Apparently there is the possibility of goodies for officially participating. Sounds good to me!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
A Resolution I can Live With!
I rarely do the New Year's Resolution thing. I take even promises to myself seriously, and I'd rather be practical about any improvements I hope to make, but thanks to Detweilermom, this year I have found a resolution I can safely huggle. All I have to do is read a dozen mysteries in a year. I've been known to do as much in a month!
Apparently there is the possibility of goodies for officially participating. Sounds good to me!
Apparently there is the possibility of goodies for officially participating. Sounds good to me!
White Christmas!
We got that snow they called for! At least 8-11 inches worth covered the ground (and everything else outside.) Woohoo! Thank You God for the neat present! We weren't up to doing a lot of running around anyway, so we just have stayed home and enjoyed it. Its made the view outside our doors and windows so lovely. Somehow snow just makes cocoa and wassail (spiced fruit punch) taste even better! I hope to get some pics today before it seriously starts to melt away again. Now...after all that cold weather, they say we will have highs in the 40's, then 50's, then back up to 60's by New Year's Day. That'll work though, as we will need to get groceries and such by then. ;)
Friday, December 24, 2010
Becka's 2010 Digital Christmas Card!
Hope your Christmas is merry! Rebecca's card for 2010 is up. I didn't finish my story this time, but there are stories from previous years if you'd like to refresh your holiday memories of us.
It isn't snowing yet, but there's a very good chance we'll see some of the white stuff before Christmas Day is over. Prezzies wait 'neath the tree. There's eggnog in the fridge and the roast is being prepared for tomorrow. We're feeling better today, and still recovering slowly. Hope your holidays are blessed too.
glitter-graphics.com
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Gift Cards & Snow!
In personal news, we're still getting over that bug, which makes even mailing difficult since that's a 'treasure' we'd rather not share. OTOH we gottsa snow!! A few days ago we got a real winter-ish snow and several inches of the wet white stuff. Since we haven't felt well enough to do much shopping this year, we didn't miss out on much. We just stayed home, drank cocoa, and watched it fall. It stuck around too, unlike the last time where it fell in the wee hours and was melted by mid-morning. I was worried that might be the only snow but ~ nope, we have been able to see a winter wonderland at all hours this week :D
Saturday, December 04, 2010
4 Chanukah
I don't normally think about Chanukah / Hanukkah that much. Its an inspiring story, but for me this is Advent, the Christmas season. Just the same I am publicly offering my best wishes for the celebrants of Hanukkah this holiday season because I have wanted to share Marty Goetz's awesome song for the occasion ever since I first heard it. "Chanukah" is a worthy reflection for any sincere believer in Almighty God.I hope it will bless you too.
Happy Holidays!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. ~E.P. Powell
Twitter Background
Hope yours is blessed too!
Our holiday this year is the semi-quiet (everybody's coughing) stay-at-home kind, especially seeing we are all still dealing with a rotten bug (possibly pertussis as its going around in our area). Most of us were actually much worse last week, so we are getting better! We stuck with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for brunch. We recorded and later watched the usual Macy's Thanksgiving parade when we felt up to it, which is actually an improvement as we can skip the commercials we don't like. Dinner is lasagna. Maybe we'll do the apple pie afterward. Its not a bad way to spend the day, though not very exciting. We had hoped to go out and see a movie but we're not up to that yet either. So we'll just make our Thanksgiving a multi-day event and celebrate it as it works for us. The turkey and pumpkin pie can wait a couple of days.
Free Twitter Backgrounds
It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast. ~W.J. Cameron
O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
~William Shakespeare
For, after all, put it as we may to ourselves, we are all of us from birth to death guests at a table which we did not spread. The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet.... Shall we think of the day as a chance to come nearer to our Host, and to find out something of Him who has fed us so long? ~Rebecca Harding Davis
We really do feel grateful to God today (and most every day.) It may not seem like it to others who see us coughing right now or dealing with other trials but God has been blessing our lives right along. He bent last week's schedule around so that it worked even with all of us ill and unable to go anywhere. The biggest miracle looks across from me every evening. I lost track of the number of times God kept Tom alive and better than medical science expected after all the damage he's had inside. Every hour we have with him is a new gift. God paid for the care too, getting us the help to come through when it was most needed. In fact God has upheld, protected, and provided for us all these years despite some very major malice that has been directed our way. Some people just thank God when they get unexpected help and/or their natural provision takes a hit or fails, but we've been in that position more often than not. God's provision for us has not failed in all the years we've had to depend so hard on Him. Glory to His name! We've got this feeling there are other blessings too that are just about to come into view. Praise God He is Our Salvation!
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. ~Cicero
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. ~Johannes A. Gaertner
Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now. ~A.W. Tozer
Free Twitter Backgrounds
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
You Gotta Be...
One of the last songs that was a favorite with me when I was in college in the 90's was Des'ree's "You Gotta Be." (When I quit receiving any support to finish, I also quit listening to the radio much.)
Just another one of those songs that meant (and still mean) a lot to me, so I thought I'd share. If that seems like an odd choice, its because you probably aren't translating the lyrics the way I am. I do believe that we gotta be...as tough, kind, fair, bold (courageous), wise, etc as we can...and we will still need Love (God) to save the day.
Yep. Its another lost personal treasure rediscovered. Somehow I thought it was Sade who sang it on the radio...which explains why I hadn't run across it before now. (Argh!)
I hadn't realized until now - but I think Michelle Obama looks (a little) like Des'ree. Maybe that's one of the reasons I liked her even before her obvious concern for her family and down-to-earth approach became well-known. I think everyone was rooting for her when she decided on growing her own organic gardens (and sharing them with local schoolchildren). I can't support many of her husband's policies, but she seems like good people to me.
Just another one of those songs that meant (and still mean) a lot to me, so I thought I'd share. If that seems like an odd choice, its because you probably aren't translating the lyrics the way I am. I do believe that we gotta be...as tough, kind, fair, bold (courageous), wise, etc as we can...and we will still need Love (God) to save the day.
Yep. Its another lost personal treasure rediscovered. Somehow I thought it was Sade who sang it on the radio...which explains why I hadn't run across it before now. (Argh!)
I hadn't realized until now - but I think Michelle Obama looks (a little) like Des'ree. Maybe that's one of the reasons I liked her even before her obvious concern for her family and down-to-earth approach became well-known. I think everyone was rooting for her when she decided on growing her own organic gardens (and sharing them with local schoolchildren). I can't support many of her husband's policies, but she seems like good people to me.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Real Ghosts in God's World
(based on a post to one of my groups earlier this year...seemed appropriate to the season ;)
The reason people don't talk about seeing ghosts in Christian circles is because people are afraid of the sorts of responses that they will get. Some Christian circles seem to believe that anything on the topic is automatically occultic. Its ridiculous too, when you consider that even Christ showed himself as an angel/ghost before he showed himself as fully risen. Certainly the women saw some sort of spirit! In Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:16-21 his followers thought Jesus was a ghost when they first saw him walking towards the disciples' boat on the water. They clearly felt this was a reasonable description of what they saw until Jesus spoke to them. The apostles were okay with wondering if they had seen a ghost. I think we are still allowed to wonder too.
The Bible mentions people as alive after death ~ in Mark 12: 24-27 Jesus specifically says that Abraham and other servants of God still are alive in some sense ~ but usually not still on Earth at the same time. The Bible mentions angels & demons - as beings who were never human, but could affect us here on Earth. Prophet Daniel saw visions of glowing servants of God too.
But does the Bible specifically affirm anyone seeing a ghost? Well ~ in 1Samuel 28:5-9 the OT says that the Witch of Endor sought the spirit of the Prophet Samuel for King Saul (and was rather afraid of him when he suddenly arrived!) This wasn't a happy visit. Samuel informed Saul that he was about to lose his life and had already lost God's favor. Saul's kingdom would be given to David. I am pretty sure this isn't the message the woman would like to have obtained. Some Christians think this was a demon pretending to be Samuel, but if so, it was strangely faithful copy.
(The Bible is absolutely against people seeking to call up or channel spirits, seek omens or engage in other forms of witchcraft Deuteronomy 18:9-14 - but that doesn't mean God didn't send Samuel one more time to rebuke Saul, hopefully into repentance...)
Jesus' parables include the afterlife situations of a beggar named Lazarus and a wealthy man who knew the beggar in life. The rich man begs that someone go back (as a ghost presumably) to warn his siblings against his fate::
I'd say this is the reason we Christians don't usually expect to see ghosts. We know God rules all parts of creation - including the portion we consider the 'afterlife' (according to Revelation 1:18, Jesus owns the keys from death & hell), and God is against our living in fear. Not many of us would feel anything else if we could be haunted at will by those who have passed over. Additionally, it seems Abraham, at least, didn't see much point in "Christmas Carol"-style visitations..at least in this case. Abraham doesn't say 'no one is ever allowed to come back' - he says that these rich people would not repent if Lazarus did return. There is a difference.
However you look at it, the Bible is pretty clear that there are spirits in our material world...starting with us.
It is important to remember that we are multi-dimensional (spirit, body, soul) and so are angels. Unless what someone sees inspires fear or suggests things that are anti-God, I wouldn't worry excessively if a friend or family member said they saw something 'ghostly.' Some people have been given that gift.
One thing we do here, when spirits are sensed, is to pray that only that which God allows to remain. Prayed sincerely, this will release our guardian angels to deal with any enemy action.
I believe there are 4 ways to sense "spirits"
1) You may have encountered a physical recording of a past event.
Certain combinations of say, mineral-rich sheet rock and celluloid-rich earth can "record" (like a VHS or cassette tape). These 'playback' under high energy conditions, like lightening storms. Several places have been proven to be repeating old events in this way.
According to one documentary my family saw, there's a medieval tavern in Britain that replays an evening from long ago (complete with singing, clinking mugs, and laughter) in every strong storm.The sounds are recordable. It never changes. The walls in the place have an unusual mineral composition that may well be responsible. Its weird, but not necessarily any more demonic than a hidden tape recording from your childhood.
If a field 'recorded' a man walking over it, and it plays back inside the house now built on it, you will see him 'swim' through the floor. (My family actually saw this.)
How do you tell?
Its always the EXACTLY same event...voices ..shapes. They do not change. They do not react any more than a movie would.
2) Angels...usually only seen when you need comforting or a message from God.
Fallen angels- called demons- will pretend to be 'good angels,' 'aliens,' powerful versions of themselves, or 'ghosts' of people, and given that they have also been around a long time, they can lie very effectively!
Pray hard about any 'visitation' that seems very scary...or very wordy...
3) The classic ghost...someone who is (still) around without their body. They can't hurt you. They don't usually speak. Many times these are friends and family who may have asked to see you before leaving the Earth. Many believe that God sometimes grants given permission for a spouse or parent to watch over a loved one after they pass on. These may include pets.
I know that one great-aunt believed her husband was still around. I can't answer this for certain, as I never saw him, but whenever a storm or bad person came by, you'd hear a whistle and all the doors and windows would slam shut one by one. Sometimes they'd slam right in front of us, so we asked 'the ghost' to shut the ones we weren't near for greater efficiency (it also cut down on the heart palpitations!). Our request was granted at the next storm. Yes, they were Christians.
People claim there are "confused" ghosts, still hanging around... I can't speak to this, since two other categories could account for most of those 'sightings.'
I do classify 'live' hauntings here. My husband, especially, is extremely prone to this.
My husband's health has been precarious all his life. He also used to smoke, as his mother smoked carrying him and he grew up with it. Nevertheless, he had always been somewhat allergic to it, and, even worse, the swelling and damage in his gut cavity sometimes limited his diaphragm. He had coughing spells that were scary to behold.
Sometimes when he had a bad spell away from me, he would appear on the stairs or in the downstairs bathroom, coughing away... :(
He 'died' briefly in a medical procedure in the early 90's. I (and a room full of waiting patients & their families) watched him walk out the door as a spirit and disappear (meantime we could all hear them yelling CODE BLUE) in the other room. He appeared at home and was seen by our infant son (who chortled with glee to see him and asked to be picked up), my Mom, and our daughter. (He appeared at the doorway, but didn't walk back through the room when he woke up. Don't know why.)
Tom's brother hung around for weeks after he passed on. We all saw him. We know why he was there. He hadn't visited with us much in life and was trying to be friendly. My kids were playing Wii Fit one evening, and he appeared next to them trying to model the right stance and moves to win the boxing challenge. He vanished when they got it right.
4) 'After image'...Sometimes we get a 'ghost effect' from cued memories.
If you look at a bright object and then look away, you can close your eyes and often see a purple reflection. The ghost effect seems to work on a similar principle. Either we got too strong an imprinting on an event or person to lose it right away or something happened so often that our brain adds back to the scene something very expected.
We may 'see' a chair where it always used to be, or 'hear' a person who always greeted us on the way to work. If the chair often held a loved one or the person who greeted us has passed over, we may think this is a ghost, instead of a 'mental echo.'
Some believe that the imprinting is actually on the scene...that the wall records spiritual residue of big events that happened nearby, or the chair in the example above still has some energy from the person who always used it. I can't answer to this, and I think it would be hard to prove. It seems to me that even if this belief is true, it would be another 'recording' - physical in a way we can't yet measure. I doubt that such phenomena would violate any spiritual principles one way or the other.
I do know that on land where much sincere praise or praying has occurred the earth feels peaceful, joyful,many years later - as though the rocks, grass, dirt, plants etc are still reverberating the echoed praises to Almighty God. Maybe the angels are still singing along.
Its good to know that whatever we 'sense,' God is in control.
The reason people don't talk about seeing ghosts in Christian circles is because people are afraid of the sorts of responses that they will get. Some Christian circles seem to believe that anything on the topic is automatically occultic. Its ridiculous too, when you consider that even Christ showed himself as an angel/ghost before he showed himself as fully risen. Certainly the women saw some sort of spirit! In Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:16-21 his followers thought Jesus was a ghost when they first saw him walking towards the disciples' boat on the water. They clearly felt this was a reasonable description of what they saw until Jesus spoke to them. The apostles were okay with wondering if they had seen a ghost. I think we are still allowed to wonder too.
The Bible mentions people as alive after death ~ in Mark 12: 24-27 Jesus specifically says that Abraham and other servants of God still are alive in some sense ~ but usually not still on Earth at the same time. The Bible mentions angels & demons - as beings who were never human, but could affect us here on Earth. Prophet Daniel saw visions of glowing servants of God too.
But does the Bible specifically affirm anyone seeing a ghost? Well ~ in 1Samuel 28:5-9 the OT says that the Witch of Endor sought the spirit of the Prophet Samuel for King Saul (and was rather afraid of him when he suddenly arrived!) This wasn't a happy visit. Samuel informed Saul that he was about to lose his life and had already lost God's favor. Saul's kingdom would be given to David. I am pretty sure this isn't the message the woman would like to have obtained. Some Christians think this was a demon pretending to be Samuel, but if so, it was strangely faithful copy.
(The Bible is absolutely against people seeking to call up or channel spirits, seek omens or engage in other forms of witchcraft Deuteronomy 18:9-14 - but that doesn't mean God didn't send Samuel one more time to rebuke Saul, hopefully into repentance...)
Jesus' parables include the afterlife situations of a beggar named Lazarus and a wealthy man who knew the beggar in life. The rich man begs that someone go back (as a ghost presumably) to warn his siblings against his fate::
[27] "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, [28] for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
[29] "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
[30] " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
[31] "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " Luke 16: 27-31
I'd say this is the reason we Christians don't usually expect to see ghosts. We know God rules all parts of creation - including the portion we consider the 'afterlife' (according to Revelation 1:18, Jesus owns the keys from death & hell), and God is against our living in fear. Not many of us would feel anything else if we could be haunted at will by those who have passed over. Additionally, it seems Abraham, at least, didn't see much point in "Christmas Carol"-style visitations..at least in this case. Abraham doesn't say 'no one is ever allowed to come back' - he says that these rich people would not repent if Lazarus did return. There is a difference.
However you look at it, the Bible is pretty clear that there are spirits in our material world...starting with us.
It is important to remember that we are multi-dimensional (spirit, body, soul) and so are angels. Unless what someone sees inspires fear or suggests things that are anti-God, I wouldn't worry excessively if a friend or family member said they saw something 'ghostly.' Some people have been given that gift.
One thing we do here, when spirits are sensed, is to pray that only that which God allows to remain. Prayed sincerely, this will release our guardian angels to deal with any enemy action.
I believe there are 4 ways to sense "spirits"
1) You may have encountered a physical recording of a past event.
Certain combinations of say, mineral-rich sheet rock and celluloid-rich earth can "record" (like a VHS or cassette tape). These 'playback' under high energy conditions, like lightening storms. Several places have been proven to be repeating old events in this way.
According to one documentary my family saw, there's a medieval tavern in Britain that replays an evening from long ago (complete with singing, clinking mugs, and laughter) in every strong storm.The sounds are recordable. It never changes. The walls in the place have an unusual mineral composition that may well be responsible. Its weird, but not necessarily any more demonic than a hidden tape recording from your childhood.
If a field 'recorded' a man walking over it, and it plays back inside the house now built on it, you will see him 'swim' through the floor. (My family actually saw this.)
How do you tell?
Its always the EXACTLY same event...voices ..shapes. They do not change. They do not react any more than a movie would.
2) Angels...usually only seen when you need comforting or a message from God.
Fallen angels- called demons- will pretend to be 'good angels,' 'aliens,' powerful versions of themselves, or 'ghosts' of people, and given that they have also been around a long time, they can lie very effectively!
Pray hard about any 'visitation' that seems very scary...or very wordy...
3) The classic ghost...someone who is (still) around without their body. They can't hurt you. They don't usually speak. Many times these are friends and family who may have asked to see you before leaving the Earth. Many believe that God sometimes grants given permission for a spouse or parent to watch over a loved one after they pass on. These may include pets.
I know that one great-aunt believed her husband was still around. I can't answer this for certain, as I never saw him, but whenever a storm or bad person came by, you'd hear a whistle and all the doors and windows would slam shut one by one. Sometimes they'd slam right in front of us, so we asked 'the ghost' to shut the ones we weren't near for greater efficiency (it also cut down on the heart palpitations!). Our request was granted at the next storm. Yes, they were Christians.
People claim there are "confused" ghosts, still hanging around... I can't speak to this, since two other categories could account for most of those 'sightings.'
I do classify 'live' hauntings here. My husband, especially, is extremely prone to this.
My husband's health has been precarious all his life. He also used to smoke, as his mother smoked carrying him and he grew up with it. Nevertheless, he had always been somewhat allergic to it, and, even worse, the swelling and damage in his gut cavity sometimes limited his diaphragm. He had coughing spells that were scary to behold.
Sometimes when he had a bad spell away from me, he would appear on the stairs or in the downstairs bathroom, coughing away... :(
He 'died' briefly in a medical procedure in the early 90's. I (and a room full of waiting patients & their families) watched him walk out the door as a spirit and disappear (meantime we could all hear them yelling CODE BLUE) in the other room. He appeared at home and was seen by our infant son (who chortled with glee to see him and asked to be picked up), my Mom, and our daughter. (He appeared at the doorway, but didn't walk back through the room when he woke up. Don't know why.)
Tom's brother hung around for weeks after he passed on. We all saw him. We know why he was there. He hadn't visited with us much in life and was trying to be friendly. My kids were playing Wii Fit one evening, and he appeared next to them trying to model the right stance and moves to win the boxing challenge. He vanished when they got it right.
4) 'After image'...Sometimes we get a 'ghost effect' from cued memories.
If you look at a bright object and then look away, you can close your eyes and often see a purple reflection. The ghost effect seems to work on a similar principle. Either we got too strong an imprinting on an event or person to lose it right away or something happened so often that our brain adds back to the scene something very expected.
We may 'see' a chair where it always used to be, or 'hear' a person who always greeted us on the way to work. If the chair often held a loved one or the person who greeted us has passed over, we may think this is a ghost, instead of a 'mental echo.'
Some believe that the imprinting is actually on the scene...that the wall records spiritual residue of big events that happened nearby, or the chair in the example above still has some energy from the person who always used it. I can't answer to this, and I think it would be hard to prove. It seems to me that even if this belief is true, it would be another 'recording' - physical in a way we can't yet measure. I doubt that such phenomena would violate any spiritual principles one way or the other.
I do know that on land where much sincere praise or praying has occurred the earth feels peaceful, joyful,many years later - as though the rocks, grass, dirt, plants etc are still reverberating the echoed praises to Almighty God. Maybe the angels are still singing along.
Its good to know that whatever we 'sense,' God is in control.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Remembering Keith Green 28 yrs later
Keith Green 28.28.28 - historical video intro (previously unseen) from Resonate Arts & Media on Vimeo.
Melody & Keith came to Oakleigh Fellowship when I was a kid of 10 yrs? 12yrs?) but they made a permanent impression on me as serious followers( of Christ. I can't count the number of times God has spoken to me through Keith's music...encouraging, calling me back, when my attention had wandered too far away, whatever was needed. Still listen to Keith's songs very often. His life and worship music remains a huge blessing to my family!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Quizzity Deux
;
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy VII
| What Avatar: The Last Airbender Character are you? Your Result: you are Iroh your a laid back, generous,gentle, wise and considerate person. You enjoy nice and relaxing meditation, and nothing can be better than a nice relaxing cup of tea. | |
| You are Aang | |
| you are toph | |
| You are Katara | |
| you are Suko | |
| you are Sokka | |
| you are Azula | |
| You are the Cabbage merchant | |
| What Avatar: The Last Airbender Character are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz | |
You know the Bible 98%!
Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!
Ultimate Bible Quiz
Take More Quizzes
Ultimate Bible Quiz
Take More Quizzes
Sunday, August 01, 2010
TorahBlog: TorahBytes: Backwards Logic (Re'eh)
TorahBlog: TorahBytes: Backwards Logic (Re'eh)
Today's TorahBytes (probably unintentionally) references one of the most common and irritating un-Christlike behavior in groups calling themselves Christians...
Many 'churches' judge people based on the appearance of success, worldly popularity, fame, political power, wealth and/or social gossip.... as long as someone vaguely makes some claim towards Christianity and is hawt, rich, famous, well-connected, and/or has many supporters in their social network, they will have a lot more clout with most of these worldly 'Christians' than a modern-day Elijah would.
They'd never admit it, but variations on the argument this Rabbi made work with most of them most of the time. All favor is considered Godly favor (despite all the verses in scripture to the contrary), and all reverses of the poor & unpopular become 'proof' that the person deserves sneering contempt rather than real help, prayer support, and caring compassion. A couple loses a child in an accident, and are treated as though they were guilty of deliberate murder. A missionary is martyred...he/she must have made a misstep and got out of Christ's protection. A child is abused...and slandered by the 'respectable' abuser (its common for an abuser to discredit their victim in a shared society) ...must be a rotten kid/dangerous adult. A Christian business has troubles; it must be because they had 'secret failings' that are now catching up with them.
Only obvious innocents (i.e. babies with cancer) don't have murmurings like this aimed at them (though its sometimes merely redirected to their parents.)
The shocker (for the cultural Christian) in the TorahBytes blog is hearing Christ Himself treated this way...
This is because that Rabbi doesn't regard Christ as a proven Holy person, the only definite grown-up non-sinning mental and physical adult the world has ever seen. He sees Christ as a proven 'loser' who lacked favor with God and man and suffered accordingly. So what sounds outrageous to one raised with the understanding of Jesus as the Son of God, makes perfect sense to him. This is how a lot of people saw Jesus in his own time, and how a lot of people see his followers today.
God has not seen fit to grant ALL His faithful followers great wealth on Earth while they grow rewards for faithfulness in Heaven, despite the huge promises of prosperity doctrine. Do you know the Apostles themselves remained worldly 'losers' while they preached on Earth? They were given great spiritual gifts of healing, prophecy, and other mighty powers, the early church had property they shared communally, but their personal purses tended to remain small. The Apostle Paul had to stop and earn further traveling money with his hands at times. The brilliant scholar who studied under Gamaliel made tents for pin money. That didn't pay much.
But, while every believer (and certainly every trained pastor!) who grew up reading the scriptures know these things, prosperity doctrine has retained its power in most church social settings, reflecting the world's obsession with wealth and rank back into the body of Christ. The implicit insult to Christ, the prophets, and the Apostles is simply ignored, as though they were in another category entirely from how we should see one another. We are supposed to be encouraging each other to express the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk. If our lives instead express the fruits of a carnal mind daily, we are in trouble. Either way, our bank accounts aren't the largest part of that equation.
But back among the carnal Christians, too many financial reverses will guarantee in most 'winner'/'loser'-minded sets that you are both easily judged and unpopular before very long. They may have liked you fine when your life was going well, but they don't want to drain their own resources helping you or look bad for refusing...so suddenly they don't know you so well. Maybe you did something that made you fall, eh? Any and all of life's little pleasures may be judged insufficiently Godly, be it mystery books, movies, video games, or a preoccupation with a sports team. Part of this is an animal desire to avoid the invisible predator that got the other monkey. Part of it is a cowardly desire to ease personal guilt by putting the blame on the victim.
Backwards-logic, unchallenged, leads to Bertha BetterThanYou getting enshrined at the top of the social pecking order....and, boy, does she ever peck... the sores of others. ..because she believes they prove that she is morally as well as socially superior. She therefore feels very free to judge others proper place in the local social hierarchy, and deciding whether anyone is 'deserving' of compassion goes right along with that attitude.
She and her cronies then decide who 'deserves' sympathy and who 'had it coming.' Health challenges are generally judged by how connected and/or popular parishioners were prior to onset of symptoms. With their reminders- popular, well-off, and/or powerful folks may get a TON of sympathy, visits from the pastor, support cards etc...which generally helps them stay their church's cause of the week, and stay well-connected. Meantime quieter folks have to be content with a mention in the prayer request list, especially poor people who are rarely well enough to attend or donate to church activities.
If anyone then asks them whether they support people in their need, they will point at the popular ones they 'encouraged' and get outraged if you mention the sheep that were shoved aside. (In fact, its a common social tactic for a newcomer to join a church's inner circle by diligently looking up those the inner circle champions...and diligently ignoring the needs of those they ignore. This is how you can tell those with a heart to serve from those who just have a heart to join the inner circle...)
There's a church not far from our house whose lack of Christian love and inclination towards snap judgments is regularly on display on their sign. Lately its been "a little stumble comes before a great fall" on one side...and an invitation to join their 'loving VBS' on the other.* Course they are the ones who frankly admitted when I first met them that their group was founded as a socially centralized way to manage their 'neighborhood enclave,' ** so maybe I shouldn't count them anyway.
*{Not long ago their sign said that those facing trials should accept the discipline and repent! Good advice generally..but...umm...you might want to get that beam in your eye looked at, folks...}
**(think civil rights issues)
This attitude also leads to other very inappropriate people being given very high levels of respect in their organizations. Hey. you know that rich guy with the florid, swollen nose and all the 'temporary' girlfriends? Not sure how he got so rich but isn't it great he donated a van for our club outings??? What a great guy... Seems like he likes coming to our church. Maybe if we chat him up, see if he'll make a confession of faith, he might become deacon or officer and manage our building fund? He has great parties too, though he'd have to tone 'em down when the pastor comes over. har har har (DH & I have literally overheard comments like these in this county...twice... both times the 'great guy' was known to have criminal connections, and eventually served time in ways that strongly suggested how they had gotten so wealthy. They managed to save most of their wealth though, and it didn't seemed to hurt their popularity with these 'Christians' at all.)
Now...God does indeed judge people after a season when they won't listen, and the causes mentioned earlier are among the reasons why, but only HE knows for certain when someone faces reversals for just cause or 'just because.' We aren't supposed to be judging this for ourselves, as we are NOT God...and are rarely going to get it right anyhow.
There are an incredible amount of 'Jobs' at any given time, suffering to be purified even more than they were, as preparation for later - or simply sharing Christ's suffering due to the decay & sin of our fallen world.
So how are we supposed to respond when we hear about others troubles in the real world? How do we distinguish the slandered sheep from say, that deacon who got arrested for party-time activities? How do we be wise sheep, in choosing who to visit in our limited time and who should get the emergency resources, and not be judgmental?
The immediate answer is prayer...pray until you know who you are to help with what you have. Pray HARD because you really care not to squander what God gave you...and not because you are curious who deserved a 'whuppin'
It starts with your heart. God calls everyone to repentance. You need to face the fact that you (and I) are not better than anyone else. Hobos have as much a right to grace as we do, even when they are high as a kite, ugly as a baboon's backside, and foul-mouthed besides. God loves witches...and the near homonyms.. God loves the meanie at the office. God loves even the most violent cannibal tribes there ever were. He loves them each one as much as he loves YOU
If you have accepted His gracious offer to be saved, He'd like you to show some gratitude by acting like the saved sinner you are. You deserve every bad thing that will ever happen to you and a lot of bad things that never will. That's true of everybody btw.
WE ALL DESERVE HELL
...but we are saved by Grace and Mercy.
Mercy -- which rejoices over judgment by the cleansing atonement of Jesus Christ...
and we are expected to be merciful in our dealings with others. We are flatly told not to judge other people, and that includes telling our friends and family whether we think other people deserve the trials they face.
"Judge not Lest Ye Be Judged" is God's flat warning that if you don't quit this, there will be trials in your future that will definitely be a judgment on you!
Its not that you shouldn't be careful in how you act around someone who could be dangerous to you, nor that you shouldn't use wisdom on who you hang with, in fact we are told to seek others who live Godly lives to be near whenever possible, but you need to be cautious of regarding those different than your group as less deserving of God's approbation and blessing than your group. It may well be true, but that's not for you to say (or think).
Your blessings in friends, resources, or other talents are given to you to use responsibly, with love, to God's glory.. They are not proof you aren't as likely to sin as the next guy.
Neither your talents, popularity or sterling qualities are a guarantee you won't be severely tested with trials at some season in your life. God makes no promises like that. Whether you have 5 friends or 500 here on Earth, or only the angels, heaven-dwelling saints, and Mother Mary to pray for you, God can hear and bless you. In fact, He has not promised to prioritize based on numbers. It rather worries me when people think that using a prayer list will always blunt a difficult event. God can say 'No' to 10,000 as easily as He can say "Yes" to one faithful servant. Almighty God doesn't do peer pressure....
Do not turn your back on your brothers and sisters in need. If you were fine with their walk before they had problems, then remain gentle in any 'corrections' you feel tempted to give afterward. You cannot support them unaided in the way you and they are accustomed to live...your Christian friends will know this too, and be doubly grateful when you help as you can. Your more carnal friends may lean too hard on you, yes....until you learn the word "no"....but pray hard about what you can do, and stick with doing that, being mindful always of your witness. Do right whether they acknowledge it or not. Who knows whether your faithfulness as a friend in Christ may not (in time) prove to be the seed that truly saves their souls?
Be aware that many who think they have defeated this carnal -materialistic attitude in their lives, have only defeated its most obvious manifestations, and missed the echo effect in their Christian support group. There is a tendency to believe, for one, that the friends and family of a pastor may be a little more 'saved' and should have higher standing than lay believers, when even pastors have to check their own walk daily, to keep from sliding. You can go to Bible studies often...and not apply the teaching, or maybe not even get good teaching TO apply.
As a result, its not uncommon to meet someone who has a 'leg up' in the church scene who figures they don't have to listen to a word from those 'below' them (or outside their sect), and think they are using proper discernment...when they are actually behaving/thinking exactly as described above. They aren't always trying to be ugly, but where Love goes out, Pride comes in, and Pride is an unrelenting, insidious, poisonous enemy, always looking for a hole in your protections so it can bite you again.
Now, I am not saying this thinking I am better than all that I've described. I've been burned enough that there's been many a time I've had to fight with the same temptation to judge the trials of those who have distressed me as 'just what they deserve.' God doesn't like that out of me either. I know it, so I try not to be that way. I don't know what is in everybody's heart (though I often think I can figure it out.) I am not called upon to judge, but to share the good news of God's Mercy. I have to pray for grace all the time too. I also have to remember that the merciful receive mercy, and the judgmental receive judgment.
Praise God, Christ sees the heart. God alone is the righteous judge, and Christ will execute that judgment.
Praise God that He is willing to soften our stony hearts and fix our backward 'logic,' if we will only yield to his Wisdom and Grace.
Today's TorahBytes (probably unintentionally) references one of the most common and irritating un-Christlike behavior in groups calling themselves Christians...
Many 'churches' judge people based on the appearance of success, worldly popularity, fame, political power, wealth and/or social gossip.... as long as someone vaguely makes some claim towards Christianity and is hawt, rich, famous, well-connected, and/or has many supporters in their social network, they will have a lot more clout with most of these worldly 'Christians' than a modern-day Elijah would.
They'd never admit it, but variations on the argument this Rabbi made work with most of them most of the time. All favor is considered Godly favor (despite all the verses in scripture to the contrary), and all reverses of the poor & unpopular become 'proof' that the person deserves sneering contempt rather than real help, prayer support, and caring compassion. A couple loses a child in an accident, and are treated as though they were guilty of deliberate murder. A missionary is martyred...he/she must have made a misstep and got out of Christ's protection. A child is abused...and slandered by the 'respectable' abuser (its common for an abuser to discredit their victim in a shared society) ...must be a rotten kid/dangerous adult. A Christian business has troubles; it must be because they had 'secret failings' that are now catching up with them.
Only obvious innocents (i.e. babies with cancer) don't have murmurings like this aimed at them (though its sometimes merely redirected to their parents.)
The shocker (for the cultural Christian) in the TorahBytes blog is hearing Christ Himself treated this way...
This is because that Rabbi doesn't regard Christ as a proven Holy person, the only definite grown-up non-sinning mental and physical adult the world has ever seen. He sees Christ as a proven 'loser' who lacked favor with God and man and suffered accordingly. So what sounds outrageous to one raised with the understanding of Jesus as the Son of God, makes perfect sense to him. This is how a lot of people saw Jesus in his own time, and how a lot of people see his followers today.
God has not seen fit to grant ALL His faithful followers great wealth on Earth while they grow rewards for faithfulness in Heaven, despite the huge promises of prosperity doctrine. Do you know the Apostles themselves remained worldly 'losers' while they preached on Earth? They were given great spiritual gifts of healing, prophecy, and other mighty powers, the early church had property they shared communally, but their personal purses tended to remain small. The Apostle Paul had to stop and earn further traveling money with his hands at times. The brilliant scholar who studied under Gamaliel made tents for pin money. That didn't pay much.
But, while every believer (and certainly every trained pastor!) who grew up reading the scriptures know these things, prosperity doctrine has retained its power in most church social settings, reflecting the world's obsession with wealth and rank back into the body of Christ. The implicit insult to Christ, the prophets, and the Apostles is simply ignored, as though they were in another category entirely from how we should see one another. We are supposed to be encouraging each other to express the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk. If our lives instead express the fruits of a carnal mind daily, we are in trouble. Either way, our bank accounts aren't the largest part of that equation.
But back among the carnal Christians, too many financial reverses will guarantee in most 'winner'/'loser'-minded sets that you are both easily judged and unpopular before very long. They may have liked you fine when your life was going well, but they don't want to drain their own resources helping you or look bad for refusing...so suddenly they don't know you so well. Maybe you did something that made you fall, eh? Any and all of life's little pleasures may be judged insufficiently Godly, be it mystery books, movies, video games, or a preoccupation with a sports team. Part of this is an animal desire to avoid the invisible predator that got the other monkey. Part of it is a cowardly desire to ease personal guilt by putting the blame on the victim.
Backwards-logic, unchallenged, leads to Bertha BetterThanYou getting enshrined at the top of the social pecking order....and, boy, does she ever peck... the sores of others. ..because she believes they prove that she is morally as well as socially superior. She therefore feels very free to judge others proper place in the local social hierarchy, and deciding whether anyone is 'deserving' of compassion goes right along with that attitude.
She and her cronies then decide who 'deserves' sympathy and who 'had it coming.' Health challenges are generally judged by how connected and/or popular parishioners were prior to onset of symptoms. With their reminders- popular, well-off, and/or powerful folks may get a TON of sympathy, visits from the pastor, support cards etc...which generally helps them stay their church's cause of the week, and stay well-connected. Meantime quieter folks have to be content with a mention in the prayer request list, especially poor people who are rarely well enough to attend or donate to church activities.
If anyone then asks them whether they support people in their need, they will point at the popular ones they 'encouraged' and get outraged if you mention the sheep that were shoved aside. (In fact, its a common social tactic for a newcomer to join a church's inner circle by diligently looking up those the inner circle champions...and diligently ignoring the needs of those they ignore. This is how you can tell those with a heart to serve from those who just have a heart to join the inner circle...)
There's a church not far from our house whose lack of Christian love and inclination towards snap judgments is regularly on display on their sign. Lately its been "a little stumble comes before a great fall" on one side...and an invitation to join their 'loving VBS' on the other.* Course they are the ones who frankly admitted when I first met them that their group was founded as a socially centralized way to manage their 'neighborhood enclave,' ** so maybe I shouldn't count them anyway.
*{Not long ago their sign said that those facing trials should accept the discipline and repent! Good advice generally..but...umm...you might want to get that beam in your eye looked at, folks...}
**(think civil rights issues)
This attitude also leads to other very inappropriate people being given very high levels of respect in their organizations. Hey. you know that rich guy with the florid, swollen nose and all the 'temporary' girlfriends? Not sure how he got so rich but isn't it great he donated a van for our club outings??? What a great guy... Seems like he likes coming to our church. Maybe if we chat him up, see if he'll make a confession of faith, he might become deacon or officer and manage our building fund? He has great parties too, though he'd have to tone 'em down when the pastor comes over. har har har (DH & I have literally overheard comments like these in this county...twice... both times the 'great guy' was known to have criminal connections, and eventually served time in ways that strongly suggested how they had gotten so wealthy. They managed to save most of their wealth though, and it didn't seemed to hurt their popularity with these 'Christians' at all.)
Now...God does indeed judge people after a season when they won't listen, and the causes mentioned earlier are among the reasons why, but only HE knows for certain when someone faces reversals for just cause or 'just because.' We aren't supposed to be judging this for ourselves, as we are NOT God...and are rarely going to get it right anyhow.
There are an incredible amount of 'Jobs' at any given time, suffering to be purified even more than they were, as preparation for later - or simply sharing Christ's suffering due to the decay & sin of our fallen world.
So how are we supposed to respond when we hear about others troubles in the real world? How do we distinguish the slandered sheep from say, that deacon who got arrested for party-time activities? How do we be wise sheep, in choosing who to visit in our limited time and who should get the emergency resources, and not be judgmental?
The immediate answer is prayer...pray until you know who you are to help with what you have. Pray HARD because you really care not to squander what God gave you...and not because you are curious who deserved a 'whuppin'
It starts with your heart. God calls everyone to repentance. You need to face the fact that you (and I) are not better than anyone else. Hobos have as much a right to grace as we do, even when they are high as a kite, ugly as a baboon's backside, and foul-mouthed besides. God loves witches...and the near homonyms.. God loves the meanie at the office. God loves even the most violent cannibal tribes there ever were. He loves them each one as much as he loves YOU
If you have accepted His gracious offer to be saved, He'd like you to show some gratitude by acting like the saved sinner you are. You deserve every bad thing that will ever happen to you and a lot of bad things that never will. That's true of everybody btw.
WE ALL DESERVE HELL
...but we are saved by Grace and Mercy.
Mercy -- which rejoices over judgment by the cleansing atonement of Jesus Christ...
and we are expected to be merciful in our dealings with others. We are flatly told not to judge other people, and that includes telling our friends and family whether we think other people deserve the trials they face.
"Judge not Lest Ye Be Judged" is God's flat warning that if you don't quit this, there will be trials in your future that will definitely be a judgment on you!
Its not that you shouldn't be careful in how you act around someone who could be dangerous to you, nor that you shouldn't use wisdom on who you hang with, in fact we are told to seek others who live Godly lives to be near whenever possible, but you need to be cautious of regarding those different than your group as less deserving of God's approbation and blessing than your group. It may well be true, but that's not for you to say (or think).
Your blessings in friends, resources, or other talents are given to you to use responsibly, with love, to God's glory.. They are not proof you aren't as likely to sin as the next guy.
Neither your talents, popularity or sterling qualities are a guarantee you won't be severely tested with trials at some season in your life. God makes no promises like that. Whether you have 5 friends or 500 here on Earth, or only the angels, heaven-dwelling saints, and Mother Mary to pray for you, God can hear and bless you. In fact, He has not promised to prioritize based on numbers. It rather worries me when people think that using a prayer list will always blunt a difficult event. God can say 'No' to 10,000 as easily as He can say "Yes" to one faithful servant. Almighty God doesn't do peer pressure....
Do not turn your back on your brothers and sisters in need. If you were fine with their walk before they had problems, then remain gentle in any 'corrections' you feel tempted to give afterward. You cannot support them unaided in the way you and they are accustomed to live...your Christian friends will know this too, and be doubly grateful when you help as you can. Your more carnal friends may lean too hard on you, yes....until you learn the word "no"....but pray hard about what you can do, and stick with doing that, being mindful always of your witness. Do right whether they acknowledge it or not. Who knows whether your faithfulness as a friend in Christ may not (in time) prove to be the seed that truly saves their souls?
Be aware that many who think they have defeated this carnal -materialistic attitude in their lives, have only defeated its most obvious manifestations, and missed the echo effect in their Christian support group. There is a tendency to believe, for one, that the friends and family of a pastor may be a little more 'saved' and should have higher standing than lay believers, when even pastors have to check their own walk daily, to keep from sliding. You can go to Bible studies often...and not apply the teaching, or maybe not even get good teaching TO apply.
As a result, its not uncommon to meet someone who has a 'leg up' in the church scene who figures they don't have to listen to a word from those 'below' them (or outside their sect), and think they are using proper discernment...when they are actually behaving/thinking exactly as described above. They aren't always trying to be ugly, but where Love goes out, Pride comes in, and Pride is an unrelenting, insidious, poisonous enemy, always looking for a hole in your protections so it can bite you again.
Now, I am not saying this thinking I am better than all that I've described. I've been burned enough that there's been many a time I've had to fight with the same temptation to judge the trials of those who have distressed me as 'just what they deserve.' God doesn't like that out of me either. I know it, so I try not to be that way. I don't know what is in everybody's heart (though I often think I can figure it out.) I am not called upon to judge, but to share the good news of God's Mercy. I have to pray for grace all the time too. I also have to remember that the merciful receive mercy, and the judgmental receive judgment.
Praise God, Christ sees the heart. God alone is the righteous judge, and Christ will execute that judgment.
Praise God that He is willing to soften our stony hearts and fix our backward 'logic,' if we will only yield to his Wisdom and Grace.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thunderstorm Meditation
Was given this link just before a brief, strong thunderstorm blew through. I just played part 1. It starts slow, but I was glad I hung in there when it got to the fun facts about the thunderstorm we just had. I haven't seen the rest yet, but it seems like it will be a good evening's viewing! Praise God for all His Mighty Ways ...and for blessing us so that yet another powerful storm passed by harmlessly, after watering our plants. :-)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
"Slow Down Therapy"
from Cybersalt Ministry... Nice thoughts for unhurried days....its too hot to do much right now anyway...
1. Slow down; God is still in heaven. You are not responsible for doing it all yourself, right now.
2. Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there. Each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savor.
3. Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you, it's OK to tell them they're pushing.
4. Take nothing for granted: watch water flow, the corn grow, the leaves blow, your neighbor mow.
5. Taste your food. God gives it to delight as well as to nourish.
6. Notice the sun and the moon as they rise and set. They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed.
7. Quit planning how you're going to use what you know, learn, or possess. God's gifts just are; be grateful and their purpose will be clear.
8. When you talk with someone, don't think about what you'll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them.
9. Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried little person inside you.
10. Create a place in your home...at your work...in your heart...where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.
11. Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn't luxury; it's a necessity.
12. Listen to the wind blow. It carries a message of yesterday and tomorrow - and now. NOW counts.
13. Rest on your laurels. They bring comfort whatever their size, age, or condition.
14. Talk slower. Talk less. Don't talk. Communication isn't measured by words.
15. Give yourself permission to be late sometimes. Life is for living, not scheduling.
16. Listen to the song of a bird; the complete song. Music and nature are gifts, but only if you are willing to receive them.
17. Take time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it's fruitful only if we muse, ponder, and mull.
18. Make time for play-the things you like to do. Whatever your age, your inner child needs re-creation.
19. Watch and listen to the night sky. It speaks.
20. Listen to the words you speak, especially in prayer.
21. Learn to stand back and let others take their turn as leaders. There will always be new opportunities for you to step out in front again.
22. Divide big jobs into little jobs. If God took six days to create the universe, can you hope to do any better?
23. When you find yourself rushing and anxious, stop. Ask yourself "WHY?" you are rushing and anxious. The reasons may improve your self-understanding.
24. Take time to read the Bible. Thoughtful reading is enriching reading.
25. Direct your life with purposeful choices, not with speed and efficiency. The best musician is one who plays with expression and meaning, not the one who finishes first.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
I write like myself. Thanks Anyway
One of my writer's group shared this, and, like many in the group I was bemused to find widely varied results from each the 'typical' samples I chose... Mary and Jesus blog from on here
My Shelfari profile netted this response:
and my recent Apple vs Mac bloggering got me:
My Susa/Susan/Shushan post got:
Good Ole "D'ni Dentistry" received the Stephen King award!
Oh c'mon! Dentists aren't that scary!
and a piece from one of my you-should-have-been-able-to-see-it-by-now stories got me:
I tried about a dozen more...and hardly ever got the same author twice. Arthur C. Clarke....Dan Brown (:P) ...Douglas Adams... L.Frank Baum...even David Foster Wallace??
Finally, by a narrow margin, I have a winner: Stephen King. Yay?
I write like
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
My Shelfari profile netted this response:
and my recent Apple vs Mac bloggering got me:
My Susa/Susan/Shushan post got:
Good Ole "D'ni Dentistry" received the Stephen King award!
Oh c'mon! Dentists aren't that scary!
and a piece from one of my you-should-have-been-able-to-see-it-by-now stories got me:
I tried about a dozen more...and hardly ever got the same author twice. Arthur C. Clarke....Dan Brown (:P) ...Douglas Adams... L.Frank Baum...even David Foster Wallace??
Finally, by a narrow margin, I have a winner: Stephen King. Yay?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Music of the Sphere
Drudge report shared this article about a neat discovery. Our sun makes music! :D
It makes a harp like set-up or wind instrument sounds. Imagine, if you can, a harp of fire 60,000 miles long!
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Hero...unforgotten favorite
This song gave me goose bumps from the very first time I heard it on the radio in the early 90's. Given that I married a hero-minded guy with an undeservedly bad rep, it meant a lot to me. I found it coming to mind again lately as I thought over our life together. Once again we have hope that matters will be set right...and I still believe in my hero.
Its hard to believe such a thoughtful song isn't more famous. One day I'll find the cd that has it. I wonder if it even had its own music video. No one seems to have one for it online. Curious
[Edit: the replacement I found seems to be the original promo music video. yay!]
It was one of those great stories that you can't put down at night
The hero knew what he had to do and he wasn't afraid to fight
The villain goes to jail while the hero goes free
I wish it were that simple for me
And the reason that she loved him
Was the reason I loved him too
And he never wondered what was right or wrong
He just knew, he just knew
Shadow and shade mix together at dawn
But by the time you catch them simplicity's gone
So we sort through the pieces my friends and I
Searching through the darkness to find the breaks in the sky...
The hero knew what he had to do and he wasn't afraid to fight
The villain goes to jail while the hero goes free
I wish it were that simple for me
And the reason that she loved him
Was the reason I loved him too
And he never wondered what was right or wrong
He just knew, he just knew
Shadow and shade mix together at dawn
But by the time you catch them simplicity's gone
So we sort through the pieces my friends and I
Searching through the darkness to find the breaks in the sky...
Monday, June 07, 2010
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Our Great God
Right before one of the scariest of DH medical adventures, a Christian friend felt led to share some music to encourage our hearts. The timing was very blessed indeed. I was going to need to hear them in the days to come, while I waited prayerfully for my beloved to wake up. I could feel God's promise as I listened to these hymns, and as I read God's Word, that He would take care of us, and that our family back at the house would be safe too while we had to be away. God continues to guard, guide, and provide for us - despite all the alarming situations we've had to face and all the garbage that has been thrown our way. Suddenly this song is speaking very powerfully to my heart again, so it seemed like a good time to share this with you. heh, its even the same audio. The pictures & verses added are not a bad touch, though a tad distracting.... imho
Sunday, May 23, 2010
I'm gonna miss these guys....
I learned today that the PC versus MAC ad campaign is over...and Consumerist suggests that its partly because the PC 'family/office' guy was just too charming to make their 'with-it' Cool Dude come off as favorably as they would have liked. Too "Smug" was how they described 'Mac.' Maybe their personal experiences with some Apple fans or Steve Job's rep have colored their thinking. I didn't see MAC actor as all that smug. He seemed to have some friendly feeling toward the other fella, even a little embarrassed when he knew the answers he had to give would make the other fella feel bad. That's what made the series of ads soooo cute.
This is not to say the series of ads didn't have some flaws. What I saw was a failure to communicate several major truths...the Apple isn't just about 20's-40's yuppies / techies creatively playing with their machine.
1) Apple machines have been GREAT for kids and educating generally. Didn't they have the first grade school programs?
2) Apple had the first big business software on a small computer - VisiCalc- and can still hold its own
3) Many techies have said they loved their fruity machines because of their reliability and robust performance in rendering data and images.
4) Apple's focus on making their products work intuitively 'right out of the box' makes them a fantastic computer for older people too.
5) The non-techie conservative middle-aged office guys I've known would have appreciated an Apple just fine, given the chance to run one, as long as they were also given the impression that their custom would be appreciated...
Also - many of the 'points' they make have obvious answers:
1) PCs are all over the map with performance and reliability, because every machine is a different configuration. What Mac was calling a "PC" apparently meant "Windows" OEM package experience w/ HP/Dell/Gateway etc ...because...
2) You can add all varieties of boot-up abilities out of the box with a custom-built pc. You can also have webcams, zip drives, &; other handy stuff setup for you. You don't have to have a bunch of stupid trials on it either. All options are open to those who build their own...
3) Many of the other brags (resistance to viruses and spyware) could also apply to computers running Linux, something Apple never addressed.
4) PCs can be built up or down, meaning that some are bound to be better than 'pre-set' Apples at certain tasks, including video editing....and didn't I hear that
5) ...the other big difference, the Mac OS, is now often being put on regular computers? Apple hasn't okayed this as yet, but many people are hoping they will finally relent and make the OS generally available to other types of computers. I do too.
IMHO 'Cancel or Allow' was definitely about Vista versus Leopard...not every style of computer in the world except for hardware Macs. Everyone knew it. It was one of their most amusing ads, but its mislabeled.
I personally believe that Apple's Leopard could still be a real rival for 'World's Favorite OS' - but if they do it will probably be as a result of allowing big name providers to ship with it, and this is likely to hurt some of that iron-clad reliability rep they enjoy. Then again, they are already getting a taste of shoe-from -the-other-foot...and I am sure it tastes as much like dirt as when Microsoft first got one upside the head. I am referring to the fact that Apple is now big enough to be getting some of the security attack flak from the real bad guys out in the world, especially stuff aimed at iPods, iPads, & iPhones...but also Apple computers. You still don't have as much risk as you do with the world's most common OS, but there is reason now to get security upgrades. Not everything Microsoft OS machines fight with is all their fault. There are always more security hazards when you are the biggest potentially profitable target. It would have looked better if the Mac ads had granted this point more graciously, because everybody already knows this. Besides, it could be Apple's turn one day.
I kinda hope they bring these guys back after a bit. maybe once Apple has rethought a few things.
You know...a lot of people think of themselves as both Apple & PC. Everyone loves the iPods and iPhones. Many households/offices have both Macs & Windows machines. Many more people would like to be Apple people but lack the moola or can't find a Mac port of their favorite programs. [The increasing ability of the Macs to run Windows programs has improved this situation, but more is needed.]
I started my computing life with AppleIIe and AppleIIc. Like many of my generation, I still have HUGE warm fuzzies for the Apple brand, but I could never afford a good one...which is why I am still a PC, however reluctantly. In all honesty, however, a number of my PCs have been very good to me, very reliable, especially the HP packages. They've earned some appreciation in our household too [though not enough to make us buy a Vista machine :P]
Remember Hewlett-Packard, Apple? The guys the great Woz started out working with? The company that gave Steve Jobs some of his first breaks as a kid?
When you come down to it both guys in the ads could have worked for HP, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, or about anybody... The actors didn't really define the average users of either machine. I suspect both the capable IT guy and the charming business manager would be very popular in their own departments. They seem like real nice guys. ;-)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Russian Border Guards Protect....Mt. Ranier?
DH's contribution. He found this extremely amusing. Thinking about it, a gaffe like this was inevitable some day, given the way people randomly use stock photos for layouts.
In other news, DD has shared (on her blog) some pics of her lovely roses and a few thoughts about them.
In other news, DD has shared (on her blog) some pics of her lovely roses and a few thoughts about them.
Portal (Puzzler game) free until May 24th!
I received this message from a friend recently, read it yesterday, and after getting set up I spent quite awhile playing it last night. Haven't seen anything family unfriendly as yet (and I am on level 15 of 19). You have to download the Steam browser to get it, but this is also free AND they have some other free games once you do. Steam has an excellent rep on the net, so that part doesn't concern me. btw Portal isn't really a shooter. You only 'shoot' where your portal goes on the wall or floor, and knock over a robot or two. This video explains, though its a lot more hectic-looking than anything I have seen in Portal yet ;-)
EDIT:: Got to level 16 (finally) and it suddenly got rougher. You have to avoid these robots..and when you don't you see your character's blood splattered on the walls :( So...to level 15 its pretty much kid safe.
The other free games are listed here: There's a racing game and a real-time strategy thingy, and a version of the casual classic, Peggle. Please note that while the usual versions of Peggle are safe for all ages, the free 'Extreme Peggle' Steam offers has 'scary monster' graphics added. IMHO the worst is the opening scene with something apparently trying to eat the unicorn's head. Gave me an extra grin given my recent blog post....
Anyway-
You will notice a mention of Nvidia & ATI card games on the post...both get the same freebies aside from Portal...which used to give half of the game only to Nvidia people.
http://www.steampowered.com/nvidia/
OR
http://www.steampowered.com/ati_offer1a/
If you have an NVidia graphics card, you might want to pick up your Nvidia special first if you care about the Half Life 2 episodes. The current free Portal promotion seems to be making things a little more complicated for some folks.
First impressions are that most of Steam's free games are PG-ish, and/or guy-centric...but I felt Portal was worth the trouble. It really is a fun thinking game. :-D
EDIT:: Got to level 16 (finally) and it suddenly got rougher. You have to avoid these robots..and when you don't you see your character's blood splattered on the walls :( So...to level 15 its pretty much kid safe.
The other free games are listed here: There's a racing game and a real-time strategy thingy, and a version of the casual classic, Peggle. Please note that while the usual versions of Peggle are safe for all ages, the free 'Extreme Peggle' Steam offers has 'scary monster' graphics added. IMHO the worst is the opening scene with something apparently trying to eat the unicorn's head. Gave me an extra grin given my recent blog post....
Anyway-
You will notice a mention of Nvidia & ATI card games on the post...both get the same freebies aside from Portal...which used to give half of the game only to Nvidia people.
http://www.steampowered.com/nvidia/
OR
http://www.steampowered.com/ati_offer1a/
If you have an NVidia graphics card, you might want to pick up your Nvidia special first if you care about the Half Life 2 episodes. The current free Portal promotion seems to be making things a little more complicated for some folks.
First impressions are that most of Steam's free games are PG-ish, and/or guy-centric...but I felt Portal was worth the trouble. It really is a fun thinking game. :-D
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Happy Mother's Day!
(Cool quotes Gwabbled.)
All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother. -Abraham Lincoln
My mother is probably the wisest person I’ve ever known. She’s not schooled, she’s not well read. But she has a philosophy of life that makes well-read people seem like morons. -Gene Simmons
The older I get the more of my mother I see in myself. -Nancy Friday
The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. -Honore de Balzac
A mother’s love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking. – Helen Rice
The love she has deep in her heart, Always gives me a good jump start, She is the one who’s love is true. Thank u Mom for being u – Anonymous
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over. – George Cooper
Mommy, I Love You For all that you do. I’ll kiss you and hug you Cause you love me, too. –Anonymous
A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done. – Author Unknown
Mom’s smiles can brighten any moment, Mom’s hugs put joy in all our days, Mom’s love will stay with us ever and touch our lives in precious ways… – Anonymous
A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. – Tenneva Jordan
If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. – Attributed to Claudia Ghandi
My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. – Graycie Harmon
Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love. – Mildred B. Vermont
My Mother, my friend so dear, Throughout my life you’re always near, A tender smile to guide my way, You’re the sunshine to light my day. – Anonymous
When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. – Sophia Loren
An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest. – Spanish Proverb
Saturday, May 08, 2010
And this week's word is...
convention....
Unwittingly, I have chosen one book after another that focuses on gatherings. The current mystery, Murder Makes a Pilgrimage, is set at a religious 'Holy Year' gathering...which turns out to be a lot like a con. Steve Jobs' bio before that discussed conventions too. The author used the special announcements for the Apple faithful at their yearly gatherings to highlight the changes at Apple & Pixar as the years went by. The mystery before that one, Stitch in Crime, was set at an 'arts & crafts retreat' (sure played out like a regular convention). Now the mystery before that one (Bimbos of the Death Sun) I knew was set at a sci-fi con....and it inspired me to finally dig Uhura's bio out of the TBR pile, but the others were a surprise. I am not sure whether or not I should count Auntie Mayhem, because the psychologists convention in London isn't where the major events take place. Its the English family reunion the cousins attend afterward that turns out to be dangerous. heh.
Since the complaining & social politics are faithfully recorded AND because somebody croakers in each of the mysteries, it doesn't make me feel bad not to be there. Just the long arm of coincidence, I suppose. This is the time of year I would have been creating crafts, firming and finalizing details with the planning committee to prepare goodies for my fellow fans, though sadly this included a mouthy clique of ingrates who (even if catered to) wouldn't appreciate anything unless they took it over. Some of my best creations didn't even get shown in the last years. I didn't feel very appreciated by then, especially since I did a lot of the work in the Fall and someone always used it and took credit for it in the Spring. The final straw was when we took up the hat to buy special souvenir golf discs one year and I not only didn't get paid back, but I didn't even get credit for my generosity on the list of donors. I was finally given one disc by another planning committee member...as a Christmas present. Not missing THAT scene....but the fun ones I used to attend as a fan... yeah, maybe a little ;-)
Actually, even if it hadn't gone stupid, I wouldn't have been able to keep up working for free on 'fun' committees. Tom's health problems got serious in Fall 2004...and have only lightened up in recent months. I thought we were done completely the other day, but that one last spot opened up again so...saline bandages for another week I guess.... I am going to get him back on his Unjury protein powder, I think.
Last summer's hernia surgery turned out to be a lot bigger a deal than we expected...and after healing up from 7 major surgeries (and a dozens of other minor procedures), his endocrine system had already crashed (the previous year) which majorly slowed up his healing capacity. More months on the Wound-Vac followed his release last summer. There's just so much a body can take, and he was a miracle on legs even when it began. His insides have made medical history. His survival says awesome things about the power of God (and many good things about Dr. Shah) Yes, I have had 6 years of changing bandages, overseeing medicines, transporting Tom to and waiting with him through doctor's visits, check-up tests, and otherwise acting as primary care nurse. I just didn't have the mental concentration or physical energy to focus seriously on projects outside my family's needs...nor were the funds really there with DH in the hospital over and over. We did qualify for assistance but I have had to scale back a lot of things. At least he got a hospital bed out of the deal. Everyone still wants to play with it. ;)
& I did pick up my crochet, starting with a blanket made for Tom's hospital beds (I added a band around the outside afterward). (Yes, I know it looks like knitting. What can I say? I was a bit tense...)
I am still not nearly as good as my mother, but i have made major progress. These are the first 'craft-intensive' blankets I have made for the family since the 90's. (I had also made a few simple ones for friends and family from pre-printed fabrics.) Since finishing Tom's single crocheted blanket , I have made double-crocheted ponchos for the family & double-crocheted blankets. Crochet is great stuff. Its relaxing to do and relaxing to use.. Just ask our cat Louis...
We couldn't have made the 'fun' trips to these big cons either, though there are tons of get togethers in our area. Hardly a month goes by that there isn't a festival, Colonial re-enactment, Civil War demo, or a gaythering o' lords & ladies fayre ;-) Even Tom has been able to wander by several & play of an afternoon, so we haven't missed out completely..
Hard to say when we will be up for anything more again. Right now we are back to re-planning with the disability people. Its been good news lately. Looks like he qualifies now for retraining..and while he is doing that I can pick up my projects and see how that goes.
Unwittingly, I have chosen one book after another that focuses on gatherings. The current mystery, Murder Makes a Pilgrimage, is set at a religious 'Holy Year' gathering...which turns out to be a lot like a con. Steve Jobs' bio before that discussed conventions too. The author used the special announcements for the Apple faithful at their yearly gatherings to highlight the changes at Apple & Pixar as the years went by. The mystery before that one, Stitch in Crime, was set at an 'arts & crafts retreat' (sure played out like a regular convention). Now the mystery before that one (Bimbos of the Death Sun) I knew was set at a sci-fi con....and it inspired me to finally dig Uhura's bio out of the TBR pile, but the others were a surprise. I am not sure whether or not I should count Auntie Mayhem, because the psychologists convention in London isn't where the major events take place. Its the English family reunion the cousins attend afterward that turns out to be dangerous. heh.
Since the complaining & social politics are faithfully recorded AND because somebody croakers in each of the mysteries, it doesn't make me feel bad not to be there. Just the long arm of coincidence, I suppose. This is the time of year I would have been creating crafts, firming and finalizing details with the planning committee to prepare goodies for my fellow fans, though sadly this included a mouthy clique of ingrates who (even if catered to) wouldn't appreciate anything unless they took it over. Some of my best creations didn't even get shown in the last years. I didn't feel very appreciated by then, especially since I did a lot of the work in the Fall and someone always used it and took credit for it in the Spring. The final straw was when we took up the hat to buy special souvenir golf discs one year and I not only didn't get paid back, but I didn't even get credit for my generosity on the list of donors. I was finally given one disc by another planning committee member...as a Christmas present. Not missing THAT scene....but the fun ones I used to attend as a fan... yeah, maybe a little ;-)
Actually, even if it hadn't gone stupid, I wouldn't have been able to keep up working for free on 'fun' committees. Tom's health problems got serious in Fall 2004...and have only lightened up in recent months. I thought we were done completely the other day, but that one last spot opened up again so...saline bandages for another week I guess.... I am going to get him back on his Unjury protein powder, I think.
Last summer's hernia surgery turned out to be a lot bigger a deal than we expected...and after healing up from 7 major surgeries (and a dozens of other minor procedures), his endocrine system had already crashed (the previous year) which majorly slowed up his healing capacity. More months on the Wound-Vac followed his release last summer. There's just so much a body can take, and he was a miracle on legs even when it began. His insides have made medical history. His survival says awesome things about the power of God (and many good things about Dr. Shah) Yes, I have had 6 years of changing bandages, overseeing medicines, transporting Tom to and waiting with him through doctor's visits, check-up tests, and otherwise acting as primary care nurse. I just didn't have the mental concentration or physical energy to focus seriously on projects outside my family's needs...nor were the funds really there with DH in the hospital over and over. We did qualify for assistance but I have had to scale back a lot of things. At least he got a hospital bed out of the deal. Everyone still wants to play with it. ;)
& I did pick up my crochet, starting with a blanket made for Tom's hospital beds (I added a band around the outside afterward). (Yes, I know it looks like knitting. What can I say? I was a bit tense...)
I am still not nearly as good as my mother, but i have made major progress. These are the first 'craft-intensive' blankets I have made for the family since the 90's. (I had also made a few simple ones for friends and family from pre-printed fabrics.) Since finishing Tom's single crocheted blanket , I have made double-crocheted ponchos for the family & double-crocheted blankets. Crochet is great stuff. Its relaxing to do and relaxing to use.. Just ask our cat Louis...
We couldn't have made the 'fun' trips to these big cons either, though there are tons of get togethers in our area. Hardly a month goes by that there isn't a festival, Colonial re-enactment, Civil War demo, or a gaythering o' lords & ladies fayre ;-) Even Tom has been able to wander by several & play of an afternoon, so we haven't missed out completely..
Hard to say when we will be up for anything more again. Right now we are back to re-planning with the disability people. Its been good news lately. Looks like he qualifies now for retraining..and while he is doing that I can pick up my projects and see how that goes.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Letter E
An email treasure shared by Darlene...
THE LETTER "E"
It has been said that the letter "E" is the most unfortunate character!
It is always out of case, forever in debt, never out of danger, and in trouble all the time. But it can be considered in another way
"E" is never in war, but always in peace. Moreover, it's the very center of honesty, and ease begins and ends with it. Best of all, God's love, mercy, and grace all contain it. It is in the name
that is above every other name, Jesus and is found in the gospel of our eternal redemption, Eternal life, begins and ends with it; and who could write about heaven without it. It has a place in hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized, arise, newness of life, prayer, learn, practice, death, resurrection and reward!
THE LETTER "E"
It has been said that the letter "E" is the most unfortunate character!
It is always out of case, forever in debt, never out of danger, and in trouble all the time. But it can be considered in another way
"E" is never in war, but always in peace. Moreover, it's the very center of honesty, and ease begins and ends with it. Best of all, God's love, mercy, and grace all contain it. It is in the name
that is above every other name, Jesus and is found in the gospel of our eternal redemption, Eternal life, begins and ends with it; and who could write about heaven without it. It has a place in hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized, arise, newness of life, prayer, learn, practice, death, resurrection and reward!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Nancy Drew Tale of the Twister Play Now! | HerInteractive
Play Now! | HerInteractive
My family loves adventure games, and has been following the Nancy Drew titles for years now. I thought this trailer looked fun.
My family loves adventure games, and has been following the Nancy Drew titles for years now. I thought this trailer looked fun.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Blow Your Own Horn
EMBED-Guy Makes Do It Yourself Trumpet - Watch more free videos
I don't know much about the site this video came from BUT this clip is neat! A local HS Mom passed this on in one of my groups. I wish trumpet guy covered how to manage making the mouthpiece...but this site helps with that part ...maybe.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Civil liberties group gives warnings for 2010 - The Inquirer
Civil liberties group gives warnings for 2010 - The Inquirer
IMHO It is always important to see what trends are likely to affect our everyday lives.
IMHO It is always important to see what trends are likely to affect our everyday lives.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Rollerball
You can just see the tiger saying, "So roll already, you boring pet... or do you need us to bat you around?" :D
Reminds me of our old Gehnny pig. Put her in the rolling ball and she just looked at you funny. Try to roll her and she'd do this 'weebles wobble' routine and rock it to a stop.
This was Gehnny. A pet store gave her to us because they'd gotten her back and she wouldn't tame completely. They were literally debating about feeding her to an over-sized boa constrictor when I happened to wander into the pet store. The clerk arguing for her life persuaded us to take her home. She was quite a character. She did eventually tame down, but in the early days she demanded much attention...like a tiny roly-poly potentate. By the end of her life she had actually become a very sweet guinea pig who adored being snuggled.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Make My Life a Prayer to You
This hymn has long inspired my life. Its usually hard to share classic Christian music. I am so glad I can share it now with you. You can even get the DVD from the Greens. Just click the title of this blog. Awesome!
Blessings!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Happy Easter!
Hope yours was very blessed. We had a quiet celebration this year. We thanked Christ repeatedly for what He has done for us all, had our eggs scrambled, rather than hard-boiled, and opted for pastries rather than candy. Tonight's dinner was garlic lamb roast with a curried cous cous and steamed veggies. Very tasty! Otherwise we spent the weekend gardening. The flower garden has been refreshed. The roses are doing well. We have only just started the practical stuff. This will be the first year we've tried growing strawberries since I was a kid. We are all hoping that God blesses that venture particularly. There's nothing quite like eating fresh strawberries :D
Here is the Easter song we play every year. I pray it will also bless your heart.
Friday, March 19, 2010
St Patrick's Breastplate
Wikipedia offers the opinion that St Patrick's Breastplate was inspired by Druidic incantations. That is probably true as a Catholic page mentions that the guy who owned him as a slave was also a druidic priest. I didn't know that before, nor was I aware that he was born in Scotland. I had read before that he was English. Turns out his parents were Roman Britons but they were established in Scotland.
The other day I looked for a longer version of St Patrick's famous prayer because the snippet I added on St Patrick's Day lacked my favourite lines...the ones that stressed that we should see each other through Christ..as he stands betwixt each of us (and has paid for all our sins to each other.) Whenever I think of St Patrick's Day since encountering those thoughts, I consider afresh this idea that we should see each other through Christ-tinted glasses. Even if this wasn't the original intent of the Breastplate, its a worthy thought. Maybe this confusion was inspired by listening to John Michael Talbot's "Betwixt Me" on his Celtic God of Life cd? I haven't listened to it in awhile....
*starts rummaging through her cd rack*
Yep! That was it.
Ah well..the original Breastplate Prayer is pretty good as it stands.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgement of Doom.
The other day I looked for a longer version of St Patrick's famous prayer because the snippet I added on St Patrick's Day lacked my favourite lines...the ones that stressed that we should see each other through Christ..as he stands betwixt each of us (and has paid for all our sins to each other.) Whenever I think of St Patrick's Day since encountering those thoughts, I consider afresh this idea that we should see each other through Christ-tinted glasses. Even if this wasn't the original intent of the Breastplate, its a worthy thought. Maybe this confusion was inspired by listening to John Michael Talbot's "Betwixt Me" on his Celtic God of Life cd? I haven't listened to it in awhile....
*starts rummaging through her cd rack*
Yep! That was it.
Ah well..the original Breastplate Prayer is pretty good as it stands.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgement of Doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In prediction of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In prediction of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me.
God's host to save me
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me.
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St Patrick's Day!
May you have:
A world of wishes at your command
God and his angels close at hand
Friends and family their love impart,
And Irish blessings in your heart.
May God grant you many years to live,
For sure he must be knowing
The earth has angels all too few
And Heaven is overflowing.
These things I warmly wish to you-
Someone to love
Some work to do
A bit o' sun
A bit o' cheer
And a guardian angel always near.
A world of wishes at your command
God and his angels close at hand
Friends and family their love impart,
And Irish blessings in your heart.
May God grant you many years to live,
For sure he must be knowing
The earth has angels all too few
And Heaven is overflowing.
These things I warmly wish to you-
Someone to love
Some work to do
A bit o' sun
A bit o' cheer
And a guardian angel always near.
May you be in
Heaven a half hour before the
Devil knows you're dead!
May those who love us, love us
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts
And if he can't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping!
May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.
May the best day of your past
Be the worst day of your future.
God is good, but never dance in a small boat.
As you slide down the banister of life,
May the splinters never point in the wrong direction!
May you always have
Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire!
Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire!
Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last.
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last.
May Christ e'er be our companion
May true friends stand by our side
May her history remind us all
Of Ireland's faith and pride.
May God bless us with happiness
May love and faith abide.
Grant me a sense of humor, Lord,
the saving grace to see a joke,
To win some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folks.
the saving grace to see a joke,
To win some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folks.
May the good saints protect you
And bless you today
And may troubles ignore you
Each step of the way
And bless you today
And may troubles ignore you
Each step of the way
Christ be with me, Christ be within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
FROM THE BREASTPLATE OF SAINT PATRICK
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
FROM THE BREASTPLATE OF SAINT PATRICK
Deep peace of the running waves to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the smiling stars to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you
AN OLD GAELIC PRAYER
christian glitter graphics Glitter Graphics - Glitterlive.com/Save and Bookmark
Go mbeannai Dia duit
(May God Bless You)
(May God Bless You)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)