Referrals Topic: Blogging
I have been finding some new websights lately and want to share them with you in case you need some inspiration or maybe a laugh. =)
My friend, Crystal has a video up on her blog this morning. It is for parents, but it's a big (huge) social statement as well as parental reminder. Please watch it. I found it here, on Youtube too. It is a little raw and rough to watch, but I think the message will stay with you.....it's worth a watch and less than 2 minutes long.
There is a 'place' here in cyberspace called Bloggityville and once you find yourself involved, it is hard to put into words the community you find there. Christian women bloggers are rapidly growing in number and have a distinct (and sometimes hilarious) voice out there! I quickly recognize the names of bloggers I've seen in comment boxes, encouraging each other and giving shout outs on their own blog to advertise a new blogger sister out there. I will be trying to put more of my regular stops up on my sidebar, but for now, just a little newsy thing. And my own Phoenix church girls will LOVE this.
Beth Moore has a blog! It's called The LPM Blog and she is a blogging sista if ever there was one. She and her daughter Amanda blog almost daily and they are seemingly melding right into Bloggityville. Go and welcome them. Beth has been given a powerful ministry from God and if you've never done one of her Bible studies, why not!?? Here is the main website for Living Proof Ministries.
E-mom has another very good set of articles this week on Knowing God's Will. Go on over to Chrysalis to check it out. I was really moved and challenged by e-mom's own testimony of listening to God's leading in her own life.
And now, here is a very silly website. I hope there is nothing too off color here *in way of disclaimer*, but so far it has seemed ok to me. I've been going there and just listening to him ramble on in the background while I surf the net. It cracks me up! So go here for Clearification.
This is war.... Topic: Prayer On our way home from the mall tonight, we were stopped at a freeway exit ramp traffic light. And there he was, our delimma, standing there with a weathered sign, asking for help. He looked younger than us, 30ish, and he was jabbering on to himself or maybe to the cars he was scanning with his eyes....wanting to make that eye contact...that connection....and some cash.
I really am not being cynical. I know that is what he wanted, why he was there and I am seriously conflicted at that point. Charles and I have worked with homeless people quite a bit and money never changes their situation. So we make it a point not to hand them cash. I have handed out food to someone like this man, crackers or something quick that I could reach. And I've bought hamburgers for a homeless, hungry looking soul in Burger King. My husband talks to a lot of people coming to the church, looking for help. So he takes them to buy gas or gives them a bag of groceries. And he talks to them about Jesus while he's doing it.
It really is a delimma these days for Christians. The Bible says to give to all who ask....to be as wise as serpents, as gentle as doves...to give a cup of cold water, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit those in prisons. And we definitely should!
But what can you do for a man with a sign at a busy intersection? I knit my brows and thought about it for a moment, then I prayed for him, silently. He didn't know, he was jabbering at cars and concentrating hopefully on windows rolling down. I didn't assume he was on drugs or mentally ill, but I prayed for God to draw this man to Himself....to break his chains and set him free.
Because prayer changes things.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16
So the next time you see a situation you can't change, pray. I'm still thinking about that man tonight....and it prompts me to pray again for him. I'll never know, until that Day, what may change for that man because of a prayer of spiritual warfare, whispered while waiting on a traffic signal, but I think I can trust God with that. I know something is going on because I keep thinking of it. So I do what I can....and that is the most effective thing we can do....PRAY.
I never want to underestimate what God wants to do....and how He may want to use me to do it.
From Isaiah 59 14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
And Ephesians 6 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
God wants us to intervene for the helpless.....so I want to dust off that armor, polish that breastplate, and sharpen that Sword.
And I won't just pray for the homeless men I see with signs at busy intersections. I'll pray for that tired, irritated mother of preschoolers in the grocery store, for the angry young man, covered with tattoos at the movie theater and for those emo kids who skateboard past my house every day.
And I will be keeping watch......God wants to cause change.
Hit me baby! Topic: People/Family stories
I am tracking something with my sitemeter. A sitemeter shows you when someone visits the sight (called a 'hit'), where their server is located, and how they got there. For example, if they do a search, it will say google search and show you the search words. Or if they are clicking in from another blog or an email it will say the email server's name or the blog name. It is cool to see where people are coming from.
Ever since I wrote about the Chris Tomlin concert, I have been getting numerous hits on my blog from people in the cities the concert has just gone through. The hits are all from people doing searches on msn, google or other search engines with the words laminin or Louie Giglio. I can literally tell you where he had a concert the night before! It started with my own city, where the tour actually began, Phoenix. Then I got hits from all over California, then Las Vegas, Colorado and now Texas. Next week they go to the midwest, starting with Wisconsin.
Hello Wisconsin! *waves*
And I can tell you why they search. It was an amazing concert and such a thought provoking sermon from Louie Giglio. I was driven to find out more about this scientificly based information including evidence of Jesus in the outter reaches of the universe and also in the most intimate, smallest detail of our bodies....the very protein that holds our cells together.
Horsing around Topic: Photo entries
You've got to watch this video! Kelsey, from Holy Mama shared the link and I am amazed. It is of a freestyle horse show competition. Turn up your sound to hear the music and commentators and watch the whole thing. Notice the tail action too. This horse looks like she's having a blast! I don't think you've ever seen a horse do this:
ABC Day Topic: Humor/memes
This is a meme (blog questionaire) about the media. I found it over at A Gracious Home. If you want to join in and do it too, make sure you let me know or add your name to Sallie's list on the Gracious Home sight.
It's an ABC theme, which is funny because today I found an old packet of Alphabet pasta which I added to our chicken noodle soup! Maggie loved it and then used the dried pasta to make Emma a birthday card. =)
Action – Favorite action movie? National Treasure, Batman Begins
Beautiful – Most beautiful performer? Audrey Hepburn
Comedy – Favorite comedy (TV or movie)? Just one??? Gilmore Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond (ha, can't help it!) And oldies: MASH, Northern Exposure
Drama – Favorite drama (TV or movie)? Cold Case (like CSI but no gore), Smallville =)
Event – Historic event that kept you riveted to the TV? 9-11 of course, and Hurricane Katrina coverage
Favorite – If you could only own and watch one DVD the rest of your life, what would it be? The one my husband made of our family videos and pictures would be first. The 5 hour A&E version of Pride and Prejudice for the epic quality and beauty of the setting, as well as an all time great story and acting. but also because if I can only choose one, it better be long! =) OR You've Got Mail I don't know why, but I'm a cult follower of it, memorizing lines from it and ritually watching it. (usually with my daughter Hannah)
G – Favorite G rated movie? Finding Nemo! It is so original and creative and always cracks us up completely!
Head over heels – Which star were you in love with when you were younger? Is this to show our age or what??? Peter Tork from the Monkees (yes, it was a tv show and yes, I'm really that old) and also Bobbie Sherman from Here Come the Brides....heehee
Ice – Did you see the “Miracle on Ice” live (tape delayed) in 1980? Nope, or if I was at someone's house watching it, I don't remember, but we love and have the dvd Miracle, a retelling of the story with Kurt Russell.
Justice – Did you watch any of the famous O.J. Simpson chase down the freeway? I saw part of it. Weird.
King of the Thriller – Favorite Hitchcock movie? I LOVE Alfred Hitchcock movies! Although I've never seen Psycho or The Birds all the way through. They both freak me out too much. My favorite is Rear Window.
Laettner – Did you see Duke’s Christian Laettner make the winning shot against Kentucky? I don't even know what that means!
MP3 Player – Do you own one??Several ;) 2 that play mp3's off of burned CD's and we have 4 iPods among us. Our 2 dvd players play mp3's too.....oh, and in the car.....lol
Never get enough – Which movie have you watched the most times and how many times have you seen it? I don't count....that would be incriminating! Probably You've Got Mail.
Opie – Opie or the Beaver? I refuse to choose between those 2 icons! Let me just throw into the mix though, for your consideration, Ernie Douglas from My Three Sons. We saw almost all of the reruns of it a few years ago and he is hilarious!!!
Pride and Prejudice – Do you prefer A&E or 2005 release? A&E, but I do love some of the scenes in the 2005 one, like the scene in the pouring rain, when Elizabeth and Darcy meet 'by chance' (as they are in the habit of doing). With our surround sound system, it sounds as if it's raining IN our living room!!! I also love the scenery and settings a lot better in the new one.
Quality – Best TV show of all time? 91210 of course....NOT! lol I've actually never seen it, so it very well may be a real worthy show, but I'm thinking not. That is a really tough one.....The Cosby Show is up there in the greats, but let me please add: The Andy Griffith Show and MASH
Remote control – Who is in charge in your house? Whoever is fortunate enough to grab it first...ha! Actually, on Monday nights, only 24 is allowed on the big tv. This decree is by my husband, who is an addict...I know...sad. On Tuesday nights I get to watch Gilmore Girls and the rest of the time, there really isn't much TO watch.
Super Bowl – Game or commercials? Commercials please.
Television – How many in your house? 4 *blush* one of them only plays dvd's (in the teens room) and one of them has a video tape player and can tune in local channels, but only one is permitted=PBS for kids' shows only. One is in our room and the other one....the monster, with surround sound....is in the living room.
Ultimate – Who is your favorite movie star? I love movies with Tom Hanks or Colin Firth/Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Emma Thompson, or Julia Roberts in them.
Victory – The best sporting event/game you’ve watched live on TV? *blank stare* Oh yeah! I actually watched the World Series when the AZ Diamondbacks won!
Walkman – Did you ever own a Sony Walkman? Yes, but we don't use it much...what with ipods around. ;)
X – Movie you wish you had never watched? Road to Perdition=easily the most violent movie I have ever, EVER watched. Also, Reds because it was a serious waste of time. (I promised the friend I went with that I wouldn't leave though, so I stayed. When I found out that at intermission there was more movie to come, I think I almost cried.)
Yesterday – How many hours of media did you consume? 2 Hours? I was really busy yesterday and I think the only tv/music I saw/listened to was a Sesame Street best of video and the little electric piano toy we have that my little 11 month old nephew watched and played with. I was babysitting. =) Oh, after he went to bed, we watched Ice Age 2.
ZZZ’s – Best music to fall asleep to? I can't fall asleep when music is playing....I tend to listen to the words. So...maybe instrumental? Although I have a feeling that would be distracting too. I usually have a big fan that roars to block out all noises. lol
How Great is our God? Topic: God things
I really liked the speaker at the Chris Tomlin concert. Louie Giglio is a dynamic preacher, who uses a lot of word pictures...just what gets into my brain the best. His theme was the greatness of God, as the tour was called How Great Is Our God, after one of Tomlin's songs. He used the Universe with pictures up on the powerpoint screen to drive home how great the universe is and the God who literally breathed the stars into being. Then he told us about the Whirlpool Galaxy....a far off galaxy that was found using the Hubble telescope. It is a beautiful galaxy, white spirals with red jewel looking spots all through it. But at the very center of the galaxy is the most amazing picture. Usually at the center of any galaxy is a round black hole. This is what they found at the center of the Whirlpool Galaxy:
.....the cross. He was slain from the creation of the world. (Rev 13:8)
John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Colossians 1:19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (emphasis mine)
Then, after wowwing us with word pictures and visual pictures of God's awesome Greatness, he brought it down to how God is also interwoven into the smallest detail in our lives. There is a protein called Laminin which is like scaffolding of our cells...it holds it all together, like the rebar in the cement of our being. Then he showed us a picture of what laminin looks like....amazingly enough, it is in the structure of a cross. Laminin, the very protein that holds our being together, is shaped like the cross of Christ, who holds all of life together.
Colossians 1:17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (NAS)
There are so many clues, or confirmations, to us concerning God's presence and the deep meaning of the cross....that horrible instrument of torture and death, our symbol...and God's symbol, I believe, of His purpose of redemption from the beginning.
Free to run, free to dance, free to live for Him...I am free Topic: God things Some friends took us to a 'concert' last night. It was really a worship service....one of the most powerful ones I've been to. It was held in a very large concert auditorium....pictures of famous rock stars lined the lobby, along with autographed guitars in glass cases. The auditorium holds 5,000 people and it was almost full. Chris Tomlin was the worship leader for the night, along with Matt Redman. And the speaker was Louie Giglio. I looked out at one point and saw a sea of pink faces, beaming with the joy of the Lord.
I don't know why my mindset was ready for a calm, sedate concert. But I was wrong! These guys were energetic!! I don't know if you've ever seen Chris Tomlin live, but he bounces. It's kind of a jumping/moshing kind of bouncing and it gets you excited and pumped up. By the last few songs, my husband and a friend who was with us were bouncing too. ;) For two hours we rocked out, praising God loudly to worship songs and inspired by Bible verses and testimony from the singers. I don't know if it was the set up of the auditorium or just their sound system, but you could literally feel the drums beating inside your chest. It wasn't too loud though. The sound was just right and you could hear every word the singers said. Tomlin kept thanking us all for being there, as if we were doing him a huge favor.....so humble and refreshing. In fact, they had sold so many tickets that last night's performance was sold out and they scheduled an extra concert the night before for the 'late' ticket buyers. Well, it was worth it. The speaker was captivating and dynamic. I have written a blog entry about his talk already, but I will post it tomorrow. He had everyone's full attention through multimedia and professional, yet very real (not forced) sermon delivery. The night absolutely drew us into joyful, exuberant worship of the Almighty Creator.
It reminded me of another worship service we went to last Saturday night. A group of people from our church went to a ministry we are going to help sponsor to attend their Saturday night service. They didn't exactly rock out, but it was true worship. The building would have only held 100 at best, although it was in no way close to being full. The hallways were dingy and the old floors creaked, but the grounds and the buildings were clean and well kept. The building was a church whose original congregation had moved out of the downtrodden neighborhood long ago. As I looked over the assembly there, I saw a gathering of black, brown and pink faces and some shaved heads with tattoos scrawled across them. Some of the people were shaking, all of them looked tired, some looked sick, their faces showed the signs of a hard lived life. When the music began, everyone sang to their own beat, key or 'melody'. There was an elderly man on an electric piano...it had the sound of a '70's rock song electric piano....and a guitar, but they did not play 'together'. It was a little chaotic, no one was on key (even the worship leader) until I nudged my husband with my elbow and said, "Sing! Loud!" My husband has a great voice and a loud, joyful one, so we all got on track and could sing after that. And even though they didn't sound pleasing to our ears, I know it was a beautiful sound to God. The speaker for the evening was not polished, he simply stood in front with his Bible, no powerpoint or videos to show us. But he held our attention, captured our imagination and drew us to God's Word through his testimony and love for the Word. A former biker who rode with a very notorious gang, he is now free from addictions and shame. He is called to lead there at this ministry and God is using him powerfully. This was one of his very first sermons.
Set Free is a ministry to drug addicts, alcoholics, bikers, and skin heads. It began in San Diego, California and this chapter in Phoenix has been up and running for years now. The church grounds have housing for the men in their program. The program involves Christian based substance abuse recovery, anger management, counseling, intense Bible study, and street witnessing for those who have been in the program a while. They also have low income housing apartments for people who want 'clean' living. (no substances allowed and they are strict about it) The people do not have to be Christians to stay there, but it is a very strongly Christian atmosphere, so I'm sure it draws the people to God. They are quite a presence there in south Phoenix. The neighborhood they are in has finally come to accept them and to be glad they are there and some of the neighbors have even started attending the Saturday night services. On Sunday mornings a Spanish speaking church meets there and the Set Free men load up onto a bus and visit various churches around the city. This is how our church got to know this ministry, as they come to our church about once every 6-8 weeks.
You can't miss the Set Free guys when they come to church either! They come filing in to our adult Sunday School classes and into our worship services, smiling and greeting everyone they see. They all open their Bibles, give imput on the Bible studies, offer to pray aloud during prayer request times, praying with fervor and passion, and they LOVE the Lord. In worship, they sing, sway, clap, raise their hands. It inspires and draws the people around them into a more sincere worship as well. And that is how they were worshipping last Saturday night too at their old, small, run down church building, as if God had made them princes......and indeed He has. I had tears in my eyes and a huge lump in my throat when they began singing I Am Free!
Because they are....and somehow it shows so much more on their faces than on the people of most of the churches I've been in....because they know, literally, what being a slave to sin is and they know the deliverance and fresh hope that life in Jesus brings.
Luke 7:46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
ETA: This is a picture of a sprouting seed in a planter, not an aquarium....just for clarification. I was practicing with the macro setting on my camera.
This is a prayer request for the child of a friend of mine. Read the whole story here, please: Emily's Scan Results, to find out the news the family got today on Emily's cancer. Basically, they expected previous treatments to clear it up, but it is still there, in her neck and lung. She is having more radiation treatments this week and possibly surgery.
Thank you. God hears our prayers. Let us send up a great chorus of prayer for Emily today. She is 9, same age as our Maggie.
Lemony snicker pickins Topic: Photo entries
We had to pick our lemons off the tree the other day because of the freeze here in Arizona. There were only about a dozen of them, as it's a new tree, but there's something mighty strange about these lemons.
hmmmm
OK, these are not really our lemons (although picking the lemons off the tree was true), but the timing fit. I got this photo over at CuteOverLoad, where they have a ton of cuteness today!
The original photo is the work of an artist named Saxton Freyman
1. I can growl. My old college friends used to get a kick out of it, but I rarely do it anymore....except for my dog or my little nephew. They both appreciate rare talent like that.
2. I 'know' what animals are thinking. Really. And I often let people who are with me in on it.
It's a gift.
3. I used to have a dream to animate puppets for Sesame Street. (later on it was Veggie Tales) I LOVE both of these shows. They fascinate me. I can animate almost any object you give me.
4. I'm very good at charades and Pictionary. *literal, visual thinker* I like card games, Web sudoku and raquetball. I don't like bored board games.
5. I don't like/watch reality shows (even Am. Idol), nor do I watch 24. Strange, I know. I almost didn't include this one for fear of ridicule, but there it is.... please don't hate me. ;)
Cleaning up, Drawing near Topic: God things
It was good to be in the House of the Lord today.
My husband had a great sermon.
The old covenant had the Law and the Temple, everything so laid out for God's people....for only God's people. If Gentiles wanted to come, they were allowed into the outer court to hear teaching. They could never draw near, but God did promise to remember them for their faith and devotion to Him. (Isaiah 56:3-8)
These outer courts were the very ones that Jesus cleansed with a braided cord, driving out animals and turning over tables of the men who charged the people to get appropriate coins for the Temple offerings.
Here we are, all nodding our heads. I was thinking, wow, this is interesting and I was writing it all down.
Then the zinger:
Charles parallelled Jesus' cleansing of the Temple, driving out the things that didn't belong there....WITH...Him wanting to cleanse today's Temple (our body, mind, spirit) from all the things that do not belong there....SO....that we can really worship Him in spirit and in truth, not just 'do church', but to draw near, actually into the Holy of Holies because He has made us His holy priesthood of believers.
See, we are all free to draw near to the Lord now. All of the Jews and the Gentiles can freely come....and when we do, WE become God's holy Temple, as He comes to dwell within us through the Holy Spirit. We are free from the restrictive Laws and from having to go to Jerusalem to offer our yearly sacrifices. No one is kept out now...
But with great freedom comes great responsibility and caution.
We need to make our aim pleasing the Lord, because we want to hear from Him and truely follow Him according to His way, not ours.....it was very powerful. I couldn't swallow by the end. LUMP CITY in my throat. I am going to keep this on the front burner of my mind so that the changes can take place...
....the repentance....prayer
....the replacing of my ways with His...meditate on His Word
....the shoving over of the tables, stockpiled with things that don't belong in this Temple....listening to the Spirit instead of quenching it.
.....I needed that today.....
Today's hymn seemed appropriate too:
Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God;?Will you pray with all your power, while we try to preach the Word??All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down;?Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.
Let us love our God supremely, let us love each other, too;?Let us love and pray for sinners, till our God makes all things new.?Then He’ll call us home to heaven, at His table we’ll sit down;?Christ will gird Himself and serve us with sweet manna all around.
On our way home from the mall tonight, we were stopped at a freeway exit ramp traffic light. And there he was, our delimma, standing there with a weathered sign, asking for help. He looked younger than us, 30ish, and he was jabbering on to himself or maybe to the cars he was scanning with his eyes....wanting to make that eye contact...that connection....and some cash. 
Then, after wowwing us with word pictures and visual pictures of God's awesome Greatness, he brought it down to how God is also interwoven into the smallest detail in our lives. There is a protein called 
Some friends took us to a 'concert' last night. It was really a worship service....one of the most powerful ones I've been to. It was held in a very large concert auditorium....pictures of famous rock stars lined the lobby, along with autographed guitars in glass cases. The auditorium holds 5,000 people and it was almost full. Chris Tomlin was the worship leader for the night, along with Matt Redman. And the speaker was Louie Giglio. I looked out at one point and saw a sea of pink faces, beaming with the joy of the Lord.
It reminded me of another worship service we went to last Saturday night. A group of people from our church went to a ministry we are going to help sponsor to attend their Saturday night service. They didn't exactly rock out, but it was true worship. The building would have only held 100 at best, although it was in no way close to being full. The hallways were dingy and the old floors creaked, but the grounds and the buildings were clean and well kept. The building was a church whose original congregation had moved out of the downtrodden neighborhood long ago. As I looked over the assembly there, I saw a gathering of black, brown and pink faces and some shaved heads with tattoos scrawled across them. Some of the people were shaking, all of them looked tired, some looked sick, their faces showed the signs of a hard lived life. When the music began, everyone sang to their own beat, key or 'melody'. There was an elderly man on an electric piano...it had the sound of a '70's rock song electric piano....and a guitar, but they did not play 'together'. It was a little chaotic, no one was on key (even the worship leader) until I nudged my husband with my elbow and said, "Sing! Loud!" My husband has a great voice and a loud, joyful one, so we all got on track and could sing after that. And even though they didn't sound pleasing to our ears, I know it was a beautiful sound to God. The speaker for the evening was not polished, he simply stood in front with his Bible, no powerpoint or videos to show us. But he held our attention, captured our imagination and drew us to God's Word through his testimony and love for the Word. A former biker who rode with a very notorious gang, he is now free from addictions and shame. He is called to lead there at this ministry and God is using him powerfully. This was one of his very first sermons.
The old covenant had the Law and the Temple, everything so laid out for God's people....for only God's people. If Gentiles wanted to come, they were allowed into the outer court to hear teaching. They could never draw near, but God did promise to remember them for their faith and devotion to Him. (
See, we are all free to draw near to the Lord now. All of the Jews and the Gentiles can freely come....and when we do, WE become God's holy Temple, as He comes to dwell within us through the Holy Spirit. We are free from the restrictive Laws and from having to go to Jerusalem to offer our yearly sacrifices. No one is kept out now...
