Stuff -

So - its been a busy spring

Life here is STILL busy, but things are looking up.

For the first time in four years we are NOT planning another major medical procedure, set of tests, or surgery. We are scaled back to seeing ONE doctor every few weeks. Tom isn't entirely healed up from the last one - but we're starting to believe that this trying chapter in our lives may finally be coming to an end, Praise God. We have now heard we will have help with the remaining bills from it all too. BIG relief there! Tom still needs a lot of pricey meds but these too have been covered thus far. Praise God for His daily blessings! We depend on Him so very much! Praise God even for the trials that made us focus so much on our walk with Him, and so much more concerned on what is pleasing to Him and what isn't. His Peace has made many days that should have been rough, comparatively easy. He has weeded out of our lives many things that evidently needed to go - and we've found that life is a lot more peaceful choosing to live Jesus' way. Praise God that as we have committed more and more to Him in prayer He has been faithful to come through for us, and so our faith has only grown in these times - and so we trust Him for tomorrow, and that He will lead us in good paths as the next chapter of our lives begins. We thank God also for all those daily blessings that have made our existence more pleasant of late. Even the septic system & well repairs have improved our daily life more than we would have thought. Our yard finally has its azaleas again, though they are still pretty small. We just put some new-to-us chairs around ye olde picnic table, because the weather has been so nice we've been outside rather a lot. We didn't really have a winter this year. Its been mild temps most days since early last fall. That doesn't always happen.

& No, we were not especially affected by storm that did all that tornado damage in Suffolk, though we appreciate the concern from family & friends who checked on us. Suffolk is wwaayy on the other side of the metroplex. We didn't even lose power for more than 20 minutes. Worst reports from our area from that overly energetic storm affected a rich guy who had his barn roof fly away, another reasonably well-off dude that had 3 classic cars damaged by a collapsing carport, and a lady who had tree damage on her house. Even in Suffolk, most had good insurance, though this is a traumatic event just the same. May God have mercy on all those who suffered loss.

Praying God's help for all those affected by the continuing storms that have slapped at one state after another in the center of our country. This was the first time one of those really strong storms reached our part of the coast. Definitely praying for some relief for those who have gone through one string of tornadoes & flooding rain storm after another. Praying also that these storms at least break the drought that has plagued so many places in our country.

I was disappointed that Huckabee didn't get farther, but maybe we can see him as VP? Whether I'd vote for McCain still depends on that and - whether Obama gets his chance to run against him - and - now -I'd like to hear some solid assurances from Obama now that he respects the rights of people of faith, including those relating to homeschooling. I guess if Obama really feels that gun rights & religious convictions are merely a fallback for the down & out, it was good he slipped up in those comments in Pennsylvania, but I was sorely disappointed by that- and by the way he equated these positions with small town xenophobias. The continuing coverage on the ungracious views of his long time religious leader haven't helped either. Glenn Beck is right. There's no way Obama knew this guy for 20 years and didn't know where Rev. Wright was coming from. Just the same, there are so many good things he has had to say- even in his bad speech, Obama was addressing a real need. We DO need jobs to come back to all these little towns...

Hubby doesn't understand why Hilary has done so well so far. Everybody ought to know what she has stood for, right? Moore's latest film "Sicko" reminded us of some of the good & bad of her health plans. Certainly something needs to be done and she's got a rep for trying to do something about it. Just the same, her latest comments about (en)forcing everyone into universal coverage concerned many folks. But not everybody remembers, or followed the scandals all that closely back in the day. All anybody mentions now is Lewinski- which is Bill alone. To be fair, if I hadn't read so much about the Clintons during their reign, and hadn't been so shocked by the Vince Foster's death and the shredding of documents she was accused of having done right afterward (even the official answer, which could be real, didn't make her look good) - and also about the Whitewater scandals - Well, she might sound pretty good to me too. She certainly knows how to present herself. She might answer that none of her competitors is any better - and she might be right, or not. All we poor voters can do is make a limited choice and hope for the best candidate to represent our current concerns and let us keep our cherished freedoms. At this point it isn't incredibly clear who that would be. Guess we'll just keep following developments.

On a slightly lighter note. We DID get to see "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." Hubby saw it twice, as my Mom wanted to go after hearing our report and he volunteered to drive seeing as the movie theater was a new one. It took a little finding for those unfamiliar with the new development. Its a very good movie! We'll be sure to get the dvd when it comes available. Ben Stein was about as fair-minded as he could be, but its an awful thing when one clique becomes so intolerant of any theory or worldview not their own that they will persecute the 'heretics' - as Stein's documentary clearly shows them doing - and still claims to be open to all truth. The hypocrisy was just stunning. None of this was news to me, as my earlier blogs can attest, but its different to see it on film. The hope is that this will curb the mindless animosity that has plagued the dialogue process thus far. Hearing Dawkins admit that he could accept a 'seeded'/terraformed Earth - or some other form of ID was a bigger opening than I had hoped to hear at this juncture.

You see, the Intelligent Design paradigm doesn't get into WHO put the completed forms on Earth or WHEN - just that that the primordial- soup- to- dinosaur evolution insisted upon by the establishment hasn't truly been supported by the evidence - at least on THIS planet. Many ID scientists are not Christians, nor are they Creation Scientists. The big scape-goating thing is to say that only people of faith would argue the world view enshrined in museums, and then imply that faith destroys their thinking process. Actually only people who have strong convictions of some kind would take the risk of arguing with Powers That Be. Not many people dared to argue with the Nazis to their face either. There were consequences for that kind of courage long before the death camps were built. This is what people need to understand.

Now, I DO believe in God as the Maker of all things. I am a Creationist, but I've known from the beginning that God Himself hasn't been big on making our faith pointless by proving His Might & Power & Glory to all men - just yet. Just getting a fair playing field where people can believe what they want but understand that our faith isn't DISproved by the evidence is a major step forward - and all I ever asked to see until Christ's return. That may sound minimalist, but I think I understand why God hasn't removed more of the wool off evolutionist eyes. He wants them to want Him for His own sake.

God imputed much righteousness to Abraham for his faith in God - that gift of salvation, purchased by Christ, has been available to all those on Earth who would love to believe in doing right, and who want to know Him. Once all is known beyond a shadow of any doubt, what value would our acquiescence to God's Omnipotence and Omniscience grant us? Not much.


On a MUCH lighter note, I just have to show you the worst purchase I have made in awhile - half price or not. This is the new 'Intuition" razor - whose writeup- in French & English said something about wetting the razor and then 'pushing the buttons' while you shaved to release a gentle lather...

The buttons on it don't do anything. The big handle, which does look like it was designed to be a reservoir, is empty. Instead the 'shaving soap' consists of a small cut-out bar that surrounds the cartridge. The single backup cartridge also has its own soap bar. I tried it and found that the soap didn't lather, but the whole process did make me rinse the tested area several times to get all the residue off. I felt very clean afterward... So it does work - after a fashion.