched.
I pulled up behind my good friend, and together we walked up to the 'restaurant' door. We were greeted by a beautiful Italian woman, speaking in her native tongue! We inferred what she spoke to us as she pointed to a fantastic spread of appetizers and beverages in the lounge area. Following was a night to remember, full of laughter and friendship. Italian music graced the airwaves, and comical entertainment ensued throughout the meal.
At the close of the night, we received such sweet parting gifts- handwritten notes from our students, and delicious biscotti!! I was just telling my husband we needed to figure out how to get more of that tasty pastry from our wonderful friend only two nights ago!
I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. It is a night we won't soon forget!
Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening so special. I am amazed at your kindness.
God bless you~Ann
P.S. The word 'drizzle' makes all pastries sound better!
[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4089,4090,4091,4092,4093,4094,4095,4096,4097,4098,4099,4100,4101,4102,4103,4107,4106,4105,4108,4104"]
Laundry Improvement
An interesting phenomenon has transpired here regarding the lack of laundry piling up. We've separated it now by person-everyone has their own little hamper in their bedroom. Towels are in a little hamper hanging up in the main bathroom. The kids have to do their own, though I help the youngest; I take care of my husband's, mine, and all the household linens. If the kids change their sheets, I wash them.
What has changed with this is that they are not tossing clothes in as readily as before. I am not having to get on them to do a load on their assigned day now, either. Now I just ask if people have laundry to do on occasion, and I'll remind them to set their basket outside the washer if they want to be next.
Sure, we are doing more small loads, but I think the clothes are cleaner and their isn't a perpetual pile in the hallway or laundry room (or outside the laundry room). It is such a huge relief for me! Even with all of the kids helping with our combined laundry before this system, there was always so much looming around. It continually bothered me. No more!!!
None of my kids are even 12 yrs old yet, so this can work with elementary aged children!!
What has changed with this is that they are not tossing clothes in as readily as before. I am not having to get on them to do a load on their assigned day now, either. Now I just ask if people have laundry to do on occasion, and I'll remind them to set their basket outside the washer if they want to be next.
Sure, we are doing more small loads, but I think the clothes are cleaner and their isn't a perpetual pile in the hallway or laundry room (or outside the laundry room). It is such a huge relief for me! Even with all of the kids helping with our combined laundry before this system, there was always so much looming around. It continually bothered me. No more!!!
None of my kids are even 12 yrs old yet, so this can work with elementary aged children!!
Cycle 2 Science
To round out Cycle 2 science, the following books can help. I’m sure there are a multitude of resources to pull from, this is just what I happen to have around. What is blank, I’ll use the new science cards for. These books are from a biblical perspective. If you have a resource you love that covers something here, or if I’ve made an error, please leave a comment.
• Jeannie Fulbright Astronomy JFA
• Jeannie Fulbright Astronomy JFA
• Jeannie Fulbright Zoology 1 JFZ
• Christian Kids Explore Biology CKEB, Physics CKEP, Chemistry CKEC
• Exploring the World of Chemistry by Tiner EWC
• The Weather Book by Oard TWB
• The Astronomy Book by Henry TAB
• The Ocean Book by Sherwin TOB
- Week 1 biomes, CKEB L3
- Week 2 natural cycles
- Week 3 pollution, TWB c10
- Week 4 food chain, CKEB L23
- Week 5 consumers, CKEB L5
- Week 6 animals changing, JFZ p 61, 62-not enough
- Week 7 stars, JFA L13, TAB c8
- Week 8 sun, JFA L2, TAB c7
- Week 9 planets, TAB c7
- Week 10 moon, TAB, JFA L6, TOB c4
- Week 11 solar system, TAB c7
- Week 12 space missions, TAB c6, JFA L14
- Week 13 matter, CKEP L4
- Week 14 acid/base, CKEC L16/17
- Week 15 energy
- Week 16-21 Newton’s laws, CKEP L17 (not sure if enough)
- Week 22 light, EWC c7
- Week 23 heat
- Week 24 electricity, EWC c5, CKEP L27
There Is So Much
It's overwhelming all the issues the current administration (aka King Obama) is pressing at once. Conservatives are warring against a virtual tsunami, from concerns over the Internet no longer being free, to healthcare that horrifically provides abortion services, to homosexual's being given the right to "marry", to the 'one payer' healthcare option, and last but not least, the UN Treaty on the Rights of the Child, which takes away parental freedoms to a degree that it surely offends a holy God who has given children to the care of their parents to raise in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
How can we stand against all of these attacks, waging war against the very fiber of our existence as followers of Christ who hold freedom and the right to life as precious gifts from the one and only Creator God?
On the knees of my heart I cry out to God, acknowledging that there is only so much I can do while still heeding the call on my life to serve my husband and children: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, EPH 6:12.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come Quickly for your own!
How can we stand against all of these attacks, waging war against the very fiber of our existence as followers of Christ who hold freedom and the right to life as precious gifts from the one and only Creator God?
On the knees of my heart I cry out to God, acknowledging that there is only so much I can do while still heeding the call on my life to serve my husband and children: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, EPH 6:12.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come Quickly for your own!
Unions, Public Schools and Minority Children by Star Parker
Unions, public schools and minority children by Star Parker
According to the Los Angeles Times, "just 39 percent of L.A.'s fourth-graders are even basically literate."
Star Parker, founder and president of CURESpeaking a couple years ago about technology and education, Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs said that technology wouldn't matter as long as you can't fire teachers.
"I believe that what is wrong with our schools in this nation is that they have become unionized in the worst possible way," he said.
Jobs likened schools to running a small business that he said could never succeed if you can't hire and fire.
Reasonable? I think so.
Would anyone question that there is no single thing more critical to a nation's future than educating its children?
Yet, consider that 88 percent of our children get K-12 education in public schools and that 70 percent of the teachers in these schools have union protected jobs.
Gallup has been polling public opinion about unions since the 1930's. Last year, for the first time, less than half (48 percent) of those surveyed approved of unions. Fifty one percent said unions "mostly hurt" the U.S. economy and 39 percent said they "mostly help."
The percentage of the nation's private sector work force that belongs to a union has dropped precipitously. In the 1950's, over 30 percent belonged to unions. Today it's a little over seven percent.
But in our public schools, the direction is completely opposite. In 1960, about 35 percent of public school teachers belonged to unions and today it's twice that at 70 percent.
Is it not counterintuitive that most Americans feel unions hurt us, that we allow increasingly fewer goods and services produced in our private sector to be controlled by unions, but we turn increasingly more of our most precious commodity -- our children and their education -- over to a union-controlled workforce?
In an article in the latest edition of Cato Journal, Andrew Coulson notes that, on average, compensation of public school teachers is about 42 percent higher than their counterparts teaching in non-unionized private schools. Yet, according to Coulson, research shows that private schools consistently outperform public schools.
He attributes the higher average wages of public school teachers less to union collective bargaining and more to the political clout of unions to maintain the public school monopoly over K-12 education.
Over 95 percent of the political contributions of the two national teachers' unions -- the NEA and AFT --- go to Democrats or to the Democrat Party. Their $56 million in political contributions since 1989 equals that of "Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Lockheed Martin, and the National Rifle Association combined."
The main beneficiaries of education alternatives are minority children. Yet, at the state level, unions provide a unified lobbying front to block such initiatives.
A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed reported on the glowing success of charter schools in Harlem. "Nationwide the average black 12th grader reads at the level of a white eighth grader. Yet, Harlem charter students ....are outperforming their white peers in wealthy suburbs."
Yet, in 2009 the New York teachers union successfully lobbied the state legislature to freeze charter school spending and now is pushing to limit penetration of charters in school districts.
Kids in Los Angeles' public schools are overwhelming Hispanic and black. According to the Los Angeles Times, "just 39 percent of L.A.'s fourth-graders are even basically literate." Yet, the Times attributed union lobbying to undermining a recent attempt by the L.A. school board to open failing schools to non-unionized charters.
Similarly, unions played a major role in recently killing the successful private school scholarship program in Washington, DC.
But there's a significant and promising sign that blacks are beginning to fight back.
Rev. James Meeks, founder and senior pastor of the largest black church in Illinois, who is also a Democrat state senator, is taking on the unions. He has introduced a bill opening the door for vouchers for kids in Chicago's public schools.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "just 39 percent of L.A.'s fourth-graders are even basically literate."
Star Parker, founder and president of CURESpeaking a couple years ago about technology and education, Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs said that technology wouldn't matter as long as you can't fire teachers.
"I believe that what is wrong with our schools in this nation is that they have become unionized in the worst possible way," he said.
Jobs likened schools to running a small business that he said could never succeed if you can't hire and fire.
Reasonable? I think so.
Would anyone question that there is no single thing more critical to a nation's future than educating its children?
Yet, consider that 88 percent of our children get K-12 education in public schools and that 70 percent of the teachers in these schools have union protected jobs.
Gallup has been polling public opinion about unions since the 1930's. Last year, for the first time, less than half (48 percent) of those surveyed approved of unions. Fifty one percent said unions "mostly hurt" the U.S. economy and 39 percent said they "mostly help."
The percentage of the nation's private sector work force that belongs to a union has dropped precipitously. In the 1950's, over 30 percent belonged to unions. Today it's a little over seven percent.
But in our public schools, the direction is completely opposite. In 1960, about 35 percent of public school teachers belonged to unions and today it's twice that at 70 percent.
Is it not counterintuitive that most Americans feel unions hurt us, that we allow increasingly fewer goods and services produced in our private sector to be controlled by unions, but we turn increasingly more of our most precious commodity -- our children and their education -- over to a union-controlled workforce?
In an article in the latest edition of Cato Journal, Andrew Coulson notes that, on average, compensation of public school teachers is about 42 percent higher than their counterparts teaching in non-unionized private schools. Yet, according to Coulson, research shows that private schools consistently outperform public schools.
He attributes the higher average wages of public school teachers less to union collective bargaining and more to the political clout of unions to maintain the public school monopoly over K-12 education.
Over 95 percent of the political contributions of the two national teachers' unions -- the NEA and AFT --- go to Democrats or to the Democrat Party. Their $56 million in political contributions since 1989 equals that of "Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Lockheed Martin, and the National Rifle Association combined."
The main beneficiaries of education alternatives are minority children. Yet, at the state level, unions provide a unified lobbying front to block such initiatives.
A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed reported on the glowing success of charter schools in Harlem. "Nationwide the average black 12th grader reads at the level of a white eighth grader. Yet, Harlem charter students ....are outperforming their white peers in wealthy suburbs."
Yet, in 2009 the New York teachers union successfully lobbied the state legislature to freeze charter school spending and now is pushing to limit penetration of charters in school districts.
Kids in Los Angeles' public schools are overwhelming Hispanic and black. According to the Los Angeles Times, "just 39 percent of L.A.'s fourth-graders are even basically literate." Yet, the Times attributed union lobbying to undermining a recent attempt by the L.A. school board to open failing schools to non-unionized charters.
Similarly, unions played a major role in recently killing the successful private school scholarship program in Washington, DC.
But there's a significant and promising sign that blacks are beginning to fight back.
Rev. James Meeks, founder and senior pastor of the largest black church in Illinois, who is also a Democrat state senator, is taking on the unions. He has introduced a bill opening the door for vouchers for kids in Chicago's public schools.
My Other Blog
I've been hanging out at my other blog more lately...but to do something great, head over to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's website to sign the petition in support of him doing his JOB and upholding the Constitution of the United States and Virginia! Long live freedom and may God protect the righteous during these difficult days.
Something to Anticipate
Well, we won't all be equally anticipating this, sad to say. Progressives will have the edge on the excitement over Conservatives since this is part of what they wanted, but we can get in on the action if we fail to get our cards in time.
http://www.atr.org/sixmonths.html?content=5171
http://www.atr.org/sixmonths.html?content=5171
Arizona
There is little to say about the horrific tragedy that swept Arizona today during what should have been a proud moment of American's exercising their freedom to attend a meet and greet with an elected official. Instead, many are dead or wounded, including Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was apparently the main target of the horrible shooter. It is beyond heart breaking to read of such a terrible event and to think of the families of those who are either gone suddenly or struggling to survive. Please be in prayer for those in Arizona.
This Needs No Words
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqTFNfeDnE&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3]
Remembering Me
Nearing 40, I've known plenty of people who have passed in to eternity. It was hardest to lose my mom when I was in college. She was a woman I dearly loved. We saw many things the same, some things differently, but we could talk. A week later, her mother-my Bubby, died. That same month many years prior, my 2 yr old cousin died due to a a complication from chicken pox.
A few years ago, the same month as all of those mentioned, my beloved mother-in-law passed into eternity. How I hope to have a daughter-in-law that loves me as I loved her.
The list doesn't stop there...an uncle, my friend's infant son, the rest of my grandparents, my husband's grandmother, friends, and friends/family of friends/family...
When I think of my friends and their family, there are images in my mind of how they'll be remembered. My closest friend's grandpa and his hats and kind expression, another good friend's mom and how she bakes sourdough for elderly friends and various neighbors, and so many of my precious friends that I hope I predecease.
We are all leaving impressions with people, day in and day out. If someone knows us at all, if we die before them, they are going to think of a predominate characteristic to associate with us anytime they happen to remember us. And this brings me to what I've been thinking a lot about lately.
How am I going to be remembered?
A few years ago, the same month as all of those mentioned, my beloved mother-in-law passed into eternity. How I hope to have a daughter-in-law that loves me as I loved her.
The list doesn't stop there...an uncle, my friend's infant son, the rest of my grandparents, my husband's grandmother, friends, and friends/family of friends/family...
When I think of my friends and their family, there are images in my mind of how they'll be remembered. My closest friend's grandpa and his hats and kind expression, another good friend's mom and how she bakes sourdough for elderly friends and various neighbors, and so many of my precious friends that I hope I predecease.
We are all leaving impressions with people, day in and day out. If someone knows us at all, if we die before them, they are going to think of a predominate characteristic to associate with us anytime they happen to remember us. And this brings me to what I've been thinking a lot about lately.
How am I going to be remembered?
Is It A Different Gospel?
I can't figure out why the church thinks that soft-selling Christianity, in a world that is more wicked than ever, is going to result in true converts. Churches that bring in masses of unbelievers with their music or programs, then get those people volunteering, are perpetually in a state of 'bringing people along' in the faith. They give the weak or not-even-true-believers a false sense of security. What does it mean to 'bring people along' in the faith? Is there a belief that people will go from being unsaved to saved if they hang out in our midst? It seems like it, but I don't think people generally come to faith in an atmosphere where they feel comfortable being and staying just as they are. What I've seen in churches that bring in hoards of worldly people is that maturity never happens in the solid believers in the church because they are always in the mode of helping along people who aren't really saved or who are new Christians. Sermons are simplistic and leave mature believers starved for something meaty; Sunday school is little more than a social gathering discussing topics that should have been covered in grade school.
Is this the purpose of the church according to the book of Acts?
I say, 'no'. The church is for believers. It is there to exhort and encourage, a place to come together with those who are like-minded because if we are working for the Lord in our daily lives, we are persecuted.
Always working, always 'serving' is the new mega church of today. Can we even effectively serve God if we aren't in the Word being made like Christ regularly? What sort of service pleases Him? If we are working hard within a church that is not in His will, I'd say it's questionable if we are pleasing Him. How much work should there even be to do in a church anyway? Shouldn't it be a place to worship, be instructed and encouraged, then to go out from? Should church require so much of our time and energy that Sunday is not a day of rest for many?
The real danger with this new method of 'hoping Christianity will be attractive to the lost and then at some point they will cross over to being solid followers of Christ' is that 1. no one knows if or when this occurs and 2. it is unbiblical. Look at how people came to Christ in Scripture. The gospel was offensive. The message of the Cross was one with serious repercussions. People were not cajoled in to having faith. They didn't feel comfortable interacting amidst the apostles or early church fathers unless they had converted. The music didn't lure them in and Peter and John weren't telling humorous anecdotes.
In short, we don't slip slowly in to the pool of biblical Christianity, peeling back our sinful layers like an onion, working toward the heart. No, Christianity pierces our hearts and we are dramatically changed on the inside. The glorious hope of the Gospel is that the old can be left completely behind and a new song of praise is put in our mouths.
I purport that faith that isn't offensive at the outset is not true Christianity. Broad is the road that leads to destruction, and we need to be leery of selling a 'your life will be better because of Christ' Christianity. We inoculate people to the gospel when we give them just enough to make them enjoy the morality of it and the nice people to fellowship with. They think they've heard the message after being around it for a while, so they never really interact with it and come to terms with it. It is not a place of comfort coming to terms with our sin. It is a place of serious reflection and dying to ourselves. How is it that people think we can just bring in the masses and they will give their lives to Christ eventually? Again, we must be converted personally and privately, then desire to live for Him and serve Him in whatever way He leads us (not be pressured by the onslaught of ministries in the church pulling at us continually).
I dare say, a church that interviews it's potential members to see if they are actually saved could be more on track than many of today's mega churches drawing in the masses with feel-good music and funny sermons that continually say 'go and tell, go and tell'.
Look at what John Wesley was doing before he was even saved, with his holiness club thoughts. Sure, there is a risk of legalism with a list like that, but the broader take-home is how serious a man who wasn't even saved was about his character. There was such a seriousness to Christianity. Is the message the same now that it is full of so much fun, celebration, and just living as a believer and calling oneself a missionary? Or is this a new Christianity? Is it a different gospel?
Is this the purpose of the church according to the book of Acts?
I say, 'no'. The church is for believers. It is there to exhort and encourage, a place to come together with those who are like-minded because if we are working for the Lord in our daily lives, we are persecuted.
Always working, always 'serving' is the new mega church of today. Can we even effectively serve God if we aren't in the Word being made like Christ regularly? What sort of service pleases Him? If we are working hard within a church that is not in His will, I'd say it's questionable if we are pleasing Him. How much work should there even be to do in a church anyway? Shouldn't it be a place to worship, be instructed and encouraged, then to go out from? Should church require so much of our time and energy that Sunday is not a day of rest for many?
The real danger with this new method of 'hoping Christianity will be attractive to the lost and then at some point they will cross over to being solid followers of Christ' is that 1. no one knows if or when this occurs and 2. it is unbiblical. Look at how people came to Christ in Scripture. The gospel was offensive. The message of the Cross was one with serious repercussions. People were not cajoled in to having faith. They didn't feel comfortable interacting amidst the apostles or early church fathers unless they had converted. The music didn't lure them in and Peter and John weren't telling humorous anecdotes.
In short, we don't slip slowly in to the pool of biblical Christianity, peeling back our sinful layers like an onion, working toward the heart. No, Christianity pierces our hearts and we are dramatically changed on the inside. The glorious hope of the Gospel is that the old can be left completely behind and a new song of praise is put in our mouths.
I purport that faith that isn't offensive at the outset is not true Christianity. Broad is the road that leads to destruction, and we need to be leery of selling a 'your life will be better because of Christ' Christianity. We inoculate people to the gospel when we give them just enough to make them enjoy the morality of it and the nice people to fellowship with. They think they've heard the message after being around it for a while, so they never really interact with it and come to terms with it. It is not a place of comfort coming to terms with our sin. It is a place of serious reflection and dying to ourselves. How is it that people think we can just bring in the masses and they will give their lives to Christ eventually? Again, we must be converted personally and privately, then desire to live for Him and serve Him in whatever way He leads us (not be pressured by the onslaught of ministries in the church pulling at us continually).
I dare say, a church that interviews it's potential members to see if they are actually saved could be more on track than many of today's mega churches drawing in the masses with feel-good music and funny sermons that continually say 'go and tell, go and tell'.
Look at what John Wesley was doing before he was even saved, with his holiness club thoughts. Sure, there is a risk of legalism with a list like that, but the broader take-home is how serious a man who wasn't even saved was about his character. There was such a seriousness to Christianity. Is the message the same now that it is full of so much fun, celebration, and just living as a believer and calling oneself a missionary? Or is this a new Christianity? Is it a different gospel?
Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea
Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea portrays what the events surrounding Hosea's marrying Gomer could have been like. It is a depiction of God's love for His unfaithful chosen nation, Israel, during the time of the 2 kingdoms. The truth that shouldn't be missed is that God told Hosea to marry her, and then he loved her. Our way of 'falling in love' then marrying could use some re-evaluating. If we base love on a feeling, the divorce rate would be much like what it actually is today...but I digress.
On Netflix you can watch Amazing Love with instant streaming.
I love the character chosen to be Hosea, Isaiah Alexander. He is beautiful in his devotion to God and his expressions toward Gomer are so touching. The actress playing Gomer does a terrific job as well. She is a beauty, but so lost and shallow. What impressed me the most is how well the idea of God's unconditional love is communicated, and one image left in my mind is something I've revisted as I cogitate on what God's love is. I don't know that I've grasped the root of God's unconditional love for His people.
A statement Hosea makes also sticks with me (I've watched this twice; once to screen to see if it was ok for my kids, once with the family). Hosea speaks of idols: they have mouths but do not speak; eyes yet they do not see; ears but they do not hear--and the people who worship them, become like them. The people who worship them, become LIKE them.
Are we Christians hearing? Are we seeing? Are we speaking truth? Have we become like what we cherish; if so, is it God or something else?
We often use some form of invisible measuring stick against the world to determine if we are 'right' within our Christian framework, but we ought to measure against God's standard since this world is increasing in wickedness at an alarming rate. What we put before our eyes is often what we desire and seek after, and idols can creep in subtly. How careful we must be to set before ourselves things that align with God's word--things that are pure, just, holy.
God help us to not be as worthless objects of worship, but to be mindful each day that He lives within us, and we are His representatives.
Colossians 3: 1-3
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 [a]Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
On Netflix you can watch Amazing Love with instant streaming.
I love the character chosen to be Hosea, Isaiah Alexander. He is beautiful in his devotion to God and his expressions toward Gomer are so touching. The actress playing Gomer does a terrific job as well. She is a beauty, but so lost and shallow. What impressed me the most is how well the idea of God's unconditional love is communicated, and one image left in my mind is something I've revisted as I cogitate on what God's love is. I don't know that I've grasped the root of God's unconditional love for His people.
A statement Hosea makes also sticks with me (I've watched this twice; once to screen to see if it was ok for my kids, once with the family). Hosea speaks of idols: they have mouths but do not speak; eyes yet they do not see; ears but they do not hear--and the people who worship them, become like them. The people who worship them, become LIKE them.
Are we Christians hearing? Are we seeing? Are we speaking truth? Have we become like what we cherish; if so, is it God or something else?
We often use some form of invisible measuring stick against the world to determine if we are 'right' within our Christian framework, but we ought to measure against God's standard since this world is increasing in wickedness at an alarming rate. What we put before our eyes is often what we desire and seek after, and idols can creep in subtly. How careful we must be to set before ourselves things that align with God's word--things that are pure, just, holy.
God help us to not be as worthless objects of worship, but to be mindful each day that He lives within us, and we are His representatives.
Colossians 3: 1-3
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 [a]Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Holiness Club
When John Wesley put forth his holiness club questions, he was not yet saved. Isn't that interesting? It has given me something to think about yet again--that focusing on something like holiness can become legalistic. It's tough to balance all we need to in this walk!
Chivalry Isn't Dead-At Least at Benjamin Moore
I'm working on painting our dining room...it's a project which began last summer I regret to to report. It's typical of a room that is a challenge. Part of the struggle was selecting paint colors. Leaving my beloved Behr, I found myself nearing desperation in Benjamin Moore, earnestly seeking 3 coordinating colors. Today when I went in to make the purchase, I was delighted when the salesman said he would carry my purchase to the car. He hoisted the 3 gallons and some supplies on his shoulder with ease, and followed behind me as I headed to the car. As we neared the door, that subtle interaction occurred, which often can, between a man and a woman. Given how polite he was with the heavy items, I slowed my pace just enough for him to get the door for us. I can't help but wonder what went through his mind in those moments, if anything. I know that many men today worry about offending women with acts such as that.
In today's world, so many women want to show they can take care of themselves. Men are often brushed aside as she gets the door herself or opens it for him. The delicate dance with a stranger, of assuming gender specific roles, is often a thing of the past. There was a time where I would have rejected the offer for this salesman to carry my products, and a time where I would have squelched his manliness and gotten the door myself. But now I realize there is a beauty and a rightness in allowing myself to be a card carrying member of the weaker sex, and a beauty in depending on the strength of a man to look out for me. I can't help but feel it does something good to the soul of a man when he is afforded that opportunity, because God made men to provide, protect, and lead. It feels good when we're all doing what we were designed to do.
In all honesty, this man probably didn't think very much about the interaction we had today, unless at some point in his life he was yelled at for offering to carry something for a woman or was scoffed at when he opened a door for a woman. I was decisive (since I'd been in the store numerous times over the last few weeks) and he had never seen me before. There was no way I could carry that load easily all the way to my car, and he was providing the service he was probably trained to provide. But I knew in that instant as we reached the door, a decision on my part would determine what transpired next. And he was watching for my cue--would I step ahead and hold the door open for him after I went through, or would I do that imperceptible movement of appearing to not break stride while slowing, communicating that I'd be pleased for him to get the door?
This simple interaction has given me such a feeling of thanks and praise to God. Being freed from the shackles of liberalism brings great peace and satisfaction. I feel sorry for the times I squelched various men's desire treat me like a lady, and hope to be successful instilling my children with the proper view of how to act around the opposite sex. Of course, ladies 'can' do 'it' ourselves very often, but it isn't about can; it's about should. Are we bettering society by telling men we don't need them or appreciate their strength or desire to treat us as feminine? Or do our subtle ways of taking care of the little niceties a part of the wicking away we've seen in our culture of traditional gender roles?
Christian moms, please do all you can to teach your daughters to be competent, but also wise. One day they may marry men that need help in becoming confident as a leader; chances are he will need her to stand by him as he makes a few mistakes. She may enjoy feeling as though she can conquer the world when she is young, but as she ages and her body starts to ache, she'll find she is not as strong as in her youth. I think many ladies will regret teaching their husband, and possibly sons, that they don't appreciate or need their strength. I love the glow in my son's eyes when he helps me by doing a 'man's' chore, and how eagerly he skips to open my doors. I want him to show honor and respect to ladies in this way because I believe it will carry over to all the ways in which he relates to a young lady in the future. It is a privilege to be a member of the weaker sex, and I feel the deception women have allowed themselves to be caught up in over the past 40 years or so has led to more stress related health problems and premature aging. If you are married and not fully satisfied with your marriage, I'd like to recommend a book: Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl. I know there are some men out there who really have twisted their position and responsibility so much they don't enjoy things being done the way God designed, but I think many men respond quite well to a wife that shows him respect in ways that speak to him. It's part of how they are wired.
Just a few thoughts~
Ann
In today's world, so many women want to show they can take care of themselves. Men are often brushed aside as she gets the door herself or opens it for him. The delicate dance with a stranger, of assuming gender specific roles, is often a thing of the past. There was a time where I would have rejected the offer for this salesman to carry my products, and a time where I would have squelched his manliness and gotten the door myself. But now I realize there is a beauty and a rightness in allowing myself to be a card carrying member of the weaker sex, and a beauty in depending on the strength of a man to look out for me. I can't help but feel it does something good to the soul of a man when he is afforded that opportunity, because God made men to provide, protect, and lead. It feels good when we're all doing what we were designed to do.
In all honesty, this man probably didn't think very much about the interaction we had today, unless at some point in his life he was yelled at for offering to carry something for a woman or was scoffed at when he opened a door for a woman. I was decisive (since I'd been in the store numerous times over the last few weeks) and he had never seen me before. There was no way I could carry that load easily all the way to my car, and he was providing the service he was probably trained to provide. But I knew in that instant as we reached the door, a decision on my part would determine what transpired next. And he was watching for my cue--would I step ahead and hold the door open for him after I went through, or would I do that imperceptible movement of appearing to not break stride while slowing, communicating that I'd be pleased for him to get the door?
This simple interaction has given me such a feeling of thanks and praise to God. Being freed from the shackles of liberalism brings great peace and satisfaction. I feel sorry for the times I squelched various men's desire treat me like a lady, and hope to be successful instilling my children with the proper view of how to act around the opposite sex. Of course, ladies 'can' do 'it' ourselves very often, but it isn't about can; it's about should. Are we bettering society by telling men we don't need them or appreciate their strength or desire to treat us as feminine? Or do our subtle ways of taking care of the little niceties a part of the wicking away we've seen in our culture of traditional gender roles?
Christian moms, please do all you can to teach your daughters to be competent, but also wise. One day they may marry men that need help in becoming confident as a leader; chances are he will need her to stand by him as he makes a few mistakes. She may enjoy feeling as though she can conquer the world when she is young, but as she ages and her body starts to ache, she'll find she is not as strong as in her youth. I think many ladies will regret teaching their husband, and possibly sons, that they don't appreciate or need their strength. I love the glow in my son's eyes when he helps me by doing a 'man's' chore, and how eagerly he skips to open my doors. I want him to show honor and respect to ladies in this way because I believe it will carry over to all the ways in which he relates to a young lady in the future. It is a privilege to be a member of the weaker sex, and I feel the deception women have allowed themselves to be caught up in over the past 40 years or so has led to more stress related health problems and premature aging. If you are married and not fully satisfied with your marriage, I'd like to recommend a book: Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl. I know there are some men out there who really have twisted their position and responsibility so much they don't enjoy things being done the way God designed, but I think many men respond quite well to a wife that shows him respect in ways that speak to him. It's part of how they are wired.
Just a few thoughts~
Ann
Germany During Hitlers Reign...Not A Distant Thought
''History Doesn't Repeat Itself -- But It Rhymes''
{Sad to say, Jack Kinsella passed away March 14th. This article is being reposted from Rapture Ready. I don't agree with everything on that site, but a lot of it is good. Mr. Kinsella is fortunate at this point, I'd say. With the Lord and able to avoid the disaster coming to America. }
By Jack Kinsella
Editor's note: Someone sent me a link to this article by my friend Jack Kinsella from some years ago. It is archived within his Omega Letter archives. It is one of the most pertinent think-pieces I've read, portraying an historical era that our time so closely mirrors as to be frighteningly eerie. It is from June 4, 2011.
--Terry James
In 1933, Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany. He took office in January, with Fritz Von Papen as vice-Chancellor to keep him in check. Only twenty years earlier the German Kaiser led his people into a disastrous war with the West.
Germans had had enough of the monarchy and the absolute power it had, and demanded the Kaiser's abdication. Having gotten rid of the Emperor, the new German Republic carefully separated powers between the presidency and the chancellery.
But President Von Hindenburg was 86 years old when Hitler assumed the title of Chancellor of Germany. The timing was perfect.
Hitler's ascendancy was meteoric. In the early 1920's, he was little more than a neighborhood organizer. Over time, as hyper-inflation and catastrophic unemployment hit Germany, Hitler's movement, dubbed 'national socialism' grew into a fringe party.
In 1923, leading what he hoped would be a violent overthrow of the Weimar Republic, Hitler leapt to a table in a beer hall in Bavaria and called on a gathering of officials to support him in the march on Munich.
Instead, they arrested him, put him in prison and outlawed the Nazi party. After his release, Hitler set about reorganizing the national socialists as a movement. In 1927, when the government lifted the ban on national socialism, it became a political party. In 1928, the Nazis managed only 3% of the vote.
It wasn't until 1931 that Hitler began to made inroads within the vast German center-right political monolith still controlled by traditional conservatives like von Hindenberg.
In the 1932 election, thanks to such tactics as voter intimidation, voter registration fraud, voter fraud at the polls, etc. the national socialists managed a solid majority in Parliament.
In January, 1933 and only days after Hitler assumed the chancellorship, there was an explosion followed by a fire in the Parliament building. Hitler declared an emergency and rammed home the 1933 Enabling Act that allowed an emergency suspension of civil rights.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
President von Hindenburg died in August, 1934. Within hours of his death, the German parliament issued the following press release:
"The Reich Government has enacted the following law which is hereby promulgated.
Section 1. The office of Reich President will be combined with that of Reich Chancellor. The existing authority of the Reich President will consequently be transferred to the Führer and Reich Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He will select his deputy.
Section 2. This law is effective as of the time of the death of Reich President von Hindenburg."
The law was technically illegal since it violated provisions of the German constitution concerning presidential succession as well as the Enabling Act of 1933 which forbade Hitler from altering the presidency.
But whether or not he was legally eligible to serve didn't matter much anymore.
Hitler declared himself Fuhrer and ordered a referendum to retroactively confirm it.
So on August 19, Germany, still grieving its beloved war hero and president, went to the polls and confirmed Adolf Hitler as their Fuhrer, an action that only four years earlier would have been unthinkable.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
In 1933, Germany was one of the most cultured and honorable nations on earth. German honor was legendary, particularly among German military officers who would rather die than dishonor themselves or their sacred oath of service.
The German culture at the time was such that, despite the World War and its excesses, Germany was THE place for foreign exchange students and was a favored diplomatic posting.
Hitler was widely respected at first for his governing ability. He nationalized much of Germany's banking system and began pouring money into the German infrastructure.
The first interstate highway system in the world was Adolf Hitler's Autobahn. The 'People's Car' (Volkswagen in German) was introduced at Hitler's insistence.
Hitler's political popularity morphed into a kind of cult worship in which he was styled as the German messiah. (The word 'fuhrer' is generally translated 'leader' but it is actually closer to the English word 'lord'. )
Britain's King Edward had so fallen under Hitler's spell that it was necessary to force his abdication to prevent England from being ruled by a Nazi sympathizer. (Edward died in exile in 1972)
In 1934, when Adolf Hitler became the supreme leader of Germany, Germany had both a free press and a legally elected parliament.
The German Republic was a functioning, western-style representative democracy. Germany was known for, and disliked because of its excesses, but it was also known for being one of the world's most honorable countries.
The demands of national socialism required rounding up certain classes of people. Experiments began on efficient ways to euthanize those deemed to be a drain on the German economy or damaging to its culture.
At first, it was baby steps, nationalizing the banks, rounding up firearms, demonizing certain classes of people, etc.
But desperate times call for desperate measures.
The trick to making it all work is making sure the times are desperate enough to justify the measures being advanced.
Here's the point. When von Hindenburg died in August, 1934, Germany was still one of the most honorable and cultured nations in Europe and everybody from King Edward of England to FDR thought Hitler was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
FDR's biggest worry abut Germany in 1934 was that competition posed by growing German industrial power might further damage America's depressed economy.
Only four years later, German Jews were being beaten and killed and their property either destroyed or confiscated during Kristallnacht (The Night of the Broken Glass).
What is the point I am trying to make here? There is no period in history that more perfectly mirrors the current global situation that that of the 1930s -- and on almost every scale of measurement; economic, political and spiritual.
One of the truisms of history, which has been observed by everyone from philosopher Georges Santayana to George Bernard Shaw is this: "One thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. "
So, what does history teach us? Free speech is only free under certain circumstances in this brave, new 21st century world.
And my sense of history tells me this isn't one of them.
www.omegaletter.com
{Sad to say, Jack Kinsella passed away March 14th. This article is being reposted from Rapture Ready. I don't agree with everything on that site, but a lot of it is good. Mr. Kinsella is fortunate at this point, I'd say. With the Lord and able to avoid the disaster coming to America. }
By Jack Kinsella
Editor's note: Someone sent me a link to this article by my friend Jack Kinsella from some years ago. It is archived within his Omega Letter archives. It is one of the most pertinent think-pieces I've read, portraying an historical era that our time so closely mirrors as to be frighteningly eerie. It is from June 4, 2011.
--Terry James
In 1933, Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany. He took office in January, with Fritz Von Papen as vice-Chancellor to keep him in check. Only twenty years earlier the German Kaiser led his people into a disastrous war with the West.
Germans had had enough of the monarchy and the absolute power it had, and demanded the Kaiser's abdication. Having gotten rid of the Emperor, the new German Republic carefully separated powers between the presidency and the chancellery.
But President Von Hindenburg was 86 years old when Hitler assumed the title of Chancellor of Germany. The timing was perfect.
Hitler's ascendancy was meteoric. In the early 1920's, he was little more than a neighborhood organizer. Over time, as hyper-inflation and catastrophic unemployment hit Germany, Hitler's movement, dubbed 'national socialism' grew into a fringe party.
In 1923, leading what he hoped would be a violent overthrow of the Weimar Republic, Hitler leapt to a table in a beer hall in Bavaria and called on a gathering of officials to support him in the march on Munich.
Instead, they arrested him, put him in prison and outlawed the Nazi party. After his release, Hitler set about reorganizing the national socialists as a movement. In 1927, when the government lifted the ban on national socialism, it became a political party. In 1928, the Nazis managed only 3% of the vote.
It wasn't until 1931 that Hitler began to made inroads within the vast German center-right political monolith still controlled by traditional conservatives like von Hindenberg.
In the 1932 election, thanks to such tactics as voter intimidation, voter registration fraud, voter fraud at the polls, etc. the national socialists managed a solid majority in Parliament.
In January, 1933 and only days after Hitler assumed the chancellorship, there was an explosion followed by a fire in the Parliament building. Hitler declared an emergency and rammed home the 1933 Enabling Act that allowed an emergency suspension of civil rights.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
President von Hindenburg died in August, 1934. Within hours of his death, the German parliament issued the following press release:
"The Reich Government has enacted the following law which is hereby promulgated.
Section 1. The office of Reich President will be combined with that of Reich Chancellor. The existing authority of the Reich President will consequently be transferred to the Führer and Reich Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He will select his deputy.
Section 2. This law is effective as of the time of the death of Reich President von Hindenburg."
The law was technically illegal since it violated provisions of the German constitution concerning presidential succession as well as the Enabling Act of 1933 which forbade Hitler from altering the presidency.
But whether or not he was legally eligible to serve didn't matter much anymore.
Hitler declared himself Fuhrer and ordered a referendum to retroactively confirm it.
So on August 19, Germany, still grieving its beloved war hero and president, went to the polls and confirmed Adolf Hitler as their Fuhrer, an action that only four years earlier would have been unthinkable.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
In 1933, Germany was one of the most cultured and honorable nations on earth. German honor was legendary, particularly among German military officers who would rather die than dishonor themselves or their sacred oath of service.
The German culture at the time was such that, despite the World War and its excesses, Germany was THE place for foreign exchange students and was a favored diplomatic posting.
Hitler was widely respected at first for his governing ability. He nationalized much of Germany's banking system and began pouring money into the German infrastructure.
The first interstate highway system in the world was Adolf Hitler's Autobahn. The 'People's Car' (Volkswagen in German) was introduced at Hitler's insistence.
Hitler's political popularity morphed into a kind of cult worship in which he was styled as the German messiah. (The word 'fuhrer' is generally translated 'leader' but it is actually closer to the English word 'lord'. )
Britain's King Edward had so fallen under Hitler's spell that it was necessary to force his abdication to prevent England from being ruled by a Nazi sympathizer. (Edward died in exile in 1972)
In 1934, when Adolf Hitler became the supreme leader of Germany, Germany had both a free press and a legally elected parliament.
The German Republic was a functioning, western-style representative democracy. Germany was known for, and disliked because of its excesses, but it was also known for being one of the world's most honorable countries.
The demands of national socialism required rounding up certain classes of people. Experiments began on efficient ways to euthanize those deemed to be a drain on the German economy or damaging to its culture.
At first, it was baby steps, nationalizing the banks, rounding up firearms, demonizing certain classes of people, etc.
But desperate times call for desperate measures.
The trick to making it all work is making sure the times are desperate enough to justify the measures being advanced.
Here's the point. When von Hindenburg died in August, 1934, Germany was still one of the most honorable and cultured nations in Europe and everybody from King Edward of England to FDR thought Hitler was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
FDR's biggest worry abut Germany in 1934 was that competition posed by growing German industrial power might further damage America's depressed economy.
Only four years later, German Jews were being beaten and killed and their property either destroyed or confiscated during Kristallnacht (The Night of the Broken Glass).
What is the point I am trying to make here? There is no period in history that more perfectly mirrors the current global situation that that of the 1930s -- and on almost every scale of measurement; economic, political and spiritual.
One of the truisms of history, which has been observed by everyone from philosopher Georges Santayana to George Bernard Shaw is this: "One thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. "
So, what does history teach us? Free speech is only free under certain circumstances in this brave, new 21st century world.
And my sense of history tells me this isn't one of them.
www.omegaletter.com
Simplifying-Another Look
A few minutes ago my beautiful cat came to sit up on my stomach while I balanced the laptop on my legs. She is a sociable kitty and came for the sole purpose of being pet by me. Obligingly, I commenced rubbing her face in a way that made her lay her neck on my arm, and wrap a paw over the same arm to brace herself while she nuzzled down in total satisfaction. Her purring and body posture told me she couldn't have been more pleased with the service I was providing.
Do you ever want to feel that way? Like everything is perfect? That you are having every need met in a way that fulfills you, while being unencumbered to the fullest extent? My cat sat without a care in the world, and now she is nearby grooming herself in preparation for a lengthy nights rest. She didn't read about the innocent baby shot in Georgia a short while ago, or the ridiculous Hollywood speech calling for inane censoring, or China and Russia buddying up, or poverty rising in America.
I wonder, why did I read those stories? Maybe I'd feel a little more like my cat if I'd passed them by. Instead I'll go to bed more worried about this world than I was 45 minutes ago. Instead I'll wonder why I didn't heed my husband's advice to avoid the news, trusting he'll fill me in on anything I really have to know. Instead I'll read my Bible at this late hour, trying to regain the peace and trust that I know is here for me as a born-again Christian, fully cognizant of this evil world and how many horrors loom in the shadows.
Sometimes simplifying can be very simple. It need not involve decluttering, cutting out texting or TV or huge hauls to Goodwill. Sometimes it can be as simple as reducing unhelpful input. I know what is 'out there' so to speak; do real life examples help? Am I holier now?
Simplifying for summer...it can start now.
"Oh, Lord Jesus, how long, how long, till we shout the glad song? Christ is coming, halleluiah, halleluiah, amen."?
Do you ever want to feel that way? Like everything is perfect? That you are having every need met in a way that fulfills you, while being unencumbered to the fullest extent? My cat sat without a care in the world, and now she is nearby grooming herself in preparation for a lengthy nights rest. She didn't read about the innocent baby shot in Georgia a short while ago, or the ridiculous Hollywood speech calling for inane censoring, or China and Russia buddying up, or poverty rising in America.
I wonder, why did I read those stories? Maybe I'd feel a little more like my cat if I'd passed them by. Instead I'll go to bed more worried about this world than I was 45 minutes ago. Instead I'll wonder why I didn't heed my husband's advice to avoid the news, trusting he'll fill me in on anything I really have to know. Instead I'll read my Bible at this late hour, trying to regain the peace and trust that I know is here for me as a born-again Christian, fully cognizant of this evil world and how many horrors loom in the shadows.
Sometimes simplifying can be very simple. It need not involve decluttering, cutting out texting or TV or huge hauls to Goodwill. Sometimes it can be as simple as reducing unhelpful input. I know what is 'out there' so to speak; do real life examples help? Am I holier now?
Simplifying for summer...it can start now.
"Oh, Lord Jesus, how long, how long, till we shout the glad song? Christ is coming, halleluiah, halleluiah, amen."?
Starbucks Lemon Cake-Supposedly :)
If you search for a recipe for the lemon pound cake the Buck sells, you'll find what is on my table here, above. I think it is ok. I might make it again, but my all- time favorite lemon cake recipe is this one, below. Make it in a Bundt pan, 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes.
Lemon Bundt Cake
|
I love the glaze on this cake. It is far better than the 10x sugar icing on the above cake. Add more fresh lemon juice to this recipe based on your taste.
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
|
1 cup whole milk
2-3 tablespoons grated lemon peel (depends on how lemony you want)
GLAZE:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup sugar
|
Directions:
| In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract and fresh juice. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in lemon peel. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack. Cool 10 minutes longer. Place rack on waxed paper. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over the warm cake. Cool completely before serving. |
Why Am I Tired?
It can be rather funny to wonder as a mother, "Why am I tired?" Just recently I found myself asking that question. We can be concerned about some underlying problem, going to WebMD for help!
Perhaps the question is merely to be answered by realizing what we've done in a 24 hr period--items from this list may apply:
So often as Moms we forget just how much energy goes into fulfilling our calling to keep house, educate children, love husbands, care for friends and family and prepare meals. Add to that exhaustion the regular lack of sleep and it's a recipe for fatigue! Beware of Satan's attacks when hungry, tired, lonely or angry. He prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Perhaps the question is merely to be answered by realizing what we've done in a 24 hr period--items from this list may apply:
- clean bathrooms
- wash clothes
- wash floors
- change linens
- exercise at gym
- deal with livestock
- nurture babies
- change diapers
- prepare meals
- organize something in the home
- can various items
- settle disputes
- mail cards/bills
- field phone calls
So often as Moms we forget just how much energy goes into fulfilling our calling to keep house, educate children, love husbands, care for friends and family and prepare meals. Add to that exhaustion the regular lack of sleep and it's a recipe for fatigue! Beware of Satan's attacks when hungry, tired, lonely or angry. He prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Holiness...
We are having revival meetings at our church this week. I missed Sunday evening since I was visiting my sisters in another state. Last night I was able to go, and it was powerful, as is nearly every message given at this church, whether it be from our pastor, our youth pastor, visiting missionaries, or this revival meeting pastor. We were given this list to ponder. It speaks for itself.
The sermon that went with it is amazing; I'm so glad my oldest opted to stay with us and listen rather than go with the kids to another special message. In a nutshell, something the pastor pointed out, which is also something my husband has been saying, is that Christians today tend to use a moving measuring stick against the world to determine their holiness. As the world gets more wicked, then so does the church. Thinking on this while reading Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones is giving me a lot to think about regarding my own sinfulness. Am I waking each day thinking, "God lives IN me." and using that to determine what I ingest, what I speak, what I wear, what I think, how I respond to those who hurt me?
John Wesley’s Holy Club Questions
These are 22 questions the members of John Wesley’s Holy Club asked themselves every day in their private devotions over 200 years ago.
The sermon that went with it is amazing; I'm so glad my oldest opted to stay with us and listen rather than go with the kids to another special message. In a nutshell, something the pastor pointed out, which is also something my husband has been saying, is that Christians today tend to use a moving measuring stick against the world to determine their holiness. As the world gets more wicked, then so does the church. Thinking on this while reading Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones is giving me a lot to think about regarding my own sinfulness. Am I waking each day thinking, "God lives IN me." and using that to determine what I ingest, what I speak, what I wear, what I think, how I respond to those who hurt me?
John Wesley’s Holy Club Questions
These are 22 questions the members of John Wesley’s Holy Club asked themselves every day in their private devotions over 200 years ago.
- Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
- Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
- Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
- Can I be trusted?
- Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
- Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
- Did the Bible live in me today?
- Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
- Am I enjoying prayer?
- When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
- Do I pray about the money I spend?
- Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
- Do I disobey God in anything?
- Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
- Am I defeated in any part of my life?
- Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
- How do I spend my spare time?
- Am I proud?
- Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
- Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
- Do I grumble or complain constantly?
- Is Christ real to me?
Rocking Out in Church
Here's what I can't wrap my mind around: churches thinking they need to use the world's vernacular to make Christianity appealing to today's youth.
It doesn't resonate with me at all. Rock concerts, using the phrase 'partying', having a setting where stipulating sexual apparatus isn't appropriate.... Are kids that stupid today, that we need to redefine what these words mean to reach them, and are we really thinking it is a good idea to intermix the world with our youth to this degree? I guess the thinking is that this culture is so powerful, we need to look as much like it as possible to reach today's youth. I suppose the thought is that Christ and His word aren't enough; the message needs to be so worldly looking that unbelievers feel comfortable waltzing on in and sitting down (barefoot, unshaven, with a cup of designer coffee and some ink perhaps) next to people who talk and look almost exactly like them. We make them think we are just like them so they are not offended in any way, then we sneak in a little Jesus. Before you know it, we have a church and a world that are nearly twins. Only in the end, I'm not sure who is actually saved and who isn't. Maybe it was the loud, rocking music that clouded my thinking.
Somehow I just can't begin to imagine trying to sexualize (ok, massage for those of you not on board with my wording) the message to sell it to my offspring, or anyone else's. I don't home educate so that we can toss our kids in to worship (or pseudo-worship) settings with anyone and everyone; talk about clouding one's thinking. I hope to raise up mature, clean-cut, godly children who are a light in the darkness. I'd like to believe there is something really great happening in these places I'm talking about, but something in me, and the voice of my godly husband, reassures me that no, they are off-track.
It doesn't resonate with me at all. Rock concerts, using the phrase 'partying', having a setting where stipulating sexual apparatus isn't appropriate.... Are kids that stupid today, that we need to redefine what these words mean to reach them, and are we really thinking it is a good idea to intermix the world with our youth to this degree? I guess the thinking is that this culture is so powerful, we need to look as much like it as possible to reach today's youth. I suppose the thought is that Christ and His word aren't enough; the message needs to be so worldly looking that unbelievers feel comfortable waltzing on in and sitting down (barefoot, unshaven, with a cup of designer coffee and some ink perhaps) next to people who talk and look almost exactly like them. We make them think we are just like them so they are not offended in any way, then we sneak in a little Jesus. Before you know it, we have a church and a world that are nearly twins. Only in the end, I'm not sure who is actually saved and who isn't. Maybe it was the loud, rocking music that clouded my thinking.
Somehow I just can't begin to imagine trying to sexualize (ok, massage for those of you not on board with my wording) the message to sell it to my offspring, or anyone else's. I don't home educate so that we can toss our kids in to worship (or pseudo-worship) settings with anyone and everyone; talk about clouding one's thinking. I hope to raise up mature, clean-cut, godly children who are a light in the darkness. I'd like to believe there is something really great happening in these places I'm talking about, but something in me, and the voice of my godly husband, reassures me that no, they are off-track.
I'm going to read some D. Martyn Lloyd Jones.
Beauty in My Dog
If you were listening to me tell you about my week, chances are you would want to step back a bit. Tomorrow might be the day the voice actually goes as this sniffly cold takes over. I hope it doesn't happen since it is the one day I get directly paid to teach! Tomorrow in orchestra we're talking about Mozart, only one of the greatest composers of all time. So much happened in history during his lifetime--this once great nation was birthed, we elected our first president, the Industrial Revolution began...Mozart only lived for 35 years and when I think of all he did, it naturally causes a moment of self reflection.
"What have I done in my 35 + years?"
I'm pretty motivated, so I do what I'm supposed to do most days with a measure of vigor....once I wake up. If you've not found a way to keep yourself humble, have a goal and fail at it daily. For me it is rising before someone else in this house, anyone will do. The goal feels so attainable when my head hits the pillow, be it 10 pm or 2 am...but when 8 am rolls around, I realize that alas, goals are for continually STRIVING for. Who wants to check everything off their list, anyway?
It's often good to evaluate our lists, to be honest. How critical is getting up early, given my life circumstances? Maybe that energy should go to something more important, which brings me to the reason for this post. Jake.
Our sweet dog is now 15 years old. I took him to the vet earlier this week for a much needed chest xray. While there, a neatly dressed family of four walked in, standing in the small entryway. It was unclear what they were doing, though the dad looked like he could be a vet or something, so I thought maybe it was business. Their little girl, who was near 8 yrs old, stooped down to cradle my dog's head and gently pet him for as long as she wanted. Our pooch is patient like that, with pretty much anyone.
Another lady was in the office with a dog that looked strikingly similar to mine. We talked at length, enjoying the casual banter folks strike up in this particular veterinary office. She thought it might be 'the' day for her old friend of 14 yrs; of course, it was hoped to not be. They were called back, the office bustled, the family of four still stood waiting for something.
At one point I looked over my shoulder to see the sweet woman whose dog looked so much like mine that I'd photographed it, crying. It only takes a second to connect with another human being pained in the way she was. The family of four went into the exam room, and there stood that lady, alone in the entryway by the front desk. It is amazing to me how the Lord comforts those we don't know in ways that suddenly feel so natural. When she paid, Jake went over to her and she went down low on the floor to talk with him and pet him, twice. What a good dog~comforting a stranger who needed a little quiet moment with him. My time with the woman had come to a natural end.
I didn't know what the xray's would reveal for our old friend that day, but one thing I did know, God used an old dog to comfort a little girl and a middle-aged woman that he had never met before. He didn't care where they'd come from, where they were going, what they'd done in this life or what they were going to do. How much money they made never entered his doggy mind, nor did their level of education.
Thankfully, we should have our Jakey a while longer. The xrays revealed his heart is enlarged, his trachea is compressed and he has fluid on his lungs. He coughs when he can't breathe, and prior to the medication he takes daily, that was many times a day. Knowing how Jake felt while he waited for his appointment showed me something else: feeling well isn't part of my mission for Christ--obedience is, glorifying Him is, putting others before myself is.
Of course, we can't expect a dog to think the way a human does. Still, I'm taking some lessons away from that vet visit where I was spared the heartache others were feeling.
"What have I done in my 35 + years?"
I'm pretty motivated, so I do what I'm supposed to do most days with a measure of vigor....once I wake up. If you've not found a way to keep yourself humble, have a goal and fail at it daily. For me it is rising before someone else in this house, anyone will do. The goal feels so attainable when my head hits the pillow, be it 10 pm or 2 am...but when 8 am rolls around, I realize that alas, goals are for continually STRIVING for. Who wants to check everything off their list, anyway?
It's often good to evaluate our lists, to be honest. How critical is getting up early, given my life circumstances? Maybe that energy should go to something more important, which brings me to the reason for this post. Jake.
Our sweet dog is now 15 years old. I took him to the vet earlier this week for a much needed chest xray. While there, a neatly dressed family of four walked in, standing in the small entryway. It was unclear what they were doing, though the dad looked like he could be a vet or something, so I thought maybe it was business. Their little girl, who was near 8 yrs old, stooped down to cradle my dog's head and gently pet him for as long as she wanted. Our pooch is patient like that, with pretty much anyone.
Another lady was in the office with a dog that looked strikingly similar to mine. We talked at length, enjoying the casual banter folks strike up in this particular veterinary office. She thought it might be 'the' day for her old friend of 14 yrs; of course, it was hoped to not be. They were called back, the office bustled, the family of four still stood waiting for something.
At one point I looked over my shoulder to see the sweet woman whose dog looked so much like mine that I'd photographed it, crying. It only takes a second to connect with another human being pained in the way she was. The family of four went into the exam room, and there stood that lady, alone in the entryway by the front desk. It is amazing to me how the Lord comforts those we don't know in ways that suddenly feel so natural. When she paid, Jake went over to her and she went down low on the floor to talk with him and pet him, twice. What a good dog~comforting a stranger who needed a little quiet moment with him. My time with the woman had come to a natural end.
I didn't know what the xray's would reveal for our old friend that day, but one thing I did know, God used an old dog to comfort a little girl and a middle-aged woman that he had never met before. He didn't care where they'd come from, where they were going, what they'd done in this life or what they were going to do. How much money they made never entered his doggy mind, nor did their level of education.
Thankfully, we should have our Jakey a while longer. The xrays revealed his heart is enlarged, his trachea is compressed and he has fluid on his lungs. He coughs when he can't breathe, and prior to the medication he takes daily, that was many times a day. Knowing how Jake felt while he waited for his appointment showed me something else: feeling well isn't part of my mission for Christ--obedience is, glorifying Him is, putting others before myself is.
Of course, we can't expect a dog to think the way a human does. Still, I'm taking some lessons away from that vet visit where I was spared the heartache others were feeling.
Reason to Consider Home Education
Worth reading--the stories mentioned at the bottom really make me thankful I don't have to put my precious children in the care of people with such lack of sense.
http://news.yahoo.com/school-confiscates-third-grader-cupcakes-topped-toy-soldiers-215018982.html
No career, or house, or newer car, or special TV or phone service is worth needing 2 incomes. Americans can live with far less in order to educate their kids safely and effectively.
http://news.yahoo.com/school-confiscates-third-grader-cupcakes-topped-toy-soldiers-215018982.html
No career, or house, or newer car, or special TV or phone service is worth needing 2 incomes. Americans can live with far less in order to educate their kids safely and effectively.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
SWEET POTATO BISCUITS
Ingredients (Paula Deen's recipe)
3/4 cup cooked mashed sweet potato (about 1 large sweet potato)
1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk, as needed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
Directions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet (with butter, oil or cooking spray).
In a small bowl, whisk together the sweet potato and 1/3 cup milk. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with your hands, a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sweet potato mixture and fold gently to combine. Add the remaining milk a little at a time until all the flour is moistened. The amount of milk you will need will depend on the moisture of the sweet potato.
Sprinkle a small handful of flour on a work surface. Turn the dough out onto the surface and knead lightly 2 to 3 times with the palm of your hand until the mixture comes together. Pat the dough out into a 1/2-inch-thick round.
Using a 2 1/2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut the dough into biscuits. Gently reroll the scraps and cut out more biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake until light golden brown and firm to the touch, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve these fluffy biscuits warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients (Paula Deen's recipe)
3/4 cup cooked mashed sweet potato (about 1 large sweet potato)
1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk, as needed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
Directions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet (with butter, oil or cooking spray).
In a small bowl, whisk together the sweet potato and 1/3 cup milk. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with your hands, a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sweet potato mixture and fold gently to combine. Add the remaining milk a little at a time until all the flour is moistened. The amount of milk you will need will depend on the moisture of the sweet potato.
Sprinkle a small handful of flour on a work surface. Turn the dough out onto the surface and knead lightly 2 to 3 times with the palm of your hand until the mixture comes together. Pat the dough out into a 1/2-inch-thick round.
Using a 2 1/2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut the dough into biscuits. Gently reroll the scraps and cut out more biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake until light golden brown and firm to the touch, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve these fluffy biscuits warm or at room temperature.
Death
The fact is, the older we get, the more death we see. The more friends we lose, the more we understand how much it hurts to say goodbye. It starts to become a rare year that isn't touched by death in some form or fashion. Last week an acquaintance of mine passed away after battling cancer like a soldier. Our contact ebbed and flowed, but I needed to pay respects to the family. Yesterday, my daughter's dance instructor's mother unexpectedly passed. Her teacher is a sweet girl and it pains me to know what their family is going through. A faithful husband now alone, with many years ahead of him more than likely. I look forward to the day death loses it's sting.
Getting Away
A few months ago my husband and I enjoyed a rare night away at Virginia Beach. It was terrific, in large part because we enjoyed the best meal ever. The restaurant is called Terrapin. We have dined in some pretty nice places, and Chef Rodney just has a creative flare that is hard to beat. The staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, but also professional. We've recently returned from celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary where we dined at a different 4 star restaurant, and while it was terrific, it wasn't as good as Terrapin. If you live reasonably close to Virginia Beach, it is worth the trip (if you fancy high-end cuisine)!!
Wife to Widow
Wife to Widow.
Not much can be said. She has some sage advice, and it just resonates since my friend recently lost her husband. Several years ago another acquaintance/friend lost her husband and her sobs over the phone will not be soon forgotten. Maybe the info this lady shares will help someone prepare.
Not much can be said. She has some sage advice, and it just resonates since my friend recently lost her husband. Several years ago another acquaintance/friend lost her husband and her sobs over the phone will not be soon forgotten. Maybe the info this lady shares will help someone prepare.
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