The Holy Bible, New International Version
Psa. 33:1 through Psa. 33:22 (NIV)
Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars£;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
WorldNetDaily: It's the parenting, stupid
WorldNetDaily: It's the parenting, stupid
This discusses the problems some Christian parents are having.
This discusses the problems some Christian parents are having.
Okay, a couple of things that I want to address from KR. First, proselytizing. I’m surprised that someone got that from the post that it was referring to. The original post was just an inspirational paragraph about looking to Jesus for hope and strength, but someone chose to perceive it otherwise. So, they have to bash and accuse and be intolerant in the name of tolerance (explain that!).
Then the whole idea of “judging” comes up again. “Don’t judge me”, “don’t tell me my beliefs are wrong” and above all else, “don’t tell me that I’m going to hell.”
Well, I have a few thoughts about all of it! If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you will be able to discern those who are not. It’s pretty simple. You can tell by their fruit. That being said, you were once in their shoes-unbelief. You have a responsibility to love them, show them Jesus in your life, and share the hope that you now have. Judging them based on their sins is foolishness, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Until you come to Christ, the only sin that matters is unbelief. You should warn those around you and you certainly shouldn’t lower God’s standards, you must speak up for righteousness, but man’s righteousness “is as filthy rags”. Without Christ, you cannot be truly righteous.
Now, if someone claims to be a Christian, we can judge.
1 Cor. 5:12 through 1 Cor. 5:13 (NIV) 12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”£
Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionary defines judge:
G2919
êñßíù
krinoô
kree'-no
Properly to distinguish, that is, decide (mentally or judicially); by implication to try, condemn, punish:—avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.
We have a responsibility to judge those who claim to be Christians, to hold them up to God’s standards of righteousness.
As for unbelievers and “sinners”, Jesus spent considerable amounts of time with them, eating with them, socializing with them. But, he didn’t mince words. He taught them about the Kingdom of God, how to enter the Kingdom of God, and that obedience is essential and he told them to “go and sin no more.” When he sent his disciples out to share with the people, he told them that if they would listen, share, otherwise, shake the dust off their feet and move on. We need to be open to sharing with those around us, but it’s important to move on if people are hostile to the gospel. Just a few feet down the road, God may have another heart prepared, someone who knows that the Lord is calling them, but doesn’t know what the next step should be.
Our society is in the shape it is in because people kept saying “live and let live”, “who am I to judge”, maybe I should say “the church” is in the shape it’s in because of these things. If the people in the churches were living like they were supposed to, different from the world, maybe Christianity would be more appealing to unbelievers. As it is right now, they just see a bunch of self-righteous people telling unbelievers how to live and letting the church live like the world. They see our divorce rates are just as high as the rest of society, our abortion rates are just as high, and our desires for our children have more to do with a good education and material success than having a relationship with Jesus Christ (this just came out in a recent survey).
Do we keep speaking up for morality? Of course. Do we speak up for truth? Absolutely! Do we correct misconceptions and distortions? Yes! All those things are important, but the most important thing is living it! Showing people Jesus 24/7. He is our example and He is the judge. He will judge those outside the church for their unbelief, their hardened hearts, I don’t have to. I just have to keep sharing, keep loving, keep going!
Today is my 41st birthday. It really is an odd number, but I’m liking my 40’s. I just want to say how thankful I am for the life the Lord has given me. I’m blessed to have a GREAT GOD and SAVIOR, a wonderful husband, wonderful children (who teach me so much), a fabulous, loving mom, an awesome dad, a great step-dad, amazing and awesome friends who encourage and build me up, a godly pastor who leaves no stone unturned, who has taught us the priceless value of God’s Word, of learning it and living it, a wonderful church family, the coolest doggie ever, wonderful internet friends, and so many more blessings that it would take forever to list them!
As my friend, Sandy, would say (even as she awaits her trip home to Heaven), “God is good all the time, all the time, God is good.”
Then the whole idea of “judging” comes up again. “Don’t judge me”, “don’t tell me my beliefs are wrong” and above all else, “don’t tell me that I’m going to hell.”
Well, I have a few thoughts about all of it! If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you will be able to discern those who are not. It’s pretty simple. You can tell by their fruit. That being said, you were once in their shoes-unbelief. You have a responsibility to love them, show them Jesus in your life, and share the hope that you now have. Judging them based on their sins is foolishness, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Until you come to Christ, the only sin that matters is unbelief. You should warn those around you and you certainly shouldn’t lower God’s standards, you must speak up for righteousness, but man’s righteousness “is as filthy rags”. Without Christ, you cannot be truly righteous.
Now, if someone claims to be a Christian, we can judge.
1 Cor. 5:12 through 1 Cor. 5:13 (NIV) 12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”£
Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionary defines judge:
G2919
êñßíù
krinoô
kree'-no
Properly to distinguish, that is, decide (mentally or judicially); by implication to try, condemn, punish:—avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.
We have a responsibility to judge those who claim to be Christians, to hold them up to God’s standards of righteousness.
As for unbelievers and “sinners”, Jesus spent considerable amounts of time with them, eating with them, socializing with them. But, he didn’t mince words. He taught them about the Kingdom of God, how to enter the Kingdom of God, and that obedience is essential and he told them to “go and sin no more.” When he sent his disciples out to share with the people, he told them that if they would listen, share, otherwise, shake the dust off their feet and move on. We need to be open to sharing with those around us, but it’s important to move on if people are hostile to the gospel. Just a few feet down the road, God may have another heart prepared, someone who knows that the Lord is calling them, but doesn’t know what the next step should be.
Our society is in the shape it is in because people kept saying “live and let live”, “who am I to judge”, maybe I should say “the church” is in the shape it’s in because of these things. If the people in the churches were living like they were supposed to, different from the world, maybe Christianity would be more appealing to unbelievers. As it is right now, they just see a bunch of self-righteous people telling unbelievers how to live and letting the church live like the world. They see our divorce rates are just as high as the rest of society, our abortion rates are just as high, and our desires for our children have more to do with a good education and material success than having a relationship with Jesus Christ (this just came out in a recent survey).
Do we keep speaking up for morality? Of course. Do we speak up for truth? Absolutely! Do we correct misconceptions and distortions? Yes! All those things are important, but the most important thing is living it! Showing people Jesus 24/7. He is our example and He is the judge. He will judge those outside the church for their unbelief, their hardened hearts, I don’t have to. I just have to keep sharing, keep loving, keep going!
Today is my 41st birthday. It really is an odd number, but I’m liking my 40’s. I just want to say how thankful I am for the life the Lord has given me. I’m blessed to have a GREAT GOD and SAVIOR, a wonderful husband, wonderful children (who teach me so much), a fabulous, loving mom, an awesome dad, a great step-dad, amazing and awesome friends who encourage and build me up, a godly pastor who leaves no stone unturned, who has taught us the priceless value of God’s Word, of learning it and living it, a wonderful church family, the coolest doggie ever, wonderful internet friends, and so many more blessings that it would take forever to list them!
As my friend, Sandy, would say (even as she awaits her trip home to Heaven), “God is good all the time, all the time, God is good.”
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Thanks for all the birthday wishes!! It's an odd one, 41. Not to exciting, but Mom and I had a good day. I got a makeover at the Lancome counter by the sweetest young woman. I got $150.00 worth of clothes (a beautiful skirt and 3 cotton sweaters) for $29.00. My favorite anti-bacterial soap was on sale at Bath and Body Works for 4 for $10.00. I got a new pair of leather, slip-on Nike tennis shoes for $32.00 (regularly $46.00). I was so excited!! I'm not a great bargain shopper, I never seem to hit it right, but I was thrilled with my great buys!!
Oh, those Asian beetles!!! My friend, JB, commented on them yesterday! They are unbelievable!! I started vacuuming them up on Tuesday evening and we haven't stopped! We use to shake them out outside, but I've decided to flush them and let the septic tank do it's thing! I've probably flushed 300-400 in the last few days. It's wild! The other night, around 3:00 am, I could feel something crawling on my inner thigh, inside my p.j.'s-sure enough, there was a beetle in my pants!! I can't take much more, it's like a bad horror movie.
I taught my first knitting lessons at the market this morning. It went well. I have more students next week and even more the following week. I'm excited. I love passing on the craft.
Well, I'd better get to work. I need to finish one baby sweater this afternoon and put a good dent in another. They are starting to come fast and furious!!
Oh, those Asian beetles!!! My friend, JB, commented on them yesterday! They are unbelievable!! I started vacuuming them up on Tuesday evening and we haven't stopped! We use to shake them out outside, but I've decided to flush them and let the septic tank do it's thing! I've probably flushed 300-400 in the last few days. It's wild! The other night, around 3:00 am, I could feel something crawling on my inner thigh, inside my p.j.'s-sure enough, there was a beetle in my pants!! I can't take much more, it's like a bad horror movie.
I taught my first knitting lessons at the market this morning. It went well. I have more students next week and even more the following week. I'm excited. I love passing on the craft.
Well, I'd better get to work. I need to finish one baby sweater this afternoon and put a good dent in another. They are starting to come fast and furious!!
Friday, March 04, 2005
Poor Hubby has been sick again this week. He's finally feeling a little better, but I think he had the flu. The coughing was horrible and the headache and neckache was awful. Of course, it rearranged our schedule for the whole week, but hopefully we're back on track.
I'm quite ready for some warmer weather. The house feels very stuffy and I'd like to get it aired out.
I started reading, The Last Disciple by Hank Hanegraff and I'm very disappointed. Until I started reading this book and doing some research, I had trusted his take on things. Now, I'm not so sure. The book takes a "preterist" view of Revelation and prophecy. They believe that the 1st century persecution by Nero was the tribulation period and the Nero was the beast. I find this very difficult to believe in light of Scripture. I believe that it was a shadow of the wrath to come, but I know that Scripture says that believers will NOT see the wrath of God and that there is a coming wrath. We will suffer persecution, but not wrath. There are just to many questions that have to remain unanswered if you take a preterist view. There are to many things that can't be explained. I found it to be discouraging and at the same time, it fulfills Scripture about scoffers and false teachers.
Once again, the conservative view is under attack on KR. It doesn't seem to matter what the conservative says, it is routinely blasted and discounted. In this case, I don't have anything to do with it. I've learned my lesson, it isn't worth my time, and it's become a foolish argument. No more casting pearls before swine, the dust is shook. I'll keep checking in and I hope to encourage those that are feeling bold, but it's really a private party that many there don't want crashed.
As I've been watching the world around me, news, websites, blogs, I'm often appalled at the level of selfishness. The whole "I, Me" thing. Everything is about bringing pleasure to oneself, fulfilling ones needs, doing what's right for "me" and to heck with the rest of the world. It's sad. There is so little joy, so much bitterness. Maybe, if people weren't so focused on themselves, they'd see things a little differently, be less expectant of government to rescue them.
Well, enough ranting. My mom is taking me out for lunch today for my upcoming 41st birthday. I'm looking forward to it.
I'm almost finished with one baby sweater and started a white Dale pattern last night, something special for JJ to wear when he is dedicated to the Lord.
I'm quite ready for some warmer weather. The house feels very stuffy and I'd like to get it aired out.
I started reading, The Last Disciple by Hank Hanegraff and I'm very disappointed. Until I started reading this book and doing some research, I had trusted his take on things. Now, I'm not so sure. The book takes a "preterist" view of Revelation and prophecy. They believe that the 1st century persecution by Nero was the tribulation period and the Nero was the beast. I find this very difficult to believe in light of Scripture. I believe that it was a shadow of the wrath to come, but I know that Scripture says that believers will NOT see the wrath of God and that there is a coming wrath. We will suffer persecution, but not wrath. There are just to many questions that have to remain unanswered if you take a preterist view. There are to many things that can't be explained. I found it to be discouraging and at the same time, it fulfills Scripture about scoffers and false teachers.
Once again, the conservative view is under attack on KR. It doesn't seem to matter what the conservative says, it is routinely blasted and discounted. In this case, I don't have anything to do with it. I've learned my lesson, it isn't worth my time, and it's become a foolish argument. No more casting pearls before swine, the dust is shook. I'll keep checking in and I hope to encourage those that are feeling bold, but it's really a private party that many there don't want crashed.
As I've been watching the world around me, news, websites, blogs, I'm often appalled at the level of selfishness. The whole "I, Me" thing. Everything is about bringing pleasure to oneself, fulfilling ones needs, doing what's right for "me" and to heck with the rest of the world. It's sad. There is so little joy, so much bitterness. Maybe, if people weren't so focused on themselves, they'd see things a little differently, be less expectant of government to rescue them.
Well, enough ranting. My mom is taking me out for lunch today for my upcoming 41st birthday. I'm looking forward to it.
I'm almost finished with one baby sweater and started a white Dale pattern last night, something special for JJ to wear when he is dedicated to the Lord.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Soooooo busy.......
I have been so busy since last Monday morning, I don't think I've knit more than 30-40 rows. I've got so much knitting to do, but it seems like there is so little time to do it. (oops, I forgot that I did get to finish the other front side of a baby cardigan on Saturday afternoon-since then, basically nothing!). I've got to get baby knitting, I have all the yarn, but I've got bank paperwork to do and taxes prep. to complete, the h.s. newsletter to finish, and general life to live. I know that it will balance itself out soon.
Friday, February 25, 2005
I have had such a blessed, beautifully exhausting week!! God is so good in working out the details and timing in our life and He SO wants to bless us!!
I have a dear friend in Illinois who's due date was the 21st. We had tried 18 months ago, for the birth of her first son, for me to be there and assist with the labor and birth, but it was not to be. He was being stubborn and I had to get back home, so I spent part of her labor on the phone with her and then drove out the next morning to spend the 1st day with them. This time there just didn't seem to be any good time for me to get out there for a few days, we just couldn't spare the vehicle (4 drivers-2 pickups!!) and so many commitments, I just wasn't getting my hopes up. But, GOD IS SO GOOD!!!
She had been having labor on and off for a couple of weeks. I knew from looking at my schedule that Monday and Tuesday would work, but we weren't in control! I got up Monday and knew that I had to get all caught up with my bookwork and things I neglected while knitting the blessing bag last week. I got busy and the next thing I knew, it was 1:30 and I was still in my p.j's. I hadn't heard from S, which was somewhat unusual for a Monday, but I just figured they were busy and I kept going with the things I needed to get done. (Little did I know, she was nesting away, getting the house all clean.)
My hubby had an overnight load, so when the phone rang at 4:50 am the next morning, I really jumped. It was J, letting me know that S was in labor, but stuck at a 5. I still wasn't sure if I could get out there, one day was already gone. I went back to bed and prayed about it, falling into a fitfull sleep. I figured she would have the baby by 8:00 am anyway, but when I got up, I still hadn't heard from her.
I called hubby to see what he thought I should do. I had to meet him along the interstate when he came through to give him some paperwork, but he felt that the way I wanted to do it would take to long and make me get to Illinois very late and be very tired. I listened to him, got myself ready, packed, called J & S to let them know I was on my way and headed out.
It's a 4 1/2 hour drive, so I really didn't think that I would get there for the birth, but I never heard from J, so I had a little hope. When I got there, J came to the garage and told me to be quiet. I assumed she'd had the baby and everyone was resting, but he said no, he just wanted me to surprise her.
I couldn't believe how good God was and I struggled with feeling really unworthy for the blessing I was about to receive.
She was stuck at a 7.5 at this point, but with a little ******stimulation, things got rolling! It was the most amazing thing to take part in. Having my own babies was wonderful, but you are caught up in what you are feeling, the pain, the desire to hold the baby, you don't get to really experience what is taking place. To watch as S danced that baby down into position during her contractions, to see her tummy change, oh my. It was breathtaking!
We had quite a group of women, as well as J, helping her through the labor. I came to realize that a lot of cultures really have it right, having a group of women in with the laboring mom. We all had a job and instinctively knew what to do. It was a real Titus 2:3-5 experience.
As we watched little JJ's head emerge, a rush of emotions washed over me (not that the adrenaline hadn't already been pumping through my body!). Here was new life. Here was God's handiwork. To see how the body worked, to see and learn about the placenta-I realized that it really takes more faith to believe in evolution!! There is no way that chance could bring about the amazing symmetry of the birth process.
I was able to rearrange things for the next day and stay until late Wednesday afternoon. On the drive home, I again was astounded my God's beauty. I have to drive from Freeport, IL to Dubuque, IA via Hwy 20. It's a gorgeous drive, winter or summer. I was awed by all that I could see-miles and miles! As I went through the most stunning part, "I Can Only Imagine" came on. I was so humbled and awed, God is so good! I feel for all the people who choose not to accept His love and blessing, they truly don't know what they are missing. They think that living for God is a life of bondage, but in reality, it is a life of freedom!!
Please continue to pray from my friend, Sandy, and her family. She is in the final days and it is very difficult, but she knows where she will be as she closes her eyes here, they will open in Heaven!
Also, please pray for a young couple who will begin their married life together tomorrow.
I have a dear friend in Illinois who's due date was the 21st. We had tried 18 months ago, for the birth of her first son, for me to be there and assist with the labor and birth, but it was not to be. He was being stubborn and I had to get back home, so I spent part of her labor on the phone with her and then drove out the next morning to spend the 1st day with them. This time there just didn't seem to be any good time for me to get out there for a few days, we just couldn't spare the vehicle (4 drivers-2 pickups!!) and so many commitments, I just wasn't getting my hopes up. But, GOD IS SO GOOD!!!
She had been having labor on and off for a couple of weeks. I knew from looking at my schedule that Monday and Tuesday would work, but we weren't in control! I got up Monday and knew that I had to get all caught up with my bookwork and things I neglected while knitting the blessing bag last week. I got busy and the next thing I knew, it was 1:30 and I was still in my p.j's. I hadn't heard from S, which was somewhat unusual for a Monday, but I just figured they were busy and I kept going with the things I needed to get done. (Little did I know, she was nesting away, getting the house all clean.)
My hubby had an overnight load, so when the phone rang at 4:50 am the next morning, I really jumped. It was J, letting me know that S was in labor, but stuck at a 5. I still wasn't sure if I could get out there, one day was already gone. I went back to bed and prayed about it, falling into a fitfull sleep. I figured she would have the baby by 8:00 am anyway, but when I got up, I still hadn't heard from her.
I called hubby to see what he thought I should do. I had to meet him along the interstate when he came through to give him some paperwork, but he felt that the way I wanted to do it would take to long and make me get to Illinois very late and be very tired. I listened to him, got myself ready, packed, called J & S to let them know I was on my way and headed out.
It's a 4 1/2 hour drive, so I really didn't think that I would get there for the birth, but I never heard from J, so I had a little hope. When I got there, J came to the garage and told me to be quiet. I assumed she'd had the baby and everyone was resting, but he said no, he just wanted me to surprise her.
I couldn't believe how good God was and I struggled with feeling really unworthy for the blessing I was about to receive.
She was stuck at a 7.5 at this point, but with a little ******stimulation, things got rolling! It was the most amazing thing to take part in. Having my own babies was wonderful, but you are caught up in what you are feeling, the pain, the desire to hold the baby, you don't get to really experience what is taking place. To watch as S danced that baby down into position during her contractions, to see her tummy change, oh my. It was breathtaking!
We had quite a group of women, as well as J, helping her through the labor. I came to realize that a lot of cultures really have it right, having a group of women in with the laboring mom. We all had a job and instinctively knew what to do. It was a real Titus 2:3-5 experience.
As we watched little JJ's head emerge, a rush of emotions washed over me (not that the adrenaline hadn't already been pumping through my body!). Here was new life. Here was God's handiwork. To see how the body worked, to see and learn about the placenta-I realized that it really takes more faith to believe in evolution!! There is no way that chance could bring about the amazing symmetry of the birth process.
I was able to rearrange things for the next day and stay until late Wednesday afternoon. On the drive home, I again was astounded my God's beauty. I have to drive from Freeport, IL to Dubuque, IA via Hwy 20. It's a gorgeous drive, winter or summer. I was awed by all that I could see-miles and miles! As I went through the most stunning part, "I Can Only Imagine" came on. I was so humbled and awed, God is so good! I feel for all the people who choose not to accept His love and blessing, they truly don't know what they are missing. They think that living for God is a life of bondage, but in reality, it is a life of freedom!!
Please continue to pray from my friend, Sandy, and her family. She is in the final days and it is very difficult, but she knows where she will be as she closes her eyes here, they will open in Heaven!
Also, please pray for a young couple who will begin their married life together tomorrow.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Oh my goodness...God is good!!!
I have just had the most amazing 36 hours or so. I don't have time to really tell all about it right now, I will later, but I was on hand to welcome little JJ into the world and it was awe-inspiring!
Monday, February 21, 2005
What a busy weekend! Ladies Breakfast, bridal shower, supper out with Great-grandma, Daytona 500 party. I'm still tired!
I was glad that I put in the effort to make Kara's bridal blessing bag. She was quite surprised and excited by it. The tradition began with her soon-to-be sister-in-law. I made one for her and all the moms in our group wrote blessings for the couple. We put them in the bag and she carried it with her bouquet on her wedding day. It was a wonderful tradition to begin. I do pray that Kara and the groom will be truly blessed in their new married life.
We really enjoyed the Daytona 500, especially the last 25 laps or so! Very exciting stuff!
I've been knitting on a couple of different scarves, hoping to finish up a couple fo them soon! I have a lot of other ideas and projects in the works, but there aren't enough hours in the day.
We've been having lambs every day for a week. On Friday night, we had a set of quadruplets! That only happens about once out of every 2000 births. They are all doing well. They are all equal sizes and good sized, to boot. We are having to supplement momma's milk, but that's to be expected with four babies. We also had several sets of triplets and twins. Today was a rather emotional day. My 14-year-old son ended up having to pull a lamb. The ewe had given birth to two already, but the foot of the third has been sticking out for over an hour. He had to work for over a half-an-hour to pull the lamb. Of course, it was gone before it was born. It was an emotional afternoon.
I was glad that I put in the effort to make Kara's bridal blessing bag. She was quite surprised and excited by it. The tradition began with her soon-to-be sister-in-law. I made one for her and all the moms in our group wrote blessings for the couple. We put them in the bag and she carried it with her bouquet on her wedding day. It was a wonderful tradition to begin. I do pray that Kara and the groom will be truly blessed in their new married life.
We really enjoyed the Daytona 500, especially the last 25 laps or so! Very exciting stuff!
I've been knitting on a couple of different scarves, hoping to finish up a couple fo them soon! I have a lot of other ideas and projects in the works, but there aren't enough hours in the day.
We've been having lambs every day for a week. On Friday night, we had a set of quadruplets! That only happens about once out of every 2000 births. They are all doing well. They are all equal sizes and good sized, to boot. We are having to supplement momma's milk, but that's to be expected with four babies. We also had several sets of triplets and twins. Today was a rather emotional day. My 14-year-old son ended up having to pull a lamb. The ewe had given birth to two already, but the foot of the third has been sticking out for over an hour. He had to work for over a half-an-hour to pull the lamb. Of course, it was gone before it was born. It was an emotional afternoon.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Spinning...
And I don't mean yarn! My cold seems to have settled in my inner ear and now I'm dealing with vertigo. Not bad, and Sudafed seems to help, but it's annoying.
I was able to get "Scarf Style" on Saturday night. It has some great patterns in it. I got some bright, fun mohair to make "Misty Gardens" yesterday at my LYS and I ordered some of KnitPicks Alpaca and Shimmer to make Ene's scarf. I couldn't resist the mohair, so it's on the needles, despite several other projects that really should take precedence.
My friend, Sandy, is now in the hospital. Please pray for her family as they release her to the Lord.
Hubby and I had a nice time in the big city Saturday night (yep, Lottie, that's Des Moines-woo hoo!!). Actually, there are a lot of nice places to go and the shopping has gotten much better. We opted for steaks and went to Lonestar. We had a great meal, shared a yummy brownie/ice cream confection, and headed home. We're not night owls, by 9:00 or so, we're pretty much done in!! On Valentine's day, I was able to get away, back to DM, for my own little shopping spree (actually, the truck needed parts). I went to the yarn shop and the big department store for some heavy duty moisturizer. Despite running the humidifier and regularly using moisturizer, this super dry skin of mine remained super dry, so it was time to pull out the big guns and spend some money! I bought everyone a piece of Godiva chocolate, rather than a card, the chocolate tasted much better!!
I didn't post my usual Scripture on Sunday, but I thought I'd get caught up. I really feel that the following passages are extremely relevant for many of the things I've read today while surfing: (emphasis mine!)
2 Tim. 3:1 through 2 Tim. 3:10 (NIV)
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
2 Tim. 4:1 through 2 Tim. 4:5 (NIV)
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
1 Pet. 4:17 (NIV) For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
We need to step up and speak out against the false teachers, the false prophets. We need to be doing that in our own churches, amongst those who call themselves "Christian". Judgment will come and it will begin with the family of God. We have a responsibility to be speaking forth the truth and living it out.
I was able to get "Scarf Style" on Saturday night. It has some great patterns in it. I got some bright, fun mohair to make "Misty Gardens" yesterday at my LYS and I ordered some of KnitPicks Alpaca and Shimmer to make Ene's scarf. I couldn't resist the mohair, so it's on the needles, despite several other projects that really should take precedence.
My friend, Sandy, is now in the hospital. Please pray for her family as they release her to the Lord.
Hubby and I had a nice time in the big city Saturday night (yep, Lottie, that's Des Moines-woo hoo!!). Actually, there are a lot of nice places to go and the shopping has gotten much better. We opted for steaks and went to Lonestar. We had a great meal, shared a yummy brownie/ice cream confection, and headed home. We're not night owls, by 9:00 or so, we're pretty much done in!! On Valentine's day, I was able to get away, back to DM, for my own little shopping spree (actually, the truck needed parts). I went to the yarn shop and the big department store for some heavy duty moisturizer. Despite running the humidifier and regularly using moisturizer, this super dry skin of mine remained super dry, so it was time to pull out the big guns and spend some money! I bought everyone a piece of Godiva chocolate, rather than a card, the chocolate tasted much better!!
I didn't post my usual Scripture on Sunday, but I thought I'd get caught up. I really feel that the following passages are extremely relevant for many of the things I've read today while surfing: (emphasis mine!)
2 Tim. 3:1 through 2 Tim. 3:10 (NIV)
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
2 Tim. 4:1 through 2 Tim. 4:5 (NIV)
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
1 Pet. 4:17 (NIV) For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
We need to step up and speak out against the false teachers, the false prophets. We need to be doing that in our own churches, amongst those who call themselves "Christian". Judgment will come and it will begin with the family of God. We have a responsibility to be speaking forth the truth and living it out.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Do you ever?
Do you ever lay in bed at night and compose blog entries? I do. Morning comes, entry forgotten! I know it was brilliant, but now it's gone!
Gone! Gone! Gone!!
Even now, I sit here and try to consider what I want to write. Do I write about my dog, Liberty, who decided she needed out in the middle of the night and due to my strange obsession with my dog, I stayed up waiting for her to want back in. Keep in mind, I live in the country, she is a good sized dog and she barks when she wants back in, but due to the incredible population of coyotes around here, I get all worried! She seemed to be enjoying chasing after something every time I opened the door to try to get her back in, so I finally crawled back into bed. At 3:00 am, she barked. Ugh! I missed a good 2 to 2 1/2 hours of sleep!
We do have a ridiculous amount of coyotes around here. Thursday night, hubby was gone in the truck, I crawled into bed around 11:00 and one howled outside my bedroom window. Sat me straight up! They are ruthless animals. We have a llama to protect our sheep, he gets very shook up when the coyotes start howling. He runs the fenceline and can't stand being seperated from the sheep. Llama's will actually kill coyotes. They throw them down with their strong neck and sit on them to suffocate them. They are natural enemies to any canine, so you have to get them used to your family dog! We used to only hear the coyotes once or twice during the summer, now we hear them year round. We hear them running their litters of pups in the spring and fall. They yip and bark and carry on. So, I don't like the dog out at night, it just bugs me.
I get to make two trips to the big city today. 1st-lunch with my sister-in-law and help her get to the auditorium. The freeway system and area around the auditorium are under construction and it's just a mess, so if you don't drive it frequently, it's easy to get lost. Then back home and a quick trip north for my nephew's basketball game, then back home and back to the big city for supper out with hubby. Since he was stuck in the truck on Thursday night, he actually called and invited me on a Valentines Date! Of course, I accepted!
I'm also hoping to pop into the bookstore and pick up "Scarf Style" by Pam Allen. I want to make something with KnitPicks new angora and there is there perfect scarf in that book and all the online shops seem to be out of the book. I checked Border's inventory from home and they say they have a copy of it, so I'm hoping it will be mine by evening!
Gone! Gone! Gone!!
Even now, I sit here and try to consider what I want to write. Do I write about my dog, Liberty, who decided she needed out in the middle of the night and due to my strange obsession with my dog, I stayed up waiting for her to want back in. Keep in mind, I live in the country, she is a good sized dog and she barks when she wants back in, but due to the incredible population of coyotes around here, I get all worried! She seemed to be enjoying chasing after something every time I opened the door to try to get her back in, so I finally crawled back into bed. At 3:00 am, she barked. Ugh! I missed a good 2 to 2 1/2 hours of sleep!
We do have a ridiculous amount of coyotes around here. Thursday night, hubby was gone in the truck, I crawled into bed around 11:00 and one howled outside my bedroom window. Sat me straight up! They are ruthless animals. We have a llama to protect our sheep, he gets very shook up when the coyotes start howling. He runs the fenceline and can't stand being seperated from the sheep. Llama's will actually kill coyotes. They throw them down with their strong neck and sit on them to suffocate them. They are natural enemies to any canine, so you have to get them used to your family dog! We used to only hear the coyotes once or twice during the summer, now we hear them year round. We hear them running their litters of pups in the spring and fall. They yip and bark and carry on. So, I don't like the dog out at night, it just bugs me.
I get to make two trips to the big city today. 1st-lunch with my sister-in-law and help her get to the auditorium. The freeway system and area around the auditorium are under construction and it's just a mess, so if you don't drive it frequently, it's easy to get lost. Then back home and a quick trip north for my nephew's basketball game, then back home and back to the big city for supper out with hubby. Since he was stuck in the truck on Thursday night, he actually called and invited me on a Valentines Date! Of course, I accepted!
I'm also hoping to pop into the bookstore and pick up "Scarf Style" by Pam Allen. I want to make something with KnitPicks new angora and there is there perfect scarf in that book and all the online shops seem to be out of the book. I checked Border's inventory from home and they say they have a copy of it, so I'm hoping it will be mine by evening!
Friday, February 11, 2005
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Mt. Vesuvius
My next pair of socks will be called Mt. Vesuvius. Why? Conversation starter. People can feel the rumbles, smell the smoke, but refuse to heed the warnings!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Snow, again...
Hubby is feeling better, although this cold has lingered for him and that's pretty unusual. Dd's infection is clearing up, but she can't get into see the oral surgeon until March 1.
I've been fighting headaches and cold symptoms for a few days. The headache is gone now, but I'm all stuffy! I was able to get all my tatted hearts done and start a simple pillow-something to be working on when I don't (or can't) concentrate.
We watched the Amazing Race finale last night. Wow! I could never do anything like that. My favorite team came in second-Kris and Jon. She is a local girl and I really appreciated their kindness to each other and most everyone they came in contact with. I feel sorry for many of those couples, they don't handle stress very well! I was impressed with a few of them, they seemed to grow as people, hopefully it will play out in their everyday lives.
It snowed here yesterday, so we canceled Bible study for this morning (to many new babies and pregnant moms to risk coming out for an hour or so), so I need to get back to my laundry, take a shower and then I can work on my pillow. I'd like to have it done before Friday so I can take it into the market.
The market is a year-round (hopefully) farmer's market/craft fair that my husbands family and ours take part in. We've been doing "pioneer craft recreations" for a couple of years now, going to schools, fairs, etc., to pass on the crafts of our forebearers and at an art fair last summer we were approached about doing this market. My mother-in-law was thrilled, we could set up semi-permanently and have something to do over the winter, so we decided to try it. It's actually going very well. My father-in-law canes chairs, my mother-in-law weaves rugs, crochets, sews, and knits. I knit a variety of things and tat. My daughter knits. My sister-in-law makes baskets. My grandmother-in-law quilts. My son and nephew make fun little things, as do a couple of my nieces. It seems to be going really well. I've made more money doing this and have felt more motivated about it than any other craft show I've ever done. So, I try to have a couple of projects going for the market all the time. I'm branching out though, the owner has asked me to come in a teach knitting a couple of Saturdays in March. I'm looking forward to that. My mother-in-law was also approached about going to Grinnell College to teach rug weaving. Who knows where all of this will lead? Of course, God does, so we just trust Him!
I am so thankful that I have the Lord who gives me strength, comfort, provision, and all manner of blessing! I'm so tired of government and politics. I'm tired of Christians trying to legislate morality. Jesus didn't come and head straight for the government-no, He went to the people. He taught them about the Kingdom of God, He taught them about repentance, He taught them about mercy, then He told them to share it, make disciples, preach the good news. As people turn their lives over to Him, society changes. We can't change society before their is a heart change. It's like dealing with a rebellious child-the more you tell someone that they have to do something, they more they kick against the goads. There has to be a heart change.
Does that mean I don't think we should stand up for what we believe in, by all means, NO!! Of course we need to point out what is sinful, we need to remind people of God's laws and commands, but without the heart change, we can't expect them to change their ways. And, what would be the point, you can be moral and still be going to hell. Without Jesus Christ, all the morality and law-keeping in the world will not save you.
Is abortion wrong? Absolutely. Is euthanasia wrong? Absolutely. Is homosexuality wrong? Absolutely. Lying? Stealing? Adultery? Sex outside of marriage? Pornography? Drugs? etc., etc., etc.? Of course, but until Jesus Christ fills someones heart, they have no power against these things.
Rom. 6:1 through Rom. 6:23 (NIV)
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,£ that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I've been fighting headaches and cold symptoms for a few days. The headache is gone now, but I'm all stuffy! I was able to get all my tatted hearts done and start a simple pillow-something to be working on when I don't (or can't) concentrate.
We watched the Amazing Race finale last night. Wow! I could never do anything like that. My favorite team came in second-Kris and Jon. She is a local girl and I really appreciated their kindness to each other and most everyone they came in contact with. I feel sorry for many of those couples, they don't handle stress very well! I was impressed with a few of them, they seemed to grow as people, hopefully it will play out in their everyday lives.
It snowed here yesterday, so we canceled Bible study for this morning (to many new babies and pregnant moms to risk coming out for an hour or so), so I need to get back to my laundry, take a shower and then I can work on my pillow. I'd like to have it done before Friday so I can take it into the market.
The market is a year-round (hopefully) farmer's market/craft fair that my husbands family and ours take part in. We've been doing "pioneer craft recreations" for a couple of years now, going to schools, fairs, etc., to pass on the crafts of our forebearers and at an art fair last summer we were approached about doing this market. My mother-in-law was thrilled, we could set up semi-permanently and have something to do over the winter, so we decided to try it. It's actually going very well. My father-in-law canes chairs, my mother-in-law weaves rugs, crochets, sews, and knits. I knit a variety of things and tat. My daughter knits. My sister-in-law makes baskets. My grandmother-in-law quilts. My son and nephew make fun little things, as do a couple of my nieces. It seems to be going really well. I've made more money doing this and have felt more motivated about it than any other craft show I've ever done. So, I try to have a couple of projects going for the market all the time. I'm branching out though, the owner has asked me to come in a teach knitting a couple of Saturdays in March. I'm looking forward to that. My mother-in-law was also approached about going to Grinnell College to teach rug weaving. Who knows where all of this will lead? Of course, God does, so we just trust Him!
I am so thankful that I have the Lord who gives me strength, comfort, provision, and all manner of blessing! I'm so tired of government and politics. I'm tired of Christians trying to legislate morality. Jesus didn't come and head straight for the government-no, He went to the people. He taught them about the Kingdom of God, He taught them about repentance, He taught them about mercy, then He told them to share it, make disciples, preach the good news. As people turn their lives over to Him, society changes. We can't change society before their is a heart change. It's like dealing with a rebellious child-the more you tell someone that they have to do something, they more they kick against the goads. There has to be a heart change.
Does that mean I don't think we should stand up for what we believe in, by all means, NO!! Of course we need to point out what is sinful, we need to remind people of God's laws and commands, but without the heart change, we can't expect them to change their ways. And, what would be the point, you can be moral and still be going to hell. Without Jesus Christ, all the morality and law-keeping in the world will not save you.
Is abortion wrong? Absolutely. Is euthanasia wrong? Absolutely. Is homosexuality wrong? Absolutely. Lying? Stealing? Adultery? Sex outside of marriage? Pornography? Drugs? etc., etc., etc.? Of course, but until Jesus Christ fills someones heart, they have no power against these things.
Rom. 6:1 through Rom. 6:23 (NIV)
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,£ that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Hubby is sick, fever and everything, and the weather is gorgeous, so he's pretty bummed. Oldest dd went to dentist yesterday and discovered an infected wisdom tooth growing in sideways, so it's off to the oral surgeon this week.
I've been finishing up a bag for felting and working on the tatted hearts.
I've been finishing up a bag for felting and working on the tatted hearts.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Please pray for my friend, Sandy. She is now in hospice care and it looks like her home-going is near. Pray for her husband and two sons, as well as parents and other loved ones. She is a peace and is ready, but it is hard to leave behind those she loves. She is fully trusting in the fact that God holds them all in His hands. She has been a blessing and encouragement to all she has come in contact with. Her faith is tremendous.
1 Thess. 4:13 through 1 Thess. 4:18 (NIV)
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
It's hard, but we have hope!
1 Thess. 4:13 through 1 Thess. 4:18 (NIV)
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
It's hard, but we have hope!
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Feeling better!
Yesterday was a yucky migraine day! The clouds were exceptionally low and there was no air movement, so all the gunk going into the atmosphere had nowhere to go and I felt the effects. They even put out an advisory because of the air quality. The sun is finally out now and that has helped tremendously.
We had a set of twin lambs last night, but one didn't make it and the momma pulled the tail off the other. She's doing okay now, but we have to really begin keeping an eye on the ewes-they'll start delivering in earnest now.
I haven't gotten much done in the past two days. I finished a tatted heart and started working on an outfit for my bitty baby. It's an adorable pink cabled sweater, ribbed pants and hat, and socks. It shouldn't take very long. I probably should have waited to start it, with all the other projects that I have going on, but I couldn't resist! My head hurt too much though, and ended up working on my sock.
It's interesting watching the left try to spin their way out of the successful elections in Iraq. Some are beginning to admit they might have to give President Bush some credit.
Psa. 14:1 through Psa. 14:7 (NIV)
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD?
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
We had a set of twin lambs last night, but one didn't make it and the momma pulled the tail off the other. She's doing okay now, but we have to really begin keeping an eye on the ewes-they'll start delivering in earnest now.
I haven't gotten much done in the past two days. I finished a tatted heart and started working on an outfit for my bitty baby. It's an adorable pink cabled sweater, ribbed pants and hat, and socks. It shouldn't take very long. I probably should have waited to start it, with all the other projects that I have going on, but I couldn't resist! My head hurt too much though, and ended up working on my sock.
It's interesting watching the left try to spin their way out of the successful elections in Iraq. Some are beginning to admit they might have to give President Bush some credit.
Psa. 14:1 through Psa. 14:7 (NIV)
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD?
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
"Mamma Mia" was loads of fun! The characters are so funny!! We really enjoyed it. Dd looked pretty retro in her just finished poncho!
I'm so thankful the elections in Iraq are over and by most accounts, went very well. Watching the news and seeing the people celebrating and smiling, that is what freedom is about.
I've been thinking about freedom and why so many seem to be against freedom. When there is freedom, Christianity grows. People don't want that, they don't like that, so let's oppose freedom. Of course, they don't claim to be opposing freedom, they claim to be opposing occupation or forcing democracy on people or opposing war, but when it gets down to the knitty gritty-they fear Christianity!
Everything comes back to spiritual things, there is nothing that goes on that the Lord is not in complete control of. There will never be unity in this world, it is impossible without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and people will continue to fight against that until they stand before Him as judge and are rendered speechless. I'm often amazed at how easily people forget that God is a just God. They concentrate on the love part, they say Jesus came to bring peace, but they forget that He also said that He came to bring division, that family members would rise up against each other.
It is unfortunate that so many in our own country are disagreeing with the idea of freedom for everyone. It would seem that many would have preferred Russia and Germany remain communist rather than have the wall come down. Where there is communism, they believe there can be no Christian God-supposedly, there is no God, but, communism does not stop God. God eventually exposes communism for what it really is, walls come down. The walls are coming down in Iraq, hope is on the horizon. Has the cost been great-yes! Have there been mistakes-yes! Is it worth it-yes! May many people come to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as freedom begins to take hold.
I'm so thankful the elections in Iraq are over and by most accounts, went very well. Watching the news and seeing the people celebrating and smiling, that is what freedom is about.
I've been thinking about freedom and why so many seem to be against freedom. When there is freedom, Christianity grows. People don't want that, they don't like that, so let's oppose freedom. Of course, they don't claim to be opposing freedom, they claim to be opposing occupation or forcing democracy on people or opposing war, but when it gets down to the knitty gritty-they fear Christianity!
Everything comes back to spiritual things, there is nothing that goes on that the Lord is not in complete control of. There will never be unity in this world, it is impossible without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and people will continue to fight against that until they stand before Him as judge and are rendered speechless. I'm often amazed at how easily people forget that God is a just God. They concentrate on the love part, they say Jesus came to bring peace, but they forget that He also said that He came to bring division, that family members would rise up against each other.
It is unfortunate that so many in our own country are disagreeing with the idea of freedom for everyone. It would seem that many would have preferred Russia and Germany remain communist rather than have the wall come down. Where there is communism, they believe there can be no Christian God-supposedly, there is no God, but, communism does not stop God. God eventually exposes communism for what it really is, walls come down. The walls are coming down in Iraq, hope is on the horizon. Has the cost been great-yes! Have there been mistakes-yes! Is it worth it-yes! May many people come to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as freedom begins to take hold.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Whew...time to breathe
Since Wednesday, it's been crazy! I only had time to post the prayer request (thanks to all for praying, she is feeling much better!) then it was off to our ladies Bible study, followed by lunch with my good friend and her daughter, then errands, a little time at home, then Wednesday evening Bible study.
Thursday was spent in the big city getting D.O.T. stuff taken care of and catching up on some shopping. Did a little stash enhancement, but it will quickly be knit into baby sweaters!
Friday morning was filled with phone calls, rearranging the bedroom, and blocking dd's poncho (picture to follow)!! Then, off to town for roller skating, followed by a trip to Linn Street Market (a year-round farmer's market that our family has a space at-I'll tell that story soon), then back home for a quick moment to get our scrapbooking stuff and then off to a workshop! Wow, I'm tired just reflecting on it. Anyway, I worked on some Valentine's cards at the workshop. I'm tatting hearts and using repositional glue and putting the hearts on the cards. After Valentines Day, they can take the heart off the card and put it on a mirror or frame it or whatever they want to do. I did this several years ago and it was a big hit, so I thought they would be fun to do this year.
Today, we're off to see "Mamma Mia" and have dinner with my mom. It's just a girls day, the boys will be home shearing sheep!! Our dear friend (who got us started in the sheep) had 5 sets of triplets yesterday-she was a busy lady!! Our lambs are due beginning Feb. 5, so we need to get the preliminary stuff done.
Obviously, with this crazy schedule, I haven't gotten a lot of knitting done, just a few rows on a sock I started for myself after finishing the other pair.
Thursday was spent in the big city getting D.O.T. stuff taken care of and catching up on some shopping. Did a little stash enhancement, but it will quickly be knit into baby sweaters!
Friday morning was filled with phone calls, rearranging the bedroom, and blocking dd's poncho (picture to follow)!! Then, off to town for roller skating, followed by a trip to Linn Street Market (a year-round farmer's market that our family has a space at-I'll tell that story soon), then back home for a quick moment to get our scrapbooking stuff and then off to a workshop! Wow, I'm tired just reflecting on it. Anyway, I worked on some Valentine's cards at the workshop. I'm tatting hearts and using repositional glue and putting the hearts on the cards. After Valentines Day, they can take the heart off the card and put it on a mirror or frame it or whatever they want to do. I did this several years ago and it was a big hit, so I thought they would be fun to do this year.
Today, we're off to see "Mamma Mia" and have dinner with my mom. It's just a girls day, the boys will be home shearing sheep!! Our dear friend (who got us started in the sheep) had 5 sets of triplets yesterday-she was a busy lady!! Our lambs are due beginning Feb. 5, so we need to get the preliminary stuff done.
Obviously, with this crazy schedule, I haven't gotten a lot of knitting done, just a few rows on a sock I started for myself after finishing the other pair.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Please pray...
Please pray for my friend Sandy. She is battling brain cancer and is currently in a lot of pain. May God Bless you all!
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
I tried posting earlier, but there seemed to be "internal" issues. I finally have a few minutes now, so here I am.
Yesterday and today were beautiful!! The sun was shining, the temperature was around 45 degrees, and the snow and ice were melting!! I was able to get outside for almost an hour yesterday and it made a HUGE difference in my mood! Liberty played outside most of the day and was exhausted by evening, although, with the full moon, she was ancy by 10:00 pm. Hubby and I didn't sleep very well, the house was very bright with the moon shining off the snow. It was also in the northeast, which is the side our bedroom is on. If it's bright tonight, I'll wear my migraine eye mask!
I was able to finish up my Opal Handpainted socks today. I'm very pleased with them. I designed them myself. It's basically a two by two rib with a cross-over every 4th row-makes a little mock cable. It's just enough design to make it interesting, but it doesn't take away from the colors in the yarn. Now I can start my mom's socks. I think I'm going to use a design from "Knitting on the Road". There is a very pretty pattern in there that I think she will like. I'm also going to start another pair for myself. My son keeps telling me he wants a pair, but he's been growing so rapidly, I'm not sure I want to put in the time until his feet are more firmly established!!
I have so many things to be grateful for!! I'm going to work on keeping track of at least 10 things each day (maybe make a good habit!!).
1. Jesus Christ, who, while I was still a sinner, died for me.
2. My husband, who loves me despite my expensive habit and my quirky personality.
3. My children, who, even though they've learned just how weird I can be, they love me still.
4. My mom-she's healthy, happy, and wonderful.
5. The snow is melting.
6. Pets, they give me peace (most of the time).
7. My knitting!
8. A roof over my head and a good size stash!
9. Hope
10. Living in a country where I can still worship freely.
11. For those that will put themselves out there for my safety and freedom-soldiers, police, firemen.
Yesterday and today were beautiful!! The sun was shining, the temperature was around 45 degrees, and the snow and ice were melting!! I was able to get outside for almost an hour yesterday and it made a HUGE difference in my mood! Liberty played outside most of the day and was exhausted by evening, although, with the full moon, she was ancy by 10:00 pm. Hubby and I didn't sleep very well, the house was very bright with the moon shining off the snow. It was also in the northeast, which is the side our bedroom is on. If it's bright tonight, I'll wear my migraine eye mask!
I was able to finish up my Opal Handpainted socks today. I'm very pleased with them. I designed them myself. It's basically a two by two rib with a cross-over every 4th row-makes a little mock cable. It's just enough design to make it interesting, but it doesn't take away from the colors in the yarn. Now I can start my mom's socks. I think I'm going to use a design from "Knitting on the Road". There is a very pretty pattern in there that I think she will like. I'm also going to start another pair for myself. My son keeps telling me he wants a pair, but he's been growing so rapidly, I'm not sure I want to put in the time until his feet are more firmly established!!
I have so many things to be grateful for!! I'm going to work on keeping track of at least 10 things each day (maybe make a good habit!!).
1. Jesus Christ, who, while I was still a sinner, died for me.
2. My husband, who loves me despite my expensive habit and my quirky personality.
3. My children, who, even though they've learned just how weird I can be, they love me still.
4. My mom-she's healthy, happy, and wonderful.
5. The snow is melting.
6. Pets, they give me peace (most of the time).
7. My knitting!
8. A roof over my head and a good size stash!
9. Hope
10. Living in a country where I can still worship freely.
11. For those that will put themselves out there for my safety and freedom-soldiers, police, firemen.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Psa. 14:1 through Psa. 14:6 (NIV)
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD?
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.
Psa. 53:1 through Psa. 53:5 (NIV)
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.
God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will the evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on God?
There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.
Rom. 3:10 through Rom. 3:18 (NIV)
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one."
"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
How many times does God have to say something before people will wake up and begin to listen. I'm frustrated, again, SORRY!! I've come to terms with people being rude, I understand that they have a right to their opinion and beliefs, but to consistently accuse others of being uninformed, narrow-minded, tunnel-visioned, of being a parrot, of being unwilling to change a position based on new information, I'm finding that hard to digest. I'm tired of people pretending to read between the lines and assume things that aren't there. I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm certainly no martyr, but respect would be nice.
I do know that the more time I spend in the "world", the less I want to be a part of it! I choose truth. I choose God and His Word. I choose character, respect, love, mercy, grace, peace, patience, faithfulness, joy, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. I choose responsibility in one's life, I choose repentance from sin, I choose to have higher expectations of myself, my family, and society as a whole. There is hope for the wicked (Psalm 1), God grants time for turning to Him, I choose to have hope that people will awaken from their blindness and darkness and come into the light.
Tommorrow, since it's January 24th and studies claim that is the most depressing day of the year, I will not give into it. I will share the joy I find in this life, in having a relationship with a living God, a loving God, a just God, and I will express gratitude for all the blessings in my life.
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD?
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.
Psa. 53:1 through Psa. 53:5 (NIV)
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.
God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will the evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on God?
There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.
Rom. 3:10 through Rom. 3:18 (NIV)
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one."
"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
How many times does God have to say something before people will wake up and begin to listen. I'm frustrated, again, SORRY!! I've come to terms with people being rude, I understand that they have a right to their opinion and beliefs, but to consistently accuse others of being uninformed, narrow-minded, tunnel-visioned, of being a parrot, of being unwilling to change a position based on new information, I'm finding that hard to digest. I'm tired of people pretending to read between the lines and assume things that aren't there. I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm certainly no martyr, but respect would be nice.
I do know that the more time I spend in the "world", the less I want to be a part of it! I choose truth. I choose God and His Word. I choose character, respect, love, mercy, grace, peace, patience, faithfulness, joy, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. I choose responsibility in one's life, I choose repentance from sin, I choose to have higher expectations of myself, my family, and society as a whole. There is hope for the wicked (Psalm 1), God grants time for turning to Him, I choose to have hope that people will awaken from their blindness and darkness and come into the light.
Tommorrow, since it's January 24th and studies claim that is the most depressing day of the year, I will not give into it. I will share the joy I find in this life, in having a relationship with a living God, a loving God, a just God, and I will express gratitude for all the blessings in my life.
Psa. 18:1 through Psa. 18:50 (NIV)
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn£ of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but he did not answer.
I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.
You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me.
As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.
They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,
who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.
He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn£ of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but he did not answer.
I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.
You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me.
As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.
They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,
who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.
He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Another one done...
It's nice to have another one done. I love the feel of that fluffy yarn, it soft and squishy, but it's kind of a pain to sew up. The good thing is no one can see the seams!!
I wish I had some words of wisdom today, they seem few and far between! So much of what gets argued about on the ole web is really so superficial. Why do people have to tear each other down? Why can't we be building each other up? Not with flattery, but with truth. Not with empty words, but truly searching for that which is good in a person and edifying that person with the truth about themselves. I'm not saying that we shouldn't address the negative, how does one grow if not shown what is negative about them, but it must be balanced with the positive.
I wish I had some words of wisdom today, they seem few and far between! So much of what gets argued about on the ole web is really so superficial. Why do people have to tear each other down? Why can't we be building each other up? Not with flattery, but with truth. Not with empty words, but truly searching for that which is good in a person and edifying that person with the truth about themselves. I'm not saying that we shouldn't address the negative, how does one grow if not shown what is negative about them, but it must be balanced with the positive.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
3 things...
3 things...(thanks, Lottie!)
3 names you go by:
one...Mom
two...Mama
three...Dawn
3 screen names you've had:
one...knitnut
two...deknitter
three...quackers
3 things you like about yourself:
one...I'm a good listener
two...God has made me stronger than I ever thought I could be
three...I'm loyal
3 things you hate dislike about yourself:
one...my gluttony...ditto...
two...my procrastination (ditto!!)
three...any time I sin
3 parts of your heritage:
one...Huguenot (me too, my Dutch ancestors came from Gronengan with the Huguenots in 1642!)
two...child of divorce.
three...English!! (I'm much more English than Dutch!!)
3 things that scare you:
one...Being made to eat horrible bugs and things!
two...Stupid people
three...not having enough faith!
3 of your everyday-essentials:
one...the Word of God
two...food
three...love
3 things you are wearing right now:
one...sweatshirt
two...slacks
three...socks
3 of your favorite bands/artists at the moment:
one...Kathy Trocolli
two...Rod Stewart (his remakes of the oldies)
three...My daughter-she's a beautiful singer!
3 of your favorite songs at present:(I'm useless at this)
one...Mary, Did you Know?
two...At the Feet of Jesus (written by our associate pastor!)
three...All in All
3 things you want to try in the next twelve months: (This one is HARD!!)
one...being better prepared
two...pilates
three...more chocolate (absolutely, I even signed up for the Godiva club!!)
3 things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
one...strength
two...a listening ear
three...acceptance (but not unconditional, I expect to be put in my place when it's needed!)
3 things: two truths and a lie:
one...I live in the country.
two...I tend to get distracted!
three...I don't like pizza
3 physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
one...biceps (not overly big, just right!)
two...eyes
three...man's man
3 things you just can't do:
one...sew (except for straight seams)
two...feel that anyone is "beneath" me.
three...stay away from sweets
3 of your favorite hobbies:
one...knitting
two...reading
three...talking
3 things you want to do really badly right now:
one...knit on my scarf
two...have a cleaner house
three...watch a movie
3 careers you're considering:
one...Knit shop owner
two...counselor
three...speaker/writer
3 places you want to go on vacation:
one...Scotland
two...England
three...Israel
3 children's names: (besides the three I have??)
one...Tessa
two...Jeremiah
three...Levi
3 things you want to do before you die:
one...Be in God's will
two...Go to Europe
three...Write a book!
3 names you go by:
one...Mom
two...Mama
three...Dawn
3 screen names you've had:
one...knitnut
two...deknitter
three...quackers
3 things you like about yourself:
one...I'm a good listener
two...God has made me stronger than I ever thought I could be
three...I'm loyal
3 things you hate dislike about yourself:
one...my gluttony...ditto...
two...my procrastination (ditto!!)
three...any time I sin
3 parts of your heritage:
one...Huguenot (me too, my Dutch ancestors came from Gronengan with the Huguenots in 1642!)
two...child of divorce.
three...English!! (I'm much more English than Dutch!!)
3 things that scare you:
one...Being made to eat horrible bugs and things!
two...Stupid people
three...not having enough faith!
3 of your everyday-essentials:
one...the Word of God
two...food
three...love
3 things you are wearing right now:
one...sweatshirt
two...slacks
three...socks
3 of your favorite bands/artists at the moment:
one...Kathy Trocolli
two...Rod Stewart (his remakes of the oldies)
three...My daughter-she's a beautiful singer!
3 of your favorite songs at present:(I'm useless at this)
one...Mary, Did you Know?
two...At the Feet of Jesus (written by our associate pastor!)
three...All in All
3 things you want to try in the next twelve months: (This one is HARD!!)
one...being better prepared
two...pilates
three...more chocolate (absolutely, I even signed up for the Godiva club!!)
3 things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
one...strength
two...a listening ear
three...acceptance (but not unconditional, I expect to be put in my place when it's needed!)
3 things: two truths and a lie:
one...I live in the country.
two...I tend to get distracted!
three...I don't like pizza
3 physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
one...biceps (not overly big, just right!)
two...eyes
three...man's man
3 things you just can't do:
one...sew (except for straight seams)
two...feel that anyone is "beneath" me.
three...stay away from sweets
3 of your favorite hobbies:
one...knitting
two...reading
three...talking
3 things you want to do really badly right now:
one...knit on my scarf
two...have a cleaner house
three...watch a movie
3 careers you're considering:
one...Knit shop owner
two...counselor
three...speaker/writer
3 places you want to go on vacation:
one...Scotland
two...England
three...Israel
3 children's names: (besides the three I have??)
one...Tessa
two...Jeremiah
three...Levi
3 things you want to do before you die:
one...Be in God's will
two...Go to Europe
three...Write a book!
Inauguration Day!
This time, I get to watch. 4 years ago, I was down with a horrible migraine and could only watch bits and pieces through squinted eyes.
I've been thinking about the question, "Is the country off on the wrong track" and I think that people answer "yes" for the same reasons I do-the left has hijacked our courts, our media, and our educational institutions. Until those things are wrested back from them, this country will be on the wrong track. The next four years provide hope!
I'm struggling to understand how we went from a republic that desired freedom, understood it's implications and the struggle that entailed to achieve it, to the definite beginnings of a socialist country. Everyone wants a handout, no one wants to take responsibility of their own actions, their own finances, their own families. Let the government do it. Huh? Since our history has been rewritten by liberal publishers and politically correct do-gooders, we've lost the danger of socialism/communism. Both are about power, both create a huge divide between the have and the have-nots. Why do we want that?
Knitting wise, I've been working on a couple of boa scarves. Boring, but they need to be done. They are actually quite pretty. I need to be making some beaded bags and finish up the two baby sweaters I'm working on. I'd like to have something a bit more challenging, but there just isn't time right now.
I've been thinking about the question, "Is the country off on the wrong track" and I think that people answer "yes" for the same reasons I do-the left has hijacked our courts, our media, and our educational institutions. Until those things are wrested back from them, this country will be on the wrong track. The next four years provide hope!
I'm struggling to understand how we went from a republic that desired freedom, understood it's implications and the struggle that entailed to achieve it, to the definite beginnings of a socialist country. Everyone wants a handout, no one wants to take responsibility of their own actions, their own finances, their own families. Let the government do it. Huh? Since our history has been rewritten by liberal publishers and politically correct do-gooders, we've lost the danger of socialism/communism. Both are about power, both create a huge divide between the have and the have-nots. Why do we want that?
Knitting wise, I've been working on a couple of boa scarves. Boring, but they need to be done. They are actually quite pretty. I need to be making some beaded bags and finish up the two baby sweaters I'm working on. I'd like to have something a bit more challenging, but there just isn't time right now.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Rudeness...
Why is rudeness such an accepted thing on the internet? Why do people feel like they can say whatever they want to say and to h*** with the person on the other end? Why is it, when you try to get people to see things from a different perspective, you get blasted and called names (like, troll)?
It really has shown me the level of immaturity in this world today. It has shown me the selfishness, the lack of manners and common courtesy. I've seen people very openly seek to hurt others. I've seen outright blasphemy, that which is spoken of in Revelation. I feel I'm seeing prophecy fulfilled. Someday, every knee shall bow.
I haven't gotten much knitting done. I started a fluffy scarf out of Happy and it feels like it will never end. Hopefully, I finish it up this morning and be able to get back to some of my other projects. I did start my swatches for the Master Knitter Level 1, but I don't think I like the yarn I chose, so off the needles it went!
It really has shown me the level of immaturity in this world today. It has shown me the selfishness, the lack of manners and common courtesy. I've seen people very openly seek to hurt others. I've seen outright blasphemy, that which is spoken of in Revelation. I feel I'm seeing prophecy fulfilled. Someday, every knee shall bow.
I haven't gotten much knitting done. I started a fluffy scarf out of Happy and it feels like it will never end. Hopefully, I finish it up this morning and be able to get back to some of my other projects. I did start my swatches for the Master Knitter Level 1, but I don't think I like the yarn I chose, so off the needles it went!
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Truth
Rom. 1:20 through Rom. 1:23 (NIV)
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
2 Pet. 3:5 through 2 Pet. 3:7 (NIV)
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
2 Pet. 3:5 through 2 Pet. 3:7 (NIV)
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
What fun...
Their going at the evolution/creation thing again! They sure seem afraid to see anything differently, even though the theory continues to change (shocking-I googled theory of gravity and it changes, too!) I don't know why you would be content to believe that you came from some primordial ooze rather than having been created by a loving God, but if that's what trips your trigger, so be it. It just seems to me that most are afraid to really research the creation idea because they might just find out that it's accurate!
Haven't been able to knit yet today, spent all morning getting caught up with paperwork that needed to be done, w-2's, 1099's, etc.. Spent the afternoon going to the bank, the post office, and dealing with my dd's fender bender. This one is coming out of her own pocketbook, so she was not happy!
(Dorcas, good to hear from you!)
Haven't been able to knit yet today, spent all morning getting caught up with paperwork that needed to be done, w-2's, 1099's, etc.. Spent the afternoon going to the bank, the post office, and dealing with my dd's fender bender. This one is coming out of her own pocketbook, so she was not happy!
(Dorcas, good to hear from you!)
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Day 3 of being stuck in the house!! We've been having this annoying freezing drizzle and fog for 3 days now, today we're supposed to get ice. On top of that, I've had a migraine for two days-again, I think it's the weather system. To help with the glare in my livingroom, I've hung navy curtains across my big east window-now I think that is effecting my SAD (which, of course, I've never been really diagnosed with, but I know that it's part of me!). So, I have cabin fever, I'm trying not to get depressed, I haven't felt well. Oh, woe is me!
I woke up this morning determined to let a little light in, so I do have the curtains open some. I've been thinking about the light situation in the living room-I'm hoping to convince hubby to let me buy some sheers, that would cut the glare (I think) and yet, let in the light that I need. Target had some gorgeous gold sheers that I think would go really well with my Americana theme. I know that he is much more aware of my mental needs than he used to be and much more attentive to them. He's seen that I'm not just manipulating the situation, I have to be proactive about the anxiety and depression.
At least the kids have continued to work on their school work and they have been very excited by the assignment to put together a thorough report on the Revolutionary War. Of course, I can't get anyone to sweep or put away their stuff, but we'll get that under control.
It's so weird, I spend the last two-three months of each year in a frenzy, wanting free time, wanting to just sit, and now that I have that opportunity, I want to be busy! I have been keeping busy with my knitting, which is good, since I have to get more items done for the market! So, today, more knitting!
I woke up this morning determined to let a little light in, so I do have the curtains open some. I've been thinking about the light situation in the living room-I'm hoping to convince hubby to let me buy some sheers, that would cut the glare (I think) and yet, let in the light that I need. Target had some gorgeous gold sheers that I think would go really well with my Americana theme. I know that he is much more aware of my mental needs than he used to be and much more attentive to them. He's seen that I'm not just manipulating the situation, I have to be proactive about the anxiety and depression.
At least the kids have continued to work on their school work and they have been very excited by the assignment to put together a thorough report on the Revolutionary War. Of course, I can't get anyone to sweep or put away their stuff, but we'll get that under control.
It's so weird, I spend the last two-three months of each year in a frenzy, wanting free time, wanting to just sit, and now that I have that opportunity, I want to be busy! I have been keeping busy with my knitting, which is good, since I have to get more items done for the market! So, today, more knitting!
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Another icy day!
Spent most of the day fighting my headache, but it seems to be gone now. I've gotten quite a bit of my knitting done, I did a little on several projects.
The evolution/creation debate has begun over at KR. I am often amazed at the stereotypes they display about Christians-especially the dreaded "fundamental" Christians. It's so easy to want to defend myself, but I don't have to. Nor will I. Believing the theory of evolution is just as much a matter of faith as believing in creation. There is nothing to back up evolution, that's what a theory is. To me, DNA is enough to prove creation, and that's without knowing God. Knowing God makes it much easier to see the truth. Actually, it's the only way to see the truth.
Why are people so afraid of God? Why was I so afraid of Him for 29 years? Maybe it's because deep down inside, everyone knows that if they don't acknowledge that there is a God, and that Jesus died for them, they will not see heaven. I believe that everyone knows that, but they are rebellious, they don't want to admit that they need a Saviour, they don't want to admit that they sin, they don't want to admit that they can't save themselves. So, they attack. They deny. They ridicule. They stereotype. They find the ones that aren't living it according to God's Word and they assume that all Christians must be like that. They look at the past and blame people's blind following of God for things like the Crusades, and in reality, it was man's doctrines, man's rules, man's desire for justice that caused those things, not true Christianity.
True believers should never follow anything blindly. We are called to be discerning, test the spirits, reason with other believers.
This was in my inbox today and I agree with it completely:
I'm tired of tolerance not going both ways, and if that offends, so be it. I'm tired of being told that I can live out my faith, but don't push it on me-sorry, I can't live it out without others seeing it.
The evolution/creation debate has begun over at KR. I am often amazed at the stereotypes they display about Christians-especially the dreaded "fundamental" Christians. It's so easy to want to defend myself, but I don't have to. Nor will I. Believing the theory of evolution is just as much a matter of faith as believing in creation. There is nothing to back up evolution, that's what a theory is. To me, DNA is enough to prove creation, and that's without knowing God. Knowing God makes it much easier to see the truth. Actually, it's the only way to see the truth.
Why are people so afraid of God? Why was I so afraid of Him for 29 years? Maybe it's because deep down inside, everyone knows that if they don't acknowledge that there is a God, and that Jesus died for them, they will not see heaven. I believe that everyone knows that, but they are rebellious, they don't want to admit that they need a Saviour, they don't want to admit that they sin, they don't want to admit that they can't save themselves. So, they attack. They deny. They ridicule. They stereotype. They find the ones that aren't living it according to God's Word and they assume that all Christians must be like that. They look at the past and blame people's blind following of God for things like the Crusades, and in reality, it was man's doctrines, man's rules, man's desire for justice that caused those things, not true Christianity.
True believers should never follow anything blindly. We are called to be discerning, test the spirits, reason with other believers.
This was in my inbox today and I agree with it completely:
Paul Harvey says: - "I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December.
I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his theory of evolution.
Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game.So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.
"But it's a Christian prayer," some will argue. Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles.
According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect-somebody chanting Hare Krishna?
If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer. If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer. If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.
And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome..
"But what about the atheists?" is another argument. What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized.. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds..
If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!
Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.
Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying. God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well..........just sue me.
The silent majority has been silent too long. it's time we let that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard, that the vast majority don't care what they want.. it is time the majority rules!
It's time we tell them, you don't have to pray.. you don't have to say the pledge of allegiance, you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him.
That is your right, and we will honor your right.. but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away . we are fighting back.. and we WILL WIN! God bless us one and all, especially those who denounce Him... God bless America, despite all her faults, she is still the greatest nation of all..... God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God... May 2005 be the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions.
I'm tired of tolerance not going both ways, and if that offends, so be it. I'm tired of being told that I can live out my faith, but don't push it on me-sorry, I can't live it out without others seeing it.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Didn't get much done today. Woke up fighting a migraine. Did pretty well for a few hours, even finished my John Grisham book, "The Last Juror". (I enjoyed it, I love how he keeps me on the edge of my seat!)
I tried knitting for awhile, but finally had to give up and take a nap. The headache is pretty much gone now, but I'm not tired and my husband is out on the highways that are quickly icing over again.
I started my baby boy sweater and had the ribbing done and then realized that I used the body needles for the rib-duh! That's what happens when I've had a headache, I don't think things through!
Our baby sheep are doing well. Hopefully we won't have anymore for another three weeks or so!
Probably won't be going anywhere for the next two days, maybe I'll get a lot done on my sweaters!
I tried knitting for awhile, but finally had to give up and take a nap. The headache is pretty much gone now, but I'm not tired and my husband is out on the highways that are quickly icing over again.
I started my baby boy sweater and had the ribbing done and then realized that I used the body needles for the rib-duh! That's what happens when I've had a headache, I don't think things through!
Our baby sheep are doing well. Hopefully we won't have anymore for another three weeks or so!
Probably won't be going anywhere for the next two days, maybe I'll get a lot done on my sweaters!
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Blessed is the man...
Job 5:17 through Job 5:18 (NIV)
"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.
Psa. 1:1 through Psa. 1:3 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psa. 32:2 through Psa. 32:5 (NIV)
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
Psa. 34:8 (NIV)
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psa. 40:4 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
Psa. 84:12 (NIV)
O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Psa. 94:12 through Psa. 94:13 (NIV)
Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;
you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
Psa. 112:1 through Psa. 112:3 (NIV)
Praise the LORD.
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Psa. 127:4 through Psa. 127:5 (NIV)
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
Prov. 3:13 through Prov. 3:14 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
Prov. 8:34 through Prov. 8:36 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death."
Prov. 28:14 through Prov. 28:15 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD,but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
Isa. 56:2 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Jer. 17:7 (NIV)
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
Matt. 11:5 through Matt. 11:7 (NIV)
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Luke 14:15 through Luke 14:16 (NIV)
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Rom. 4:8 through Rom. 4:9 (NIV)
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
James 1:12 through James 1:13 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.
Psa. 1:1 through Psa. 1:3 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psa. 32:2 through Psa. 32:5 (NIV)
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
Psa. 34:8 (NIV)
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psa. 40:4 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
Psa. 84:12 (NIV)
O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Psa. 94:12 through Psa. 94:13 (NIV)
Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;
you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
Psa. 112:1 through Psa. 112:3 (NIV)
Praise the LORD.
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Psa. 127:4 through Psa. 127:5 (NIV)
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
Prov. 3:13 through Prov. 3:14 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
Prov. 8:34 through Prov. 8:36 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death."
Prov. 28:14 through Prov. 28:15 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD,but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
Isa. 56:2 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Jer. 17:7 (NIV)
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
Matt. 11:5 through Matt. 11:7 (NIV)
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Luke 14:15 through Luke 14:16 (NIV)
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Rom. 4:8 through Rom. 4:9 (NIV)
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
James 1:12 through James 1:13 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Surprise, surprise!!!
This afternoon brought surprises-triplets!! Our sheep aren't supposed to start lambing until February, but apparently the rams got out a little early!! When hubby came in this afternoon, he told us we had one in labor. Next thing we knew, there were three. Hubby and I were going out for supper, so dd took care of most of the situation! She did a good job. She brought the tiniest of the three in to feed it and get it warmed up. She milked the ewe and was able to get 5 oz of colostrum in her belly! We've returned her to momma, hopefully that will go well. Otherwise, she sleeps in the bathroom across from our bedroom and we get woke up in the middle of the night!
100 things
The curtains are hung. It really changed the feel of the living room. I really like it! On the north and south end, I did red curtains, and the big east window is navy! It warmed the room up considerably!
Okay, I know that I'm behind, but I've been wanting to do the 100 things that you may or may not know about me, so here goes.
1. I have lived in the same town my entire 40 years.
2. I have an addiction to office supplies, particularly pens and notebooks.
3. I'm a clutz.
4. I grew up with El Forestero's and other hard-core bikers.
5. I know how to Mirror Glaze the spokes of Harley's.
6. My step-grandmother's mother was in the silent version of "Hunchback of Notre Dame".
7. I've seen tornadoes in the fields across the road from my home.
8. My first car was a red Chevy Chevette.
9. We once stuffed 9 people in the Chevette.
10. I rolled the Chevette.
11. I grew up next to a minimum security prison and had to deal with escapees a couple of times a year.
12. We then got a dog, half Missouri timber wolf/half German Shepherd. The escapees started going west after that.
13. I love Red Vine licorice, but it gives me a migraine.
14. My paternal grandfather died aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis-the ship that delivered the atomic bomb.
15. My paternal step-grandfather built radar rooms on ships during WWII.
16. He also went on the search for Amelia Earhart.
17. My maternal grandfather survived polio.
18. My mom was a teenage mom.
19. My step-dad was killed on his motorcycle when I was 13.
20. I was blessed with salvation when I was 29.
21. I was blessed with a relationship with my dad a month later!
22. I love the mountains, but I live in a flat state.
23. I've always wanted to be a neo-natal intensive care nurse.
24. I love to read John Grisham books.
25. I love movies!!
26. I'm not particularly fond of cartoons!
27. I love to sing.
28. I'm great at developing bad habits.
29. I'm not good at developing good habits.
30. I grew up an only child.
31. I had a imaginary friend (actually I had several).
32. I used to pretend I was Morticia Adams.
33. I know attend Adams Family Reunions (on my husbands side).
34. I had a pet rock!!
35. I've seen Air Supply three times!
36. I've seen Adam Ant and Stray Cats!
37. I've always wanted to dress bohemian, but I'm only 4"11', so those flowing skirts just make me look shorter.
38. I love medieval history.
39. I love Russian history.
40. I love King Arthur.
41. I've been in Gallup, New Mexico during a gully washer.
42. I've been in Nevada during a sand storm.
43. My favorite colors growing up were orange and yellow.
44. I designed my own latchhook pillow. It had orange and yellow mushrooms on it.
45. I love "This Old House".
46. I hate doing the remodeling myself!
47. I use to be afraid of color. I love it now!
48. I have a natural blond streak in my hair.
49. I read "Seventeenth Summer" at least every other summer.
50. I like to spend my birthday in my jammies.
51. I've always wanted to go to New York City.
52. I enjoy the excitement of the city, but I love the country too.
53. My dream vacation is three months traveling England and Scotland in one of those little cars.
54. I want to walk where Jesus walked.
55. I use to sell Avon.
56. I use to sell Tupperware.
57. I have three children.
58. I love to talk.
59. I love to listen.
60. I love mushrooms.
61. I hate to cook.
62. I love to eat!
63. I need to diet!
64. I'm an excellent speller, but as I get older, I seem to be losing some of it.
65. I want to write a book.
66. I love figure skating (watching, not doing!)
67. For my 40th birthday, my mom got us tickets to Stars on Ice-right on the floor! I got some amazing photos!
68. I love Yahtzee.
69. My brain absorbs strange and often useless facts-unless you're playing Cranium or Trivial Pursuit!
70. I have the Princess Diana Bride Doll.
71. I love Rosemary Clooney.
72. I enjoy almost all kinds of music, except hip-hop and most of the junk being sold today.
73. When I'm feeling down, I love to get my hair done.
74. If I have a migraine, I love to have someone wash my hair.
75. I've had migraines since I was 17.
76. I've had my gall bladder out.
77. I've always had a cat or a dog and most times in my life, I've had both.
78. I've butchered a cow and a deer.
79. One of my first knitted projects was a sweater for a Cabbage Patch doll.
80. My grandma taught me to crochet in 3rd grade and I made my mom a scarf for Christmas.
81. I taught myself to needle tat.
82. I like to cross-stitch.
83. I went to see Jaws by myself when I was thirteen. Walking home was a scary proposition! It's now one of my favorite movies.
84. My parents took me to see "2001, A Space Odyssey" when I was five and I told them it was an x-rated movie. I haven't seen it since, nor do I want to.
85. I also saw "Solient (sp?) Green" when I was young and had horrible dreams for years!
86. I'm not a lacy, flowery kind of girl.
87. I love snowmen.
88. I really enjoy digital cameras! What a cool invention!
89. I think all men should age as wonderfully as Sean Connery.
90. I tend to be anxious and fearful! God's working on that with me.
91. I love the Bible!
92. I love my church!
93. I love serving other believer's in the body of Christ.
94. I desire to pass on my love for the Word of God, for it's relevance for everyone.
95. I want all people to come to a saving knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
96. I love that my daughter is so faithfully serving the church the way she does.
97. I pray that my other daughter will someday desire to do so, as well.
98. I love that God uses music to minister to our hearts.
99. I love that God reveals Himself to us through His Holy Spirit and His Word-that He shows us His character.
100. I love that He loves me and that He is helping me to love Him with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind!
Okay, I know that I'm behind, but I've been wanting to do the 100 things that you may or may not know about me, so here goes.
1. I have lived in the same town my entire 40 years.
2. I have an addiction to office supplies, particularly pens and notebooks.
3. I'm a clutz.
4. I grew up with El Forestero's and other hard-core bikers.
5. I know how to Mirror Glaze the spokes of Harley's.
6. My step-grandmother's mother was in the silent version of "Hunchback of Notre Dame".
7. I've seen tornadoes in the fields across the road from my home.
8. My first car was a red Chevy Chevette.
9. We once stuffed 9 people in the Chevette.
10. I rolled the Chevette.
11. I grew up next to a minimum security prison and had to deal with escapees a couple of times a year.
12. We then got a dog, half Missouri timber wolf/half German Shepherd. The escapees started going west after that.
13. I love Red Vine licorice, but it gives me a migraine.
14. My paternal grandfather died aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis-the ship that delivered the atomic bomb.
15. My paternal step-grandfather built radar rooms on ships during WWII.
16. He also went on the search for Amelia Earhart.
17. My maternal grandfather survived polio.
18. My mom was a teenage mom.
19. My step-dad was killed on his motorcycle when I was 13.
20. I was blessed with salvation when I was 29.
21. I was blessed with a relationship with my dad a month later!
22. I love the mountains, but I live in a flat state.
23. I've always wanted to be a neo-natal intensive care nurse.
24. I love to read John Grisham books.
25. I love movies!!
26. I'm not particularly fond of cartoons!
27. I love to sing.
28. I'm great at developing bad habits.
29. I'm not good at developing good habits.
30. I grew up an only child.
31. I had a imaginary friend (actually I had several).
32. I used to pretend I was Morticia Adams.
33. I know attend Adams Family Reunions (on my husbands side).
34. I had a pet rock!!
35. I've seen Air Supply three times!
36. I've seen Adam Ant and Stray Cats!
37. I've always wanted to dress bohemian, but I'm only 4"11', so those flowing skirts just make me look shorter.
38. I love medieval history.
39. I love Russian history.
40. I love King Arthur.
41. I've been in Gallup, New Mexico during a gully washer.
42. I've been in Nevada during a sand storm.
43. My favorite colors growing up were orange and yellow.
44. I designed my own latchhook pillow. It had orange and yellow mushrooms on it.
45. I love "This Old House".
46. I hate doing the remodeling myself!
47. I use to be afraid of color. I love it now!
48. I have a natural blond streak in my hair.
49. I read "Seventeenth Summer" at least every other summer.
50. I like to spend my birthday in my jammies.
51. I've always wanted to go to New York City.
52. I enjoy the excitement of the city, but I love the country too.
53. My dream vacation is three months traveling England and Scotland in one of those little cars.
54. I want to walk where Jesus walked.
55. I use to sell Avon.
56. I use to sell Tupperware.
57. I have three children.
58. I love to talk.
59. I love to listen.
60. I love mushrooms.
61. I hate to cook.
62. I love to eat!
63. I need to diet!
64. I'm an excellent speller, but as I get older, I seem to be losing some of it.
65. I want to write a book.
66. I love figure skating (watching, not doing!)
67. For my 40th birthday, my mom got us tickets to Stars on Ice-right on the floor! I got some amazing photos!
68. I love Yahtzee.
69. My brain absorbs strange and often useless facts-unless you're playing Cranium or Trivial Pursuit!
70. I have the Princess Diana Bride Doll.
71. I love Rosemary Clooney.
72. I enjoy almost all kinds of music, except hip-hop and most of the junk being sold today.
73. When I'm feeling down, I love to get my hair done.
74. If I have a migraine, I love to have someone wash my hair.
75. I've had migraines since I was 17.
76. I've had my gall bladder out.
77. I've always had a cat or a dog and most times in my life, I've had both.
78. I've butchered a cow and a deer.
79. One of my first knitted projects was a sweater for a Cabbage Patch doll.
80. My grandma taught me to crochet in 3rd grade and I made my mom a scarf for Christmas.
81. I taught myself to needle tat.
82. I like to cross-stitch.
83. I went to see Jaws by myself when I was thirteen. Walking home was a scary proposition! It's now one of my favorite movies.
84. My parents took me to see "2001, A Space Odyssey" when I was five and I told them it was an x-rated movie. I haven't seen it since, nor do I want to.
85. I also saw "Solient (sp?) Green" when I was young and had horrible dreams for years!
86. I'm not a lacy, flowery kind of girl.
87. I love snowmen.
88. I really enjoy digital cameras! What a cool invention!
89. I think all men should age as wonderfully as Sean Connery.
90. I tend to be anxious and fearful! God's working on that with me.
91. I love the Bible!
92. I love my church!
93. I love serving other believer's in the body of Christ.
94. I desire to pass on my love for the Word of God, for it's relevance for everyone.
95. I want all people to come to a saving knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
96. I love that my daughter is so faithfully serving the church the way she does.
97. I pray that my other daughter will someday desire to do so, as well.
98. I love that God uses music to minister to our hearts.
99. I love that God reveals Himself to us through His Holy Spirit and His Word-that He shows us His character.
100. I love that He loves me and that He is helping me to love Him with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind!
Friday, January 07, 2005
Yeah!
We did a little shopping today! DS got his snowboard and is outside right now trying it out. He paid exactly what he wanted to spend on it, which has left him enough of his Christmas money to order a couple of DVD's that he wants.
I got new curtains for the living room. My living room is done in Americana and I made my muslin tab-top curtains. The tabs are done with different red, white, and blue americana print fabric. They're really cute, but in the winter, they are just too light. My living room is on the southeast side of the house and it gets a lot of winter sun. I've been wanting some darker curtains for the winter and finally found some affordable ones at Wal-mart. They just need ironed and then I'll get them hung up.
I also struck DVD gold in the cheap section. For some reason, the other day I was trying to remember the name of a movie with Ally Sheedy that involved a robot. It was quite funny and it had been forever since I had seen it. Well, there is was in the $5.50 pile-"Short Circuit". I love those old 80's movies-"War Games", "Ferris Buellar's Day Off", etc.. Some of them are a little raunchy, those I don't let the kids see, but some of them are just campy and fun. This is one of them.
I suppose I should go iron the curtains. I want to get that done, then I have to run into town and pick up my natural food co-op order, then get home and get knitting again. I need to get a boy and a girl sweater done for the next baby, since we don't know for sure what it will be. The next bunch will have 5 boys, so that makes it a little easier.
I got new curtains for the living room. My living room is done in Americana and I made my muslin tab-top curtains. The tabs are done with different red, white, and blue americana print fabric. They're really cute, but in the winter, they are just too light. My living room is on the southeast side of the house and it gets a lot of winter sun. I've been wanting some darker curtains for the winter and finally found some affordable ones at Wal-mart. They just need ironed and then I'll get them hung up.
I also struck DVD gold in the cheap section. For some reason, the other day I was trying to remember the name of a movie with Ally Sheedy that involved a robot. It was quite funny and it had been forever since I had seen it. Well, there is was in the $5.50 pile-"Short Circuit". I love those old 80's movies-"War Games", "Ferris Buellar's Day Off", etc.. Some of them are a little raunchy, those I don't let the kids see, but some of them are just campy and fun. This is one of them.
I suppose I should go iron the curtains. I want to get that done, then I have to run into town and pick up my natural food co-op order, then get home and get knitting again. I need to get a boy and a girl sweater done for the next baby, since we don't know for sure what it will be. The next bunch will have 5 boys, so that makes it a little easier.
Do I have to?
Do I have to come up with a title every time? That makes me crazy! Sometimes it comes easy, other times, like today, no way!
I spent the day yesterday catching up with a dear friend of mine, running a few errands, and visiting the new baby. She's beautiful! Mommy loved the lavender sweater and even talked about having her first picture taken in it.
My friend and I spent several hours talking about our teenagers, life in general, the differences between the generations. Phone call, gotta go-be back soon!
I spent the day yesterday catching up with a dear friend of mine, running a few errands, and visiting the new baby. She's beautiful! Mommy loved the lavender sweater and even talked about having her first picture taken in it.
My friend and I spent several hours talking about our teenagers, life in general, the differences between the generations. Phone call, gotta go-be back soon!
Thursday, January 06, 2005
We're digging out!
We got a little more overnight than they had predicted!! It's quite light and fluffy though, so the men are out moving it. I shouldn't have any problem getting out of my driveway now, but the snow plow hasn't gone down the road yet. If it doesn't, hubby will have to move it himself since he has to get the semi out this afternoon.
I didn't get much knitting done yesterday afternoon, we ended up playing Phase 10 all evening. I was so close to winning, but hubby zoomed up from behind and won! He also beat us all badly at Monopoly!!
Today I'm hoping to go see my friends new baby girl! She was born yesterday afternoon and they chose to stay in town instead of trying to get to the big city in the storm. Of course, I've seen photos already and she's beautiful!!
I didn't get much knitting done yesterday afternoon, we ended up playing Phase 10 all evening. I was so close to winning, but hubby zoomed up from behind and won! He also beat us all badly at Monopoly!!
Today I'm hoping to go see my friends new baby girl! She was born yesterday afternoon and they chose to stay in town instead of trying to get to the big city in the storm. Of course, I've seen photos already and she's beautiful!!
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Snow day!!!
Another lull before the final big push of the snowstorm. I was able to sneak into town for a few groceries yesterday, but besides that, I've been safely tucked in at home. We've had ice on and off since New Year's Day, now we'll have a foot of snow or more before it's all over tomorrow!
I've been able to finish several small projects, one being the lavender baby sweater. That's a good thing, since mom is in labor right now and had to drive to the big city through the storm-thankfully, there was a lull in the snow. Hopefully we'll have a new little one before the afternoon is done! I'm working on a scarf while we play our obligatory game of blizzard Monopoly. I'm hoping to start a baby sweater later today and my mom's socks.
I had to wind the yarn for those socks onto my ball winder this morning-what a pain. It took four of us to get it done! It kept tangling, then the ball winder kept winding it funky. I was quickly losing my patience, but we finally got it done. It's such a pretty yarn, it was disappointing to have the project start off that way.
I've been able to finish several small projects, one being the lavender baby sweater. That's a good thing, since mom is in labor right now and had to drive to the big city through the storm-thankfully, there was a lull in the snow. Hopefully we'll have a new little one before the afternoon is done! I'm working on a scarf while we play our obligatory game of blizzard Monopoly. I'm hoping to start a baby sweater later today and my mom's socks.
I had to wind the yarn for those socks onto my ball winder this morning-what a pain. It took four of us to get it done! It kept tangling, then the ball winder kept winding it funky. I was quickly losing my patience, but we finally got it done. It's such a pretty yarn, it was disappointing to have the project start off that way.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Snow days!!
Well, I made it to town and didn't slip around too much. I stocked up on all those healthy things you need when anticipating being snowed in. We've got stuff for nachos and chili & bean dip, taco fixin's, pizza goodies, and chili makin's. Now, I'm safely ensconced at home. We've already begun our Star Wars marathon and soon I'll work on finishing my second fuzzy sweater in two days. I'm hoping to get quite a bit of knitting done while the snow flies.
Dd has finished the back of her poncho (picture to follow). I think she's surprised at how quickly it worked up. She wants to have it ready to wear by the end of January-we're going to see "Mamma Mia"!
Dd has finished the back of her poncho (picture to follow). I think she's surprised at how quickly it worked up. She wants to have it ready to wear by the end of January-we're going to see "Mamma Mia"!
Monday, January 03, 2005
Trying again...
I tried this earlier today and blogger ate my post. It was a good one, too!!
We've had lots of ice in the last couple of days and they are predicting several inches of snow starting tomorrow. I've been working on year-end books and preparing for 2005 books. Ugh! I did get one sweater done, since the baby was born on New Year's Eve!! She's adorable.
The young couple that I mentioned in a previous post have announced that they are expecting their first baby! We're very excited for them. That makes 14 babies between now and the end of July!!
We've had lots of ice in the last couple of days and they are predicting several inches of snow starting tomorrow. I've been working on year-end books and preparing for 2005 books. Ugh! I did get one sweater done, since the baby was born on New Year's Eve!! She's adorable.
The young couple that I mentioned in a previous post have announced that they are expecting their first baby! We're very excited for them. That makes 14 babies between now and the end of July!!
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