Peggy's Ponderings

Korean Reflections

2011-10-07T01:54:00.000-07:00

We are on a vacation in Korea and enjoying the trip. We are noticing some differences in the culture that are not so obvious living in the US. Over time, they may or may not prove to be correct.

We noticed a lot of churches with crosses on top of the buildings in Seoul. There seem to be 2 or 3 per block in many areas. Also, the largest church in the world is in Seoul. It has several services and people rush in to get the best seats.

We see street evangelistic teams at the train and subway stations. They have PA systems and sing and speak to the crowds as they pass by. They also give out literature sometimes. These are Christian teams and the music is familiar even though the words are Korean rather than English, they are standard familiar hymns. The evangelists talk to a lot of people but they do not draw crowds that we saw.

Afternoon

2011-07-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Zach is on his way to Japan.I hope he has a wonderful time!

I'm drinking Japanese Cherry Sencha green tea from an antique china teacup with Mt Fuji scene painted on the side. The tea is very fragrant.

For lunch we went to Jin's. I ordered a bento box with beef, sushi, eggroll, shrimp and vegetable tempura and orange slices with a side of miso soup. My allergies got in the way so I took the food home to enjoy later. John ordered bibeanbop.

John and I reviewed a bit of Korean today. We are watching shows with subtitles to get a better feel for the language and be exposed to more of it. Learning a new language is not as easy as I would like it to be.

We are studying 2 languages now, Korean and Hebrew. Both have very strange looking alphabets but we know most of the sounds pretty well. Korean reads left to right like English but also down in units. Hebrew reads from right to left, the opposite of English, and also has letter sounds above and below the line. The intonation patterns of the languages are different. Korean is more fluid and softer sounding than Hebrew. Hebrew is more appropriate in a chant style than in a song. Of course both languages can do anything.

The Korean language has built into it respect and politeness. People are addressed certain ways depending on age and occupation and such. We are just beginning to learn it. On Sundays we have Korean lessons in the afternoon at church.

We have been studying biblical Hebrew for over 5 years, 1 hour a week. I doubt if I will ever master it but we are reading the old testament with helps now. The tones of the language are such that you can hear the swishing of the water and the sounds of the wind or leaves when you read it. It adds a dimension to the scriptures not possible in a translation.

It was nice to see Amanda and Willard today. They live near Rolla but are here for a class reunion. Amanda went to school with Zach and dated him briefly. I am fascinated with the fact that Amanda has 6 grandchildren. She has 2 little girls, 4 and 8 plus I think she said 4 step children. Her husband is only in his early 40's. She seems to be very happy. I was glad to see them.

A little while after they left, Mom, Dad and Dan came over for a visit. It's been a while since I saw him and it was nice to visit for a while. Mom and Dad brought some fresh produce from Aldi's, Food for Less and their garden. Cherries, strawberries, fresh peaches, lemons, cauliflower, red grapes and cucumbers. Beautiful!

I gave Dan an MSU t shirt and a gift for his new grandson, Jase, who joins big brother Derek.. He is going to KC to meet him tomorrow. I'm sure he's beautiful The baby is the son of Andy and Jill. Dan is also going to see his daughter Julie's new lab puppy.

John is over at the church working and getting ready for Sunday. Rossanna called me a few minutes ago. And I got a text message. I need to go over my own sermon shortly. Life is busy and full of celebrations.

Quiet

2011-07-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

Our day started before 6 am. Zach called from Korea. We had a good conversation, found his location on google maps while talking and found out some of his plans. He is going to Japan tomorrow for his week long summer break. We saw him on a video camera and he showed us some of the food he was eating, sushi.

One of the things some of the teachers do during short breaks is called airport roulette. They go to the airport, find the cheapest fare and travel there for the short break (usually 3 day weekends). That sounds like so much fun!

Later we went to Starbucks and talked to several people, including a young man who is moving away. He has traveled to several countries and lived in some. We will miss visiting with him. Starbucks is a place where we visit with other ministers, missionaries, students and many others from all over. We also read and study there.

We spent a few hours at Starbucks working on our sermons for Sunday, writing, revising, sharing ideas. Sermons take a lot of time, thought and study. We had already been working on them this week and had things mostly written. The rule of thumb taught in seminaries is one hour of study and preparation for every minute preached. Sometimes that's about right.

My brother is driving down from St Louis to visit this weekend. It will be good to see him later in the day, possibly eat together.

We can't spend the whole time together because of the needs in getting ready for church tomorrow. In addition to the morning sermon, John will make sure Jean was able to get the bulletin, he will check the technology and make sure it is ready, he will go through the building and make sure all is set up, he will check the temperature, he will have calls from people and will answer anything that is needed, often people will call to talk about personal issues so he will take time, he will prepare his Sunday school lesson, he will practice his sermon, he will get calls about who is riding the van and will check to make sure there is a driver in the morning, he will do many, many little things until into the late evening.

The church has an attendance now similar to that of a full time pastorate so he spends far more hours than are apparent. I take care of many practical things. I also take care of things quietly and make sure some things are happening. I appreciate people who are dependable and take care of things they promise without being reminded. Everything runs so much more smoothly with responsible and mature adults. God bless them!!

The Quiet Life

2011-07-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Rick got up and said he thought of a minister's life and the life of the minister's family as quiet and boring. I found that really amusing.

I like quiet and peaceful. But life is full of adventures (sometimes known as problems, like in action flicks where cars blow up and people shoot at people only not quite that deadly most of the time, just problems) and challenges and new experiences.

On one hand, I find it odd to think that anyone would think our life boring. On the other hand, I find it odd that some people have been very jealous of the things we have had and done. There are always people who have more and people who have less.

We live a life of contrasts. It's very colorful but I don't know if it is more so than the average person if they so choose. So maybe I'll write about it. Some of the biggest adventures turn out to be confidential and cannot be posted out of respect for others. But plenty of non private things happen too.

The Joys of Reality

2011-03-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

Seize the moment. Life is a gift. Look for the beauty around you. List the good things in your life. Unless you are clinically depressed, you will see many. (If you are clinically depressed, there is medicine and that is good.) Live in the moment. Live mindfully.

Use your five senses to see, hear, touch, taste and smell the things of life. Savor the moment. Ordinary things become extraordinary if we take the time to experience them. The media gives us illusions of the imaginations of others. What is real is so much better. Look for it. You'll find it. Someone has said, we find what we look for if we look hard enough. Is the glass half full or half empty? If you were trying to convince others of the value of something, what words would you use to describe it?

Matt's Blog

2010-05-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Matt, a seminary graduate and our nephew, has a blog called The Church of No People. His newest blog is entitled "The Pastor is a Phony" He, and those who comment, make some interesting observations about pastors and churches.

http://www.thechurchofnopeople.com

Matt writes, after being in a house church, he would never want to go back to the institutional church. From the point of view of a PK and then a minister, I can see where he is coming from. No sane person would ever want to be a part of what he has seen. Very few people know the meanness that went on behind the scenes.

Does the church, as we "do church" in this country, really glorify God? Is this what the Lord intended as his church or have we distorted it to be something different using the same language?

Jesus says, 'by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another'. Do we really? Do church people make excuses about being imperfect, or worse, as a justification to keep on sinning instead of doing what is right?

The people in the pews show up but the majority do not believe the basic doctrines or the things of scripture such as the virgin birth or the resurrection according to poles and surveys. They come to be entertained, to be "fed" and to consume far too often instead of to serve. That's fine for babies but .....when do they start to grow up?

What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Is this what Christ wants us to do or is it just cultural tradition?

We used to joke that the structure of the Methodist denomination was so good and strong that the church would continue to exist 100 years even if they discovered god really was dead (a popular thing in the 70's but pure nonsense).

Matt and his followers have lots of interesting thoughts.

Children's Ministry

2010-01-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

There was a time when, if we had one or two children, that was good. Well, times have changed for the better at the Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church. We now have a children's ministry with about 15 children.

On Sunday morning, we have Children's Sunday school. That is followed by Children's church during the worship service. The children come into the sanctuary for the children's sermon, then they go into classes for lessons for their age and stage. They learn to sing songs, how to pray, why they give, what the various things are that go on and what they mean, crafts and Bible lessons on their level of understanding.

About every other month, there is a special program for the children. The children go to a place such as the zoo or to see a potter after hearing a story and recieving instruction on how that realtes to a Bible lesson. It is hands on Bible and the kids love it. The zoo related to Noah's ark. The potter told them the Bible story and let them make their own pots. After the lessons, crafts and activity, they get something to eat such as pizza, which is also made into a lesson. The kids have a wonderful time. Lots of adults accompany them on the outings, including their church school teachers and some parents.

Van Ministry

2010-01-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church has a van that is in use each week for minstry. We have several members of all ages who cannot drive, so our driver, either Grady or Mike or Mark, goes each Sunday morning to pick them up.

After the first group is delivered to church for Sunday School, Pastor Ang drives the van to MSU to pick up international university students for the worship service.

Our van is used for going to denominational meetings, trips for international students around Missouri, outreach such as special events at the Ronald McDonald House, youth events and transportation during their week at camp, third age outings to various places, children's ministry outings to various places and special events like Christmas caroling. It has been a very good investment for the church. We almost need two vans the way things are going. In the near future, we may be thinking in that direction.

Women's Ministry

2010-01-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church has expanded their Women's Ministries. In 5 years, it has grown from one circle of 4 women plus a group of 8 quilters.

The Quilters circle still meets once a week as it has for years. Half of the ladies go to our church and half are from other churches who just like to quilt.

The original circle is now called the Helping Hands Circle. They meet on the second Saturday and have about 10 or so if all come. The majority of these ladies are retired, over 65, and many, but not all, are single.

The next circle added is called the Mary and Martha Circle. This circle meets on the 2nd Monday afternoon each month. They have 6 ladies. The majority of these ladies are married with husbands who are working but are all over 50.

The newest circle is called the Women of Faith and Joy circle and it meets on the second Monday night of the month. Several of our working ladies with families and our Korean ladies attend this circle. There are about 8 members in it. All of the women in this circle are working and range in age from their late 30's up. Almost all are married and some have children in the home.

To pull everyone together, we have a CPWM (Cumberland Presbyterian Women's Ministry) meeting once a quarter with all the circles. It is held on Sunday afternoons after church.

There are women who do not attend any circle but will come to a special ladies event off site as guests. The last time we had such an event, about 35 women attended.

We hope to start a group of younger women in the future with child care for them so they can meet unencumbered. Not all young women with children have a husband to take care of the kids.

Bible Study

2010-01-23T13:28:00.001-08:00

The Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church has several options for adult Bible study on Sunday morning. Each teacher has their own style and area of expertise.

George is a scholar in the area of prophecy. He is writing a book and has spent years studying prophecy in the Old and New Testaments. George is a retired minister from another denomination but is now a treasured part of our church. He is a Bible college graduate.

Jim is focusing on a single book in the New Testament. His style is modeled after BSF classes he took. Jim is an elder in our church.

Gordon is a seminary graduate and a retired ordained minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His study focuses on the quarterly which he adds to from his extensive background.

John is the senior pastor in the church and a seminary graduate. His Bible study class takes a passage of scripture, in sequence each week, and he lectures about it. He uses commentaries and other resources to get more background. People in the class ask questions and challenge him. They do a lot of current understanding and application and discuss current issues and circumstances.

Peggy is an associate pastor in the church, a seminary graduate and the only female leading a class at this time. Her class is a direct Bible study with no other texts other than the study notes in the Bibles themselves. It is for people who do not know the Bible well and want to know what it says. While there is some application and discussion, the point is to familiarize the class with the scripture itself. Everyone participates in a question and answer format.

Pastor Park, the Korean speaking associate, is a seminary graduate and has a doctorate as well. He does not lead a Bible study on Sunday morning before preaching. His Bible study is held on Wednesday evening in Korean. He also gives a short message in Korean every morning, along with a prayer service, at 6 am, except Saturday it's at 7am.

Pastor Ang is hoping to start a Bible study in Chinese soon.

Chinese Campus Ministry

2010-01-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

The Springfield Missouri Cumberland Presbyterian Church campus ministry team at Missouri State University (MSU) and Ozarks Technical College (OTC) is growing! The Lord is blessing our outreach. There were 17 college and university students in church Sunday morning! (and some regulars were missing!)

From MSU we had 8 visitng Chinese students, 4 regularly attending Korean and Korean American students and one non asian American. We also had 3 American (or Asian American) students from OTC, and one student from Mizzou. Our campus ministry and international student outreach is growing.

The members of our campus ministry team are
Rev Peggy Appling- CP Campus Ministry leader and Associate Pastor
Rev John Ang- Chinese speaking CP pastor ministering to Chinese and international students
Rev Gordon Campbell- CP pastor on ministry team
Rev John Appling- ministry team member and CP Senior Pastor
Elder Ed Fare- ministry team support
John Barnhardt- ministry team support, Chinese speaking and van driver
Our campus ministry team members are reimbursed for any expenses they submit and given use of the building, van and any other things the church has but are not paid a salary for their campus ministry work. We are missionaries of a sort. Our church has a campus ministry fund that anyone can contribute to that pays for things like dues and ministry expenses.

Of the 17 students at church Sunday, I believe 9 will be going back to their countries (maybe 10) and the rest are immigrants or born in the US to immigrant parents. The visiting Chinese students were a little older than a traditional university student and some have families with them. There were other Chinese, American and Korean people at church who are not students but are college age.

Soon, we hope to be expanding our Cumberland Presbyterian ministry on campus even more to all groups both international and domestic. There is a lot of need for community and for a sense of belonging on campus. We believe we can serve this community and share our faith at the same time.

Pastor Ang takes the CP church van to MSU to pick up the students on Sunday morning (on it's second run of the morning, after picking up those people who cannot drive, for Sunday school. It's a busy van). The students are provided a meal after the service, usually eating with our Korean members who have a custom of eating at church after church every Sunday pot luck style. (Several of our Korean members drive a distance to get there each Sunday). The food is primarily Korean and it is fun to try new things. Koreans and Chinese people both eat rice and soup at every meal, in addition to other foods. Sometimes, Pastor Ang, John Barnhart and Ed Fare take the students out to eat.

Pastor Ang ministers to the Chinese speaking students during the week, helping them with the practical needs and conversing with them in their language. Our Chinese ministry is around 8 currently, plus visitors.

Pastor Park, our Korean speaking associate pastor from Korea, ministers to some of the Korean speaking students during the week. He is not part of the campus ministry at this time. Pastor Park and his family are in the country for a few years and his English is still in progress. Due to language barriers, his most effective ministry is to Korean speakers at this time. (The Korean CP ministry in our church numbers in the 40's, including children, and is growing).

Korean Language and Dance Classes

2010-01-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

At Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church, some of our Korean members are offering classes and teaching us to speak Korean after church on Sundays. The class starts at 12:30pm and lasts about an hour.

There is a class for adults and several classes for children. The adult class teacher is Gee. If you are interested in learning to speak and read Korean, join us.

Becky is one of our Korean members and is a dance instructor. She is teaching any children who want to learn Korean Dance every Saturday afternoon at Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Korean Dance classes will begin again in February. In the fall, she had about a dozen students aged preschool through 5th grade. Becky will teach teens and older children if they care too enroll. The children danced for us at the bazaar in December in their beautiful Korean outfits with fans and swords (fake props) and other cultural items that are part of the performance.

Haiti Earthquake Relief

2010-01-22T08:51:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday, our church took up a special collection for the Haiti earthquake relief. The money collected was sent to the denominational headquarters, that is collecting it to forward on to CWS (Church World Service) to send to Haiti. Our denomination is small, and we have no denominational presence in Haiti at this time, so it is necessary to rely on other agencies.

Some of our local church people support other agencies privately that also do excellent relief work. We have some who support two excellent Christian groups, Samaritan's Purse and Convoy of Hope, both of which have a continuous presence in Haiti. Convoy of Hope is based out of Springfield and fights poverty worldwide. I think some among us also support Compassion, Red Cross and World Vision. We are a mission minded people.

The people of Haiti are in our prayers.

Alcoholic's Anonymous- AA

2010-01-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

One of Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church's very successful ministries is our Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)group. It is a part of our community outreach. We provide a meeting place for an AA group every weekday, Monday through Friday, which meets officially from 5:30 until 6:30 pm. We have been told it is the biggest AA group in town, with probably 150-200 people coming through each week and an attendance of 70-100 each night. We are the only location that offers babysitting every night for those who go to the meetings.

The AA group has access to the whole church during their meetings most nights, unless another church group needs a room or two. They have coffee (and other foods sometimes). Some who attend our church go to the meetings and oversee everything. The meetings are closed except for one night a month, so only those who are working on overcoming their addictions and alcoholism are attending. Nobody is supposed to come just to watch in this group unless it is open night. The purpose is to respect the privacy of those who attend. For example, a person may not have had a drink for 10, 20 or 30 years, but may need the support of the group to continue to abstain. There are employers who would fire them if they knew they attended AA, even if the problem has not existed for many years. Life is not fair, thus a need for privacy.

Several AA members have keys and come over any time they want to pray or meet with mentors or spend time with others. Generally, some start coming to the church by 3 pm and do not leave until about 7:30 pm. They meet at other times with their mentors at the church too and have had leadership meetings and classes.

There are so many people who are battling addictions and alcoholism and need the support. They come from all walks of life and many are hard working people holding good and responsible jobs. Our church ministers by providing a safe and open environment for the recovery process to happen. Some might call it a community service or a community outreach. Any person who attends AA is always welcome in our church. No distinctions are made. It has happened a few times that someone who attends church services is drunk and we are kind to them. What better place for a hurting person to be than in the house of the Lord?

Alcoholism is an illness. Our ministry is to be supportive of those who struggle and to welcome them. Jesus was accused of eating with sinners and he did not condemn those who were making an effort to move forward in their lives. May our attitude be like Christ's.

Crosslines Food Pantry Ministry

2010-01-22T07:06:00.000-08:00

The Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church provides food and volunteer time to Crosslines on a regular basis. Crosslines is a ministry of the Council of Churches in Springfield, MO. Each weekday of the month, a different church volunteers for a day. First Monday, Third Tuesday, Second Wednesday, etc and that is the day they take enough food to the pantry to feed about 50 families or so each month. The volunteer church of the day fills bags of food for the people who come into Crosslines in need.

Small churches, that do not have the resources to fill the pantry each month, take fifth weekdays, which come about once a quarter. That is what our church does. When they first volunteered many years ago, the membership of the church was in the 20's and 30's and they did not have the resources to do more. We are still small and once a quarter is do-able. Our day is the 5th Wednesday and our next Crosslines day is in March.

A person (not in their church), a regular volunteer, takes the applications of the people wanting food and determines if they are eligible under government guidelines. There is not enough food for every person in town who doesn't feel like shopping to go in and get free food so there have to be guidelines. Almost everybody who goes there is eligible.

The volunteer church of the day is to give the person needing food enough for at least 3 days for the number of people in their household. A family of 10 gets a lot more food than a single person.

When I was the volunteer who took the applications, I saw that the majority of people needing help had physical and psychological problems and many were on disability. I loved the little lady in her 80's who had surgery and could barely walk. She was determined, when she got her strength back, she was going to get a job and not have to ask for help.

One lady had just learned she had a brain tumor and had just adopted another family member's children due to some issues. Her children and the additional children gave her quite a crew to look after.

One younger man, in his 30's, looked very healthy and hearty, but when he lifted up his shirt, he had stitches healing all the way down from recent open heart surgery. (Some of our volunteer churches send only elderly people who refuse to help people load the groceries they give. They do not have the ability.Where are the healthy younger volunteers with big hearts to help those who are doing the best they can but can't quite do it all?)

There was the family with the little boy who was dying of cancer. It was his birthday and they thought it would be his last. Our people, since it happened on the day our church was filling the pantry, went to the store and bought him a special cake and other things.

Some of the people who come for food were special students in school. They were not born with the ability to do as much. Those individuals tended to be working part time at low paying jobs and just having trouble making ends meet.

A few of the people coming in would be college students who were on their own and having trouble making ends meet while they were in school, particularly if they had children. These students were mainly those who had no family support and were trying to do better than their families of birth had done. I respect that.

Some of the people who came in were elderly. The checks they got did not cover their expenses. Sometimes other family members who lost jobs or had health issues, or even children whose families were dysfunctional were living with them. The older generation is very much geared toward taking care of your own from what I saw, even though it was a hardship on them. The other major reason they needed help was the cost of prescription medications prescribed but not covered by any plan and expensive.

We had many people who got laid off and were out of work but looking. That's a temporary thing for them, but painful.

It bothered me the number of people who had been in the service who were having trouble finding employment. These were people with good educations and excellent skills. I'm not sure why employers shy away from them, but many do. One young family came in and the dad had been a helicopter pilot in the military months before. He told me about his struggles to find a job, any job. I think he had been in combat too. He should be honored, not shunned. They were planning to move to another part of the country to look for work.

There are many people who live on the edge, we call them the working poor, who are financially wiped out if they have car trouble or medical problems. They are hard working people who get discouraged.

There are so many more stories, everybody has a story. If you go to our church and you are reading this, be assured everything you give to our food pantry goes to those in need and God will bless you for your generosity. Remember what Jesus said, when you do (or don't do) something for the least of these, you do (or don't do) it for Him. (It might be worth a glance at the second half of Matt 25;31ff. Modern pastors like to read the first half of the passage and neglect the second.)

Child Advocacy Center Ministry

2010-01-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

The Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church has many outreaches to the hurting. Our region of the country has an unusually high number and percentage of abused and neglected children. The Child Advocacy cCuncil meets regularly, as a team with everyone involved with the children, (from medical professionals to police to social workers to school personnel) to decide the best options for caring for the needs of the children. One of our members knows some in the group so she was aware of some of their needs. That is how our little CP church got involved.

The teams come together for an entire day to go over as many cases as possible. Budgets are a concern of the group. They want to have more money for the children instead of spending it on their meeting needs. Other groups have been providing them lunch on those days and we are one of those groups. We provide the meal for the workers so they do not have to leave to go buy lunch. The response of the group has been very enthusiastic. They love the food we have provided for them. I think we provide for about 20 people. The food is dropped off in a room in the same building and those meeting come and eat.

The Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church is signed up to provide the meal again in the next few months. In Matt 25:40 Jesus says, that when you have done it for the least of these, you did it for Him.

Ronald McDonald House

2010-01-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

The Springfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church serves meals at the Ronald McDonald House. The last time we went, we had so much food and had a good time. The counters were loaded with food from the church members. One of the women's groups provided the funds to buy the meats.

We got feedback from the people in the house. They said it was delicious. We had plenty left over, ham and other easy to eat things for people who stayed late at the hospital with their children and wanted to grab a bite later.

We are planning our next serving event. We are also looking at other ways to minister to needs at the Ronald McDonald House. One of our members is a weekly volunteer and another is on the board, Mark. Mark has been given use of the church van for fundraising events for the Ronald McDonald House.

We hope to do even more for the RM house as we are able. In Matt 25:34-35 Jesus says "I was sick and you visited me" "I was hungry and you fed me"

On the way

2009-12-29T00:41:00.000-08:00

We are sitting in a 24 hour coffee shop at the airport on our way to see Cindy. It is 2:45 am and the plane leaves at 5:35 am. It will be fun.

1 John

2009-12-15T07:27:00.000-08:00

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John4:7-8

Workers

2009-09-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray that the Lord sends workers into the harvest. That's what Jesus said to do. I take it seriously and the Lord is sending us yet another worker. I find it exciting but it befuddles some who do not understand that the Lord very literally answers prayers, especially those directed in scripture.

Unless we want the church to die, why would we not welcome qualified candidates to the ministry? Not everyone who feels a call is going to be qualified or appropriate for a particular denomination. But we all serve the same Lord. And people are dying without the Lord every day. I am thankful that our little denomination welcomes women and a variety of people, but they will not welcome everyone. There are people I send to other denominations. Not everyone with a call to serve the Lord as a pastor is suited to this denomination.

What gives me that right? I'm not on any committee or in a position of authority dealing with the newly called. If the Lord sends someone to me, it is He who has given me the authority to help them to the next step. If the Lord does not send them, I do not see them.

This denomination is made up of primarily southern churches, the majority of which are small, too small to support a minister well enough to pay off school debts. While a small percentage make a decent living, the majority do not. Many must have another source of income and pastor part time. Either that or live in poverty. Very few people are cut out for a deliberate life of poverty and low income.

The attitudes are primarily southern and rural. Those with non rural attitudes flock to Memphis and a few other city areas with CP churches. There is often a disconnect between those in the city and those in the rural areas. People in Memphis are used to city incomes and city standards.

St Louis Thoughts

2009-09-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

We visited some mega churches that started out in homes with small groups of people. We did not know that before we visited them. It is my opinion that it is quite possible to plant a new church in the St Louis area, particularly the suburbs. A CP church could be planted by someone who knows the culture of the area and it would not take a lot of money to get started.

Culture and understanding of mindsets matters. Metropolitan areas of larger cities have different attitudes, expectations and ways of getting things done than those in the much slower rural areas and small towns. Add to that that each part of the country has its own personality, history and customs.

Kansas City appears to be cursed for CP churches. They have had some good, healthy churches going but somebody always seems to kill them. It doesn't seem to matter who the pastor is or much about the congregations, they are DOA. There are a lot of words about it, but when the light shines on the truth, love and consideration for others has not been present. You shall know them by their fruit. The city has spiritual issues. Lord please, Deliver us from evil.

But St Louis is a different matter. Perhaps the Lord would bless (and protect from evil) a CP church in St Louis? The battle is spiritual. I see hope and much possibility here.

I vaguely remember the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. He had a vision to fly higher and faster but the other seagulls on the beach had very limited vision. They were scrabbling on the beach for cast offs and left overs, garbage, fighting among themselves for scraps and territories without any vision of what they could be. Every so often CP's remind me of that story. Very few seem to have much vision, but a few do. They fuss and fight over things of little or no consequence and ignore the vision. Sometimes they even tear one another apart and behave like the gulls of the story, not very nice.

BUT, the Lord has called us to this denomination for a reason. He has a vision for the the denomination could be (as those who started it envisioned long, long ago). If I did not firmly believe that, I would have been history a long, long time ago. God has a plan and He is going to do wonderful things. I am here because the Lord sent me. I can also see others he has sent. Some very clear, some are "we'll see" depending on their fruit.

"Whosover will", is true of denominations as well as individuals. The denomination is slowly declining and there is some decay within, not so much evil, just death of churches and of enthusiasm. Far too many want to be served and even demand it, forgetting that believers are servants of the living God, not entitled bumks and freeloaders.

If the Lord does not have a plan, and I am sure he does, I am wasting my time and energy and, as a faithful servant, I need to use my limited time on earth to glorify God and to further His kingdom. Without the Lord, I/we can do nothing. With the Lord, all things are possible and we expect miracles. Anything less is simply human effort.

Missouri was once a very vital state for CP's. Now it is, for all intents and purposes, on life support and rapidly declining. We lose churches every year in the rural areas, where the young move off and the older ones move on to glory, leaving no one to run the church. (The children are not necessarily the future for individual churches. They grow up and move away. The future of the church depends on continually winning souls of all ages, like a flowing stream of water irrigates plants and keeps them alive and healthy.)

I will pray about St Louis and the potential to start a new church here. perhaps the Lord will send someone with a vision and ambition and knowledge, which are much more important than making sure the money is there before they start. We'll see what the Lord has in mind.

From The Front Porch

2009-09-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

My front porch is a wonderful place to sit this time of year and drink coffee or tea. The temperatures are nice and the shade of the big tree makes it very comfortable. Sometimes my husband and I sit out there and talk and eat dinner. Other times I visit with my children, family or friends. Sometimes I sit out there and talk to the Lord. The front porch is a place for prayers.

When I am reading or studying, the front porch is very comfortable. I love to read my Bible as I sit outdoors. The birds sing and sometimes land very close to me. The roses and the flowers brighten the area. The trees rustle, the neighbors wave, and the cars that go by every so often sound like the waves of the ocean. When it rains, the front porch is a shelter as we watch the comforting drops fall and the rivers form in the streets racing to the end.

At night, I sit on the porch in the dark and listen to the sounds of the night, the crickets, a occasional frog, the leaves, the faint sound of traffic in the distance and sometimes a train whistle far off. It is beautiful and peaceful. There are a lot of college students on the block and sometimes they will be out laughing and talking, but never a problem. If they see me we wave at one another.

The front porch is a good place for phone calls. I enjoy watching the rabbits, the squirrels and the birds as I converse with others. So many phone calls pertain to difficult matters, it is comforting to be in a peaceful setting to keep it all in perspective. God is in control and he does not change. He loves us and cares about what happens in our lives. He comforts us and gives us peace. Some of the things we concern ourselves about are only temporary. Nature is a reminder. The Lord created it and the Lord is with us still, even when we forget. We are small, the Lord is huge and he can handle any problem.

We are so blessed. lord help us to open our eyes and to be aware of the beauty all around us every day.

CP Priority Goals

2009-08-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

One of the priority goals for the denomination as printed in the Yearbook on the first page is, " Recruit, educate and nurture clergy and laity for their specific ministries."

In the last year, we have met many people who have expressed an interest in pastoral ministry. Most aren't interested in the CP, especially the younger ones. One went with the Baptists (and his family was long time multigenerational CP's), one with another denomination, and another in our church is still in high school and still pondering the call. We are going to give him some time and mentor him since he is not ready to make a solid commitment.

I have volunteered to mentor a twenty something young man who feels called to ministry. He has 3 small children, and the middle one, a 4 year old, has two kinds of cancer and had a bone marrow transplant yesterday in KC. There is no hurry. He will probably go with another denomination, but I am going to work with him to get his educational background going. He is an old friend.

We are priviledged to have two ordained men who are interested in exploring the possibility of having their ordinations recognized by the CP church. Both are seminary graduates. One is a doctoral student from Korea, studying here. He does not speak much English. He was ready to start the process but wanted to wait another year before going to the Program of Alternate Studies. Session did not push him. That was okay. He spent a lot of time in contact with others in the denomination, including Dr. Yoong Kim, pastor of the Korean CP church in Memphis and George Estes and others. They convinced him to attend PAS this last summer because there was a special program for Korean speaking pastors being offered. I know that Tom Campbell was consulted and Robert Rush had some kind of knowledge of what was happening (but may not have been involved). The denomination has special ways of doing things for international pastors but I do not know what they are. I leave that to the committees.

Pastor Andy had been in our church for a while and was interested in the possiblity of becoming a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. He is a little bit younger than us and has a lot of potential. He read the Confession of Faith and felt like it was something he could uphold. Since Pastor Park was going, session decided it would be good to send Pastor Andy too for a couple of classes.

The chairman of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry was called, Leslie Bone, and he said he could not get ahold of all of the committee, just some of them, but go ahead and send the pastors to PAS and they would meet with them in August. He said there was no money so session had to pay for it themselves. From there the committee would decide what they wanted to do next and whether they would accept them. He did not guarantee anything. Tom Campbell was also called. He said he did not have time to meet with the two pastors prior to PAS but it was okay to send them to PAS and he would talk with them later about what he might suggest to the COM.

Session sent both men to PAS to take the classes concerning Cumberland Presbyterian History and Polity and whatever the Korean classes were. Those classes would give them a good basis on which to decide if the CP ministry was for them. They are also good classes for any person to take. Everyone in the church is welcome to take any class at PAS any time they want. No matter what else is required, these classes are basic for everyone. Both had a very good time of fellowship and getting to know what it means to be a Cumberland Presbyterian. They had as good of a time as I had when I went.

The two men went before the Committee on Ministry after they went to PAS. I do not know if either will be taken under care of presbytery at this point.

Everybody starts at the bottom it seems, whether you are a high school student or a seminary graduate makes no difference. I was amused to be placed on the same level as high school juniors and seniors when I started the process, even though I have a master's degree from a seminary. I got to have a lot of fun that way though. I loved going to PAS and meeting all the people with all the activities and classes. I miss going.

We are recruiting clergy, at least when the Lord sends them, but most decide way before they get to the COM that this denomination is not for them and move on. I guess that's what we call the discernment process. CP's are mostly southern, mostly rural, with low pay. I tried to recruit a PCUSA pastor in his late 20's to join us when his position fell through, but he said no way. I think my question was an insult to him. We are too small and PCUSA people at his educational level can expect to make $60,000 to $80,000 a year with benefits. That's what he told me. He did get a job at a level acceptable to him too, with the PCUSA.

The adventure continues. I am here because this is where the Lord wants me to be. The thought of making $60,000 to $80,000 or more a year is tempting but almost nobody does in this denomination, the one the Lord wants me to stay at. Same for everybody else in the presbytery. Almost all have no retirement benefits or health insurance unless they get it somewhere besides the church, like social security or a working spouse or another job. I guess it's easy to see why they aren't exactly beating down our doors to get in? I'm thrilled two men are considering our denomination.

Big Things

2009-08-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

All big things in this world are done by people who are naive and
have an idea that is obviously impossible.

-- Dr. Frank Richards (1875-1961) English Writer

I guess we are destined for big things. We are like a chihuahua next to a great dane and we are fine with it.

Hummingbird

2009-08-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

As I sat on my front porch early this morning reading and drinking my coffee, a tiny hummingbird paid me a visit. He was attracted by the red flowers on my porch. One of the flowerpots was hanging about 3 feet from my head. He went to it anyway and chirped with a loud squeaky sound before sipping the flowers.

Then the little bird moved around the side of the plant and was straight in front of me in mid air, about 2 to 3 feet away. He stayed there for several seconds, in mid air, looking at me, then flew off. The sound of the flutter of the tiny wings beating the air was intrigueing.

I wonder what the message was? Sometimes the Lord uses birds to minister and to give messages. As I thought about it, it occured to me that a hummingbird is beautiful and is always on the move. Their wings go very fast as they hurry from place to place. It's lovely. They are attracted to sugar and to the color red. We also know hummingbirds do not live very long. It's not the sugar or the color red, the sugar is what nourishes the constant activity. The lesson may be that those who are constantly on the move and never rest wear out much quicker and do not live as long. Humans are not made to do that but we try.

Jesus said, Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. The Lord commands a Sabbath rest. He also designated holidays and festivals to give the people rest. Constant motion is not part of His plan for humans.

The message for me is, maybe I need to reevaluate our life and see if we are going to wear out like a hummingbird, before our time at our current pace. Some of you reading this may need to reflect on the same question.

I'm not green, just frugal

2009-08-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

There's so much talk of going green and saving the environment, you'd think some things would be easy to find. That's not what I am discovering. Our utilities company is talking about how much electric, water and gas is going to go up in the next year or two.

Everybody's got problems and needs more money so we have to pay more, and in some cases it could be significant. It's really stupid. They tell people to use less utilities and have incentives. They say rates will go up if we do not cut back. Lo and behold, people cut back on their utilities useage. You think that would solve the issue, correct? No. We aren't using enough so rates have to go up. It doesn't seem to matter in reality although all their theories sound really good.

One thing is clear, regardless of what the chameleons say, the less I use as an individual, the less it may cost me. Unless they put a special tax on people who use less for some silly reason.

I think we are in trouble. Cap and Trade is coming and it will be expensive for everybody, another kind of fee tax.

Our city council diverted funds needed for the police and fire pensions so there is not enough to fund the pensions now. In spite of the fact that other groups are allowed decreases, this one is not. So the city wants more taxes to fund it. There is no question the firemen and police deserve to get it as much as anybody (especailly more so than the jerks with the golden parachutes) but, even if we raise the taxes, they won't necessarily get it. There is zero accountability concerning city hall for those who diverted the money in the past and there will be zero accountability in the future. There is no insurance that the money will go where it is supposed to go, just like before. It may simply become a big money grab for the city within a year or two after the tax is passed and they think people will forget. There is no insurance, no accountablity and no liability for anyone. It will be a soak the public and everybody loses kind of thing. The city council's word is no good. If it was, these people would not be in the mess they are in. They have nothing but failure to back it up. It doesn't matter what I think, we will pay anyway and it will not all go to them.

We have the schools crying because revenues are not up as high as predicted. They cry every year and have been since I was a little kid. Everything is terrrible, they don't have enough, it's so bad. Schools are like bottomless pits, there is no such thing as enough no matter what you do. They always promise but never deliver. They do some of what they say they will do and the fountain of tears dries up for a few months after they get what they want, then it starts again. They are like a spoiled female who always needs the newest dress and behaves like a drama queen until she gets it. They closed schools to build new ones because they really "needed" them so bad and now they have overspent and need more. Shock and disbelief. And, of course, they always neglect to do something essential to manipulate the public into saying "poor baby". (One of this town's planned areas of neglect resulted in the death of one child and the disability of another. I predicted it as soon as the manipulations started. If I knew, having been in education for years, they knew too, some would be innocent but some were not. Money over children. We are in the end times it appears.) It has been that way every town and city I have lived in, the cry for moeny not the deliberate risk of children. With the school system it is always somebody else's fault, so they did as predicted, they blamed it on everybody else. This time they said it was the city but sometimes it is those evil parents they like to blame. Hogwash! Eventually they will get their newest additional tax increase. One more expense for the rest of us whose income is also not the greatest.

The next tax will have something to do with universal health care that is being considered. Whatever our "fair share contribution" is will be coming. Even if it starts out cheap, it won't stay that way.

Those are some of the new taxes we will be treated to in the next few years. There will be more. The economy is down.

So back to my original statement, I'm not going green, I'm looking for ways to be frugal. I tried to buy a free standing clothesline to save electric by using the dryer less. We do not have the right trees. They are very hard to find. "Green" WalMart and KMart do not carry them. Hardware stores have a few. They are pretty expensive too. My local store was out but was getting more in soon. They hadn't exactly had a run on them. They order in about 3 at a time.

I heard on the radio that appliances use 70% of their total electric when they are turned off. It's those little led lights and keeping the appliance ready for instant on that uses it. I am going to buy surge protectors and put all appliances on them. That way I can turn them off when not in use totally. If I have anything that needs instant on, I'll not plug it into a surge protector bar. And i'm going to wait for surge protectors to go on sale to get them.

I'm buying those little solar lights that absorb sun during the day and light up the house at night for outdoor lighting, on sale of course.

I have put small gardens in my back yard to grow my own fresh food in small amounts. It is somewhat expensive at first so it really isn't saving any money this year, even though I waited for price reductions and used coupons. One of the things I used in the garden beds was special moisture retaining soil. I need to go and get more. That way, the plants do well with less watering. I am also adding vegetable scraps (composting) instead of tossing them out, for organic matter.

Whenever we replace something, we buy energy saving models.

Awnings are not pretty but, if utilities go up a lot, we will be looking at them. That and those roll down bamboo shades to shield the house in summer and block the wind in spots in the winter even. Bushes around the edge of the house provide protection for the foundation. Trees provide shade in summer. So can tall plants near the house. I will probably buy heavy curtains eventually, a few at a time, to block out the heat in summer and the cold in winter. Thermopane windows are cost prohibitive at this time and even with them, the sun shines in the windows and heats up the house.

Weather caulking is on sale this week so I should go get some to make sure the windows and other areas are sealed well.

More later.

The Lord

2009-07-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

I've been pondering the holiness of the Lord and what that means. God is Holy. What kind of reverence and respect do we need to be showing a Holy Lord?

How does that fit with the notion that the Lord is our good buddy who follows us around? Does that show a lack of understanding and respect for who God is? Are we insulting the Lord and being disrespectful, even without knowing it?

We say we read the Holy Bible. What about it makes it Holy? There are those who say it is just a good moral book with stories about how to live. How does that make it Holy? There is more to it than that. Holiness transcends the here and now of our limited existence. The words of God are the breath of God and they speak to the hearts and unseen souls of the reader. It is beyond explanation and cannot be measured. What is the length, depth, mass and weight of the soul of man?

It appears we are small, limited, shallow, misguided and not very intellegent overall. Who can comprehend God? How big is infinite? How long is eternity? It seems reasonable to admit there is no way we can understand the things of God or God himself. How small we are, how little we know.

If we say we know all about God, our God is too small.

Good Day

2009-07-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

I pulled a few big carrots from my garden this evening and we had them for supper along with new potatoes from Farmer's Market and a crock pot roast. We have a few cherry tomatoes ripe too. Delicious!

The temperature outdoors has been wonderful all day. It rained much of the day and looks like rain again this evening. I am thankful there is no drought. All the rain is good for yards and gardens and conserves water useage, which the city keeps talking about. We have plenty of water but there is fear for the distant future.

Word Budget

2009-07-07T14:28:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I only have a certain number of words allotted to use a week. It's a little bit like a budget and only having a certain amount to spend. I get a lot of words to use but I run out after a while. When I use up the words I have available, I quit talking much. It's not hard. I have lots of family and friends in my life who love to talk and don't notice when I don't have much to say. They have a much bigger word budget than me. It works out very well.

Sometimes I just get tired of talking and of writing and prefer to let others do it all. Sometimes, silence is nice too.

Rejoice

2009-05-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is the day that the Lord has made. We shall rejoice and be glad in it!

The weather is beautiful. The dog is cute. God has blessed us.

Penny Update

2009-04-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Since the last time I posted about the penny quest 15 days ago, I have found $1.39 in pennies nickles and dimes. It really beats the few pennies interest I get a month! Either way, I will never be rich off it. That's okay. Rich comes at a price. I have enough and I am blessed. I have my family, my friends, the Lord and the church. My health is fine. And I have a good roof over my head (now that we replaced it). I love the simple things like birds, walks, coffee and tea, reading and studying and that sort of thing.

Penny Update

2009-04-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

I have now collected 50 plus pennies and rolled them to deposit in my bank account to help out the pathetic interest. I found another penny today. Eccentric is amusing.

Respect

2009-04-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today I had a conversation with a young teen while waiting in a business. It was interesting to see things from her point of view. One of the things she told me about was being angry at a doctor because he would not talk to her or answer her questions as he was examining her. He would only talk to her mother. He treated her as if she were not there. It upset her a lot.

I can understand that. Nobody, at any age, wants to be treated like a non person. I told her about a friend of mine who is in a wheelchair. When she and I would go out to eat, the waitresses would talk to me but not to her. When the waitress would ask me a question about my friend, such as what she wanted to eat, I would have to tell her to ask my friend.

The young girl was surprised to hear that this was a common experience for the elderly too. When an elderly person and a younger person are together, almost everybody talks to the younger person about the older person as if they were not there. It's pretty rude, but really common. I guess that's why little kids and the elderly often get along so well. They understand one another. People talk about them and over them but not to them.

The young teen got mad and fired her doctor (her mom let her). She has a new doctor now who talks to her, listens to her and answers her questions and she likes that just fine.

Penny Update

2009-04-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Personal issues have led to a short delay in arriving at a retreat. It is beginning to get late so I will wait until tomorrow to drive there now.

While taking care of business today I found one more penny. Yesterday I found 1 penny and the day before I found 1 penny. Three cents in three days, that's half a month's interest on my tiny savings account. Maybe more than half a month if the interest rate goes down even more. Eventually I might have to invest in something like a cheap bicycle or a good pair of shoes when this pair wears out. At least gas prices went down for a while. The price of everything else is going up.

Parking Lot Pennies

2009-03-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today I spent more time than normal waiting in parking lots for cars with issues. Actually, it is not normal to spend any time in parking lots waiting on car issues but today I probably spent at least an hour total on three different lots. So I got some exercise while I waited and walked around the parking lot looking for pennies. I came up with 11 so far today. That is almost two months interest in the pathetic savings account! Parking lot pennies sometimes look a big rough.

Yesterday I found one chair I missed when diving for pennies. I came up with one more puncture wound from the upholstery tacks and two dimes!

I'm intrigued with the concept of becoming eccentric. I think my dog is working on it too. Just a few minutes ago I fed her one of her favorite snacks, ice cubes.

There is a new way to grow tomatoes I am told and I am going to try it out. You grow them upside down in a special container that hangs on a hook outside. Looks interesting.

When I bought the upside down tomato planter, I also bought some seeds for my little veggie bed. I bought things like brussels sprouts, beets, turnips, squash, cucumbers and even green beans. I don't like green beans much, but they grow well and, if I am going to be eccentric, it's okay to plant things I do not like and give them to someone who does. Or I could just grow them, let them go to seed, save the seed, and plant them again next year. That's more eccentric than just giving them away.

Penny Diving in the Furniture

2009-03-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

I checked under the cushions and fabric on the couches and chairs and found no money. Ihere was almost nothing under there. I did get some puncture wounds from the upholstery tacks. Sharp buggers.

Onward to the next adventure. For me, frugality is a form of amusement.

Monday Banking Update

2009-03-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I found 32 cents to add to my bank account. Today my son's car broke down. While we waited for the tow truck in the apartment parking lot, I walked around and looked for pennies to help out my pathetic bank account. I found 8 pennies walking around. Later, I found 4 more at various places parking lots. That brings the total to 50 cents in just over a week. That's 8 months interest on my little savings account (at 6 whole pennies interest a month). By next week I may have found enough pennies to equal a whole year's worth of interest.

It is interesting being a tad eccentric. While wandering around the apartment complex looking at the ground, people asked what I was looking for and so I told them about the broken car and the pathetic savings account interest. Most people who hear what I am doing don't seem to think it is odd at all.

I wonder if pennies found on the ground are subject to income tax? Our world is getting pretty wierd to even think that question.

I think I'll go out for a while on another wild penny hunt.

Banking Update

2009-03-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

I found 1 penny yesterday and three pennies today! Only 46 more needed to make a roll of pennies!

Banking

2009-03-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Some day it might be interesting to be an eccentric old lady just for fun. Yesterday i decidedc to get started on it. Our little bank account gives interest in less than one percent, very dismal. It comes to less than a dime per statement. I have decided to pick up any pennies I find on the street and roll them when I get 50, then deposit my 50 cents in rolled pennies. I have learned that, if I let my bank account sit for a while, the bank starts charging me a $5 a month service fee. If I take in my roll of pennies and deposit it, they will even give me a lollipop if I ask.

The interest is so pathetic, I get tons more picking up pennies. This week I've found 2 cents already. On with the game!

Value quote

2009-03-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Every man stamps his value on himself... man is made great or small by his own will.
-- J.C.F. von Schiller

Knit wit and wise

2009-03-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

I read this and it makes sense to me on several levels.
Life is too short to knit with bad yarn.
Yes, life is too short to waste time and effort on the wrong things. We only have so much time and so many resources. In the areas where we have choices, we should make wise ones.
If we spend all of our time shoring up our weaknesses, we will never have time to capitalize on our strengths. Our strengths, talents for the Christian, are what we were born to use to make the world a better place.

Recipes for Lemon Curd, Spinach artichoke casserole and coconut candy

2009-03-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

These recipes looked good.

The writer of this recipe recommends one use this tart and creamy topping on toast or biscuits, or spoon it over cake or gingerbread. I like it spooned over cream cheese and served with crackers. I've never made it yet, but have eaten it.

Lemon Curd

1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs finely grated lemon peel
3 Tbs cold butter cut into small pieces
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Combine the sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a non-reactivesaucepan. Stir in the butter and eggs and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats theback of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not boil.
Pour into two sterilized 1-cup jars and seal.
Store refrigerated for up to 2 months.
Makes 2 cups .
--------------------------------
This sounds really good. Cream cheese, grated cheese, artichokes and chopped spinach are delicious together, in my opinion.

Spinach Artichoke Casserole

Blend:
8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Sour Cream
1 Package Dry Onion Soup
Add:
2 Ten Ounce packages of frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and well drained)
Place:
One can (14 oz) of artichoke hearts, chopped into chunks and cleaned of those tough little edges, on the bottom of a 14" by 9" casserole dish
Top artichokes with:
Cheese-spinach mixture
Top entire casserole with:
A generous amount of grated cheese -Monterey Jack, Muenster, or Pepper Jack
Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350 until slightly browned and bubbly.

------------------------
This candy looked interesting.

Coconut Joys
2 cups powdered sugar
3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 cup softened butter
2 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together powdered sugar, coconut, and butter.
roll into about 1 inch balls, indent middle with finger and fill with chocolate.
Chill till set.
Keep these well covered in the refrigerator.
Set out at room temperature before serving.
----------------------------

Grandma Said

2009-03-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

My grandma used to say, "There is no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any."

Then she would say she must be wicked because she was tired but had so much to do she was not able to get much rest. I'm tired today and I understand how she felt. I've hit my limit and I am a bit over it.

Foolishness

2009-02-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Cor. 1:18

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." 1 Cor. 1:25

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-the things that are not- to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before Him."
1 Cor. 1:27-29

"Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Cor 1:31

All One

2009-02-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Gal 3:28

The Lord

2009-02-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped." PS 28:7

A good verse for uncertain times and the news is dismal daily.

A Cat, a Bear and Faith

2009-02-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

Have you ever come across a territorial animal? There's a cat that lives in New Jersey who chases all nonhuman intruders off his property. His name is Jack and he is an orange and white, 15 lb. cat. The unique thing about Jack is, he doesn't care who it is or how big it is. He knows what he wants (no creatures except him around) and he is determined to make sure it happens.

Recently a black bear, several times larger than Jack, came into Jack's yard. Jack chased the bear up a tree. After a while, the bear came down from the tree. Jack chased him up another tree. Jack's owners came out to get Jack and take him inside before he got hurt. After they went inside, the bear got down out of the tree and ran into the woods. I suspect the next time they let Jack outside, he went and checked to see if the bear was still invading his territory.

Jack had faith. He did not doubt that he could chase off a large bear, and he did. The Bible says, "...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matt. 17:20-21

Many times we have huge obstacles in our life. With faith and determination it is possible to be victorious even when it looks impossible. When we walk with our Savior and pray as He taught us to do, then he will help us and even the impossible will be possible and we will be able to overcome the "bears" in our own lives.

Hope

2009-02-19T17:41:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 29:11-12
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

A good scripture for uncertain times.

Appetizer recipes

2009-02-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

Smoked Cheese Ball

8 oz tub of cream cheese
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4th teaspoon garlic salt
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
chopped pecans
Mix the first three (mixer works great for this) then stir in the shredded cheese. Form a ball and roll in pecans.

You can add a little sour cream and serve as a dip instead.
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Chipped Beef Cheese Ball

1- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1- 4 ounce pkg. chipped beef (chopped and split in half)
1 spring onion chopped including some of the green

Combine cream cheese, 1/2 of chipped beef and onion in a bowl. After mixing completely make into a ball and roll in remaining chipped beef until well covered. Serve with crackers.

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Smoked Salmon Spread

To make it combine one flat can (6 oz) boneless, skinless pink salmon with one 8 oz pkg. cream cheese. Beat until smooth, then add 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke. Serve on crackers with thin slices of sweet gherkin pickles on top. Easy! I occasionally add 1 tablespoon creamed horseradish to this to add a little piquancy.

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Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly
Combine one package of softened ( let it sit out for an hour) cream cheese, and 1/2 jar of either red or green pepper jelly. (I use red jalepeno peper jelly). This is not hot, but delicious served on gourmet crackers.

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Chicken Spread

This is quick and easy:
1 8 oz pkg. of cream cheese
2 cans Underwood (TM) White Meat Chicken Spread
2 tablespoons Light Miracle Whip (TM) (salad dressing)

Let cream cheese warm up to room temperature. Place cream cheese, chicken spread, and salad dressing in a bowl. Mash together all ingredients. This mixture can be shaped into a holiday appropriate shape if you like (Christmas Tree for Christmas, Bunny at Easter, etc.). Return to refrigerator for about one hour to chill.
Serve with your favorite snack cracker.

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Obey Your Pastor

2009-02-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

This is quite lengthy but an interesting perspective from a pastor and evangelist more than 130 years ago. It is something current day people would gladly argue against. Sometimes the modern day arguments sound a little bit like what Korah said to Moses in Numbers 16 or what Miriam and Aaron said to Moses in Numbers 12.

On Obedience to Pastors
By John Wesley
Sermon 97
(text from the 1872 edition - Thomas Jackson, editor)
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: For they watch over your souls, as they that shall give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: For that is unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17

1. Exceeding few, not only among nominal Christians, but among truly religious men, have any clear conception of that important doctrine which is here delivered by the Apostle. Very many scarce think of it, and hardly know that there is any such direction in the Bible. And the greater part of those who know it is there, and imagine they follow it, do not understand it, but lean too much either to the right hand or to the left, to one extreme or the other. It is well known to what an extravagant height the Romanists in general carry this direction. Many of them believe an implicit faith is due to the doctrines delivered by those that rule over them, and that implicit obedience ought to be paid to whatever commands they give: And not much less has been insisted on by several eminent men of the Church of England: Although it is true that the generality of Protestants are apt to run to the other extreme, allowing their Pastors no authority at all, but making them both the creatures and the servants of their congregations. And very many there are of our own Church who agree with them herein; supposing the Pastors to be altogether dependent upon the people, who in their judgment have a right to direct as well as to choose their Ministers.

2. But is it not possible to find a medium between these two extremes? Is there any necessity for us to run either into one or into the other? If we set human laws out of the question, and simply attend to the oracles of God, we may certainly discover a middle path in this important matter In order thereto, let us carefully examine the words of the Apostle above recited. Let us consider,
I. Who are the persons mentioned in the text, they "that rule over" us?
II. Who are they whom the Apostle, directs to "obey and submit themselves" to them?
III. What is the meaning of this direction? In what sense are they to "obey and submit" themselves? I shall then endeavour to make a suitable application of the whole.
I.
1. Consider we, first, who are the persons mentioned in the text, "they that have the rule over you?" -- I do not conceive that the words of the Apostle are properly translated; because this translation makes the sentence little better the an tautology. If they "rule over you," you are certainly ruled by them; so that according to this translation you are only enjoined to do what you do already - to obey those whom you do obey. But there is another meaning of the Greek word which seems abundantly more proper: It means to guide, as well as to rule. And thus, it seems, it should be taken here. The direction then, when applied to our spiritual guides, is plain and pertinent.
2. This interpretation seems to be confirmed by the seventh verse, which fixes the meaning of this. "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God." The Apostle here shows, by the latter clause of the sentence, whom he meant in the former, Those that "were over them," were the same persons "who spoke unto them the word of God;" that is, they were their pastors, those who guided and fed this part of the flock of Christ.

3. But by whom are these guides to be appointed? And what are they Supposed to do in order to be entitled to the obedience which is here prescribed?
Volumes upon volumes have been wrote on that knotty question, By whom are guides of souls to be appointed? I do not intend here to enter at all into the dispute concerning church government; neither to debate whether it be advantageous or prejudicial to the interest of true religion that the church and the state should be blended together, as they have been ever since the time of Constantine, in every part of the Roman Empire where Christianity has been received. Waiving all these points (which may find employment enough for men that abound in leisure) by "them that guide you" I mean them that do it, if not by your choice, at least by your consent; them that you willingly accept of to be your guides in the way to heaven.

4. But what are they supposed to do in order to entitle them to the obedience here prescribed?
They are supposed to go before the flock (as is the manner of the eastern shepherds to this day) and to guide them in all the ways of truth and holiness; they are to "nourish them with the words of eternal life;" to feed them with "the pure milk of the word:" Applying it continually "for doctrine," teaching them all the essential doctrines contained therein; "for reproof," warning them if they turn aside from the way, to the right hand or to the left; -- "for correction;" showing them how to amend what is amiss, and guiding them back into the way of peace; -- and "for instruction in righteousness;" training them up in inward and outward holiness, "until they come to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

5. They are supposed to "watch over your souls, as those that shall give account." "As those that shall give account!" How unspeakably solemn and awful are those words! May God write them upon the heart of every guide of souls!
"They watch," waking while others sleep, over the flock of Christ; over the souls that he has bought with a price, that he has purchased with his own blood. They have them in their hearts both by day and by night; regarding neither sleep nor food in comparison of them. Even while they sleep their heart is waking, full of concern for their beloved children. "They watch" with deep earnestness, with uninterrupted seriousness, with unwearied care, patience, and diligence, as they that are about to give an account of every particular soul to him that standeth at the door, -- to the Judge of quick and dead.
II.
1. We are, Secondly, to consider who those are whom the Apostle directs to obey them that have the rule over them. And in order to determine this with certainty and clearness, we shall not appeal to human institutions, but simply (as in answering the preceding question) appeal to that decision of it which we find in the oracles of God. Indeed we have hardly occasion to go one step farther than the text itself. Only it may be proper, first, to remove out of the way some popular opinions which have been almost everywhere taken for granted, but can in no wise be proved.

2. It is usually supposed, First, that the Apostle is here directing parishioners to obey and submit themselves to the Minister of their parish. But can anyone bring the least shadow of proof for this from the Holy Scripture? Where is it written that we are bound to obey any Minister because we live in what is called his parish? "Yes," you say, "we are bound to obey every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake." True, in all things indifferent; but this is not so; it is exceeding far from it. It is far from being a thing indifferent to me who is the guide of my soul. I dare not receive one as my guide to heaven that is himself on the high road to hell. I dare not take a wolf for my shepherd, that has not so much as sheep's clothing; that is a common swearer, an open drunkard, a notorious sabbath-breaker. And such (the more is the shame, and the more the pity!) are many parochial Ministers at this day.

3. "But are you not properly members of that congregation to which your parents belong?" I do not apprehend that I am; I know no Scripture that obliges me to this. I owe all deference to the commands of my parents, and willingly obey them in all things lawful. But it is not lawful to call them Rabbi; that is, to believe or obey them implicitly. Everyone must give an account of himself to God. Therefore every man must judge for himself; especially in a point of so deep importance as this is, -- the choice of a guide for his soul.

4. But we may bring this matter to a short issue by recurring to the very words of the text. They that have voluntarily connected themselves with such a pastor as answers the description given therein; such as do in fact, "watch over their souls, as they that shall give account;" such as do "nourish them up with the words of eternal life;" such as feed them as with the "pure milk of the word," and constantly apply it to them "for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness;" -- all who have found and chosen guides of this character, of this spirit and behaviour, are undoubtedly required by the Apostle to "obey and submit themselves" to them.
III.
1. But what is the meaning of this direction? This remains to be considered. In what sense, and how far, does the Apostle direct them to "obey and submit" to their spiritual guides?
If we attend to the proper sense of the two words here used by the Apostle, we may observe that the former of them peithesthe, (from peithO to persuade) refers to the understanding, the latter, hypeikete to the will, and outward behaviour. To begin with the former. What influence ought our spiritual guides to have over our understanding! We dare no more call our spiritual fathers Rabbi, than the "fathers of our flesh." We dare no more yield implicit faith to the former than to the latter. In this sense "one is our Master," (or rather Teacher) "who is in heaven." But whatever submission, of even our understanding, is short of this, we may, nay, we ought to yield to them.

2. To explain this a little farther. St. James uses a word which is nearly allied to the former of these: "The wisdom which is from above is, eupeithEs, easy to be convinced, or to be persuaded." Now, if we ought to have and to show this wisdom toward all men, we ought to have it in a more eminent degree, and to show it upon every occasion, toward those that "watch over our souls." With regard to these, above all other men, we should be "easy to be entreated;" easily convinced of any truth, and easily persuaded to anything that is not sinful.

3. A word of nearly the same import with this is frequently used by St. Paul; namely, epieikEs. In our translation it is more than once rendered gentle. But perhaps it might be more properly rendered (if the word may be allowed) yielding; ready to yield, to give up our own will, in everything that is not a point of duty. This amiable temper every real Christian enjoys, and shows in his intercourse with all men. But he shows it in a peculiar manner toward those that watch over his soul. He is not only willing to receive any instruction from them, to be convinced of anything which he did not know before; lying open to their advice, and being glad to receive admonition, or reproof; but is ready to give up his own will, whenever he can do it with a clear conscience. Whatever they desire him to do, he does; if it be not forbidden in the Word of God. Whatever they desire him to refrain from, he does so; if it be not enjoined in the Word of God. This is implied in those words of the Apostle: "Submit yourselves to them;" yield to them; give up your own will. This is meet, and right, and your bounden duty, if they do indeed watch over your souls as they that shall give account. If you do thus "obey and submit yourselves" to them, they will give an account of you "with joy, not with groaning," as they must otherwise do; for although they should be clear of your blood, yet "that would be unprofitable to you;" yea, a prelude to eternal damnation.

4. How acceptable to God was an instance of obedience somewhat similar to this! You have a large and particular account of it in the thirty-fifth chapter of Jeremiah. "The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and give them wine to drink. Then I took the whole house of the Rechabites;" all the heads of their families; "and set before them pots full of wine, and said unto them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab," a great man in the reign of Jehu, "the son of Rechab," from whom we are named, being the father of our family, "commanded us, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons for ever. And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab our father, in all that he charged us." We do not know any particular reason why Jonadab gave this charge to his posterity. But as it was not sinful they gave this strong instance of gratitude to their great benefactor. And how pleasing this was to the Father of their spirits we learn from the words that follow: "And Jeremiah said unto the Rechabites, Because ye have obeyed the voice of Jonadab your father, therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Jonadab shall not want a man to stand before my face forever." [Jer. 35]

5. Now it is certain Christians owe full as much gratitude and obedience to those that watch over their souls as ever the house of the Rechabites owed to Jonadab the son of Rechab. And we cannot doubt but he is as well pleased with our obedience to these as ever he was with their obedience to Jonadab. If he was so well pleased with the gratitude and obedience of this people to their temporal benefactor, have we not all reason to believe he is full as well pleased with the gratitude and obedience of Christians to those who derive far greater blessings to them than ever Jonadab conveyed to his posterity?

6. It may be of use yet again to consider, In what instances is it the duty of Christians to obey and submit themselves to those that watch over their souls? Now the things which they enjoin must be either enjoined of God, or forbidden by him, or indifferent. In things forbidden of God we dare not obey them; for we are to obey God rather than man. In things enjoined of God we do not properly obey them, but our common Father. Therefore, if we are to obey them at all, it must be in things indifferent. The sum is, it is the duty of every private Christian to obey his spiritual Pastor, by either doing or leaving undone anything of an indifferent nature; anything that is in no way determined in the word of God.

7. But how little is this understood in the Protestant world! At least in England and Ireland! Who is there, even among those that are supposed to be good Christians, who dreams there is such a duty as this? And yet there is not a more express command either in the Old or New Testament. No words can be more clear and plain; no command more direct and positive. Therefore, certainly none who receive the Scripture as the word of God, can live in the habitual breach of this and plead innocence. Such an instance of willful, or at least careless disobedience, must grieve the Holy Spirit of God. It cannot but hinder the grace of God from having its full effect upon the heart. It is not improbable that this very disobedience may be one cause of the deadness of many souls; one reason of their not receiving those blessings which they seek with some degree of sincerity.

8. It remains only to make a short application of what has now been delivered.
You that read this, do you apply it to yourself? Do you examine yourself thereby? Do not you stop your own growth in grace, if not by willful disobedience to this command; yet by a careless inattention to it, by not considering it, as the importance of it deserves? If so, you defraud yourself of many blessings which you might enjoy. Or, are you of a better mind; of a more excellent spirit? Is it your fixed resolution and your constant endeavour "to obey them that have the rule over you in the Lord;" to submit yourself as cheerfully to your spiritual as to your natural parents? Do you ask, "Wherein should I submit to them?" The answer has been given already: Not in things enjoined of God; not in things forbidden by him; but in things indifferent: In all that are not determined, one way or the other, by the oracles of God. It is true, this cannot be done, in some instances without a considerable degree of self-denial, when they advise you to refrain from something that is agreeable to flesh and blood. And it cannot be obeyed in other instances without taking up your cross; without suffering some pain or inconvenience that is not agreeable to flesh and blood. For that solemn declaration of our Lord has place here, as well as on a thousand other occasions: "Except a man deny himself, and take up his cross daily, he cannot be my disciple." But this will not affright you, if you resolve to be not only almost, but altogether, a Christian; if you determine to fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.

9. I would now apply myself in a more particular manner to you who desire me to watch over your souls. Do you make it a point of conscience to obey me, for my Master's sake? to submit yourselves to me in things indifferent; things not determined in the Word of God; in all things that are not enjoined, nor yet forbidden, in Scripture? Are you "easy to be entreated," as by men in general, so by me in particular? -- easy to be convinced of any truth, however contrary to your former prejudices? -- and easy to be persuaded to do or forbear any indifferent thing at my desire? You cannot but see that all this is clearly contained in the very words of the text. And you cannot but acknowledge that it is highly reasonable for you so to do, if I do employ all my time, all my substance, all my strength both of body and soul, not in seeking my own honour, or pleasure; but in promoting your present and eternal salvation; if I do indeed "watch over your souls as one that must give account."

10. Do you then take my advice (I ask in the presence of God and all the world) with regard to dress? I published that advice above thirty years ago; I have repeated it a thousand times since. I have advised you not to be conformable to the world herein, to lay aside all needless ornaments, to avoid all needless expense, to be patterns of plainness to all that are round about you. Have you taken this advice? Have you all, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, laid aside all those needless ornaments which I particularly objected to? Are you all exemplarily plain in your apparel; as plain as Quakers (so called) or Moravians? If not, if you are still dressed like the generality of people of your own rank and fortune, you declare hereby to all the world that you will not obey them that are over you in the Lord. You declare, in open defiance of God and man, that you will not submit yourselves to them. Many of you carry your sins on your forehead, openly and in the face of the sun. You harden your hearts against instruction and against conviction. You harden one another; especially those of you that were once convinced, and have now stifled your convictions. You encourage one another to stop your ears against the truth, and shut your eyes against the light, lest haply you should see that you are fighting against God and against your own souls. If I were now called to give an account of you, it would be "with groans, and not with joy." And sure that would be "unprofitable for you:" The loss would fall upon your own head.

11. I speak all this on supposition, (though that is a supposition not to be made) that the Bible was silent on this head; that the Scriptures said nothing concerning dress, and left it to everyone's own discretion. But if all other texts were silent, this is enough: "Submit yourselves to them that are over you in the Lord." I bind this upon your consciences, in the sight of God. Were it only in obedience to this direction, you cannot be clear before God unless you throw aside all needless ornaments, in utter defiance of that tyrant of fools, fashion; unless you seek only to be adorned with good works, as men and women professing godliness.

12. Perhaps you will say, "This is only a little thing: it is a mere trifle." I answer, If it be, you are the more inexcusable before God and man. What! Will you disobey a plain commandment of God for a mere trifle? God forbid! Is it a trifle to sin against God, -- to set his authority at nought? Is this a little thing? Nay, remember, there can be no little sin, till we can find a little God!

Meantime be assured of one thing: The more conscientiously you obey your spiritual guides, the more powerfully will God apply the word which they speak in his name to your heart! The more plentifully will he water what is spoken with the dew of his blessing; and the more proofs will you have, it is not only they that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaketh in them.

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I have long been aware that the way people treat pastors and their families is often a reflection of the way they feel about the Lord. Those who have the utmost respect and reverence for the Lord tend to behave similarly to any pastor. (Biblically, those are the ones who are closest to being correct. As we study the old testament, Abraham and Moses and others, we see that principle. The new testament also speaks of respecting those who are overseers, those whom God has called, and treating them well. How people treat them really is a reflection of how they feel about the Lord, but most people seem generally unaware of it.) Some are afraid of God, but have a grasp of his holiness and his relationship to those He calls and they will be afraid of a pastor, any pastor, too.

Those who feel the Lord is a good buddy to be summoned at will, tend to treat any pastor like that. Those who feel entitled, they are saved and secure and the Lord owes them, will treat the pastor the same way. If they feel like the Lord is their personal vending machine, they may expect to be waited on in the same manner by the clergy. Those who are angry at the Lord sometimes lash out at the pastor as if they could punish the Lord that way. (Some of these are grieving people in crisis) Sometimes there are people who want to get closer to the Lord but do not understand how, so they try to get closer to the pastor instead to try to figure it out. It is really strange to be on the receiving end of any of this.

I never know what to do with those who are more critical of the pastor and their family than they are of others. Some even evaluate things that they would not consider evaluating if the person were not clergy. I guess they feel they are being helpful, even when their comments are hurtful, unkind and insulting. Some like to quote the passage about believers judging even angels. They must feel they should get a head start on the judging part?

Pastors have a great burden of responsibility to preach, teach and proclaim the word. It is a very serious responsibility that many seem to take less than it is. The Bible says God will judge them harsher than others. It is not something to be entered into lightly. God keeps his word. We are responsible to be faithful and to tell the good news but we are not responsible if people reject it. That too is scriptural. Each person is accountable for their own soul, whether they accept or reject the Lord.

Doggie Biscotti

2009-02-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

A recipe for those who spoil their pets!

For your favorite pooch.

Doggie Biscotti

5 cups of wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cup pureed banana
1/2 tsp. maple flavor extract
Water
1 egg for egg wash
1 cup rolled oats (not quick)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix dry ingredients, then add next 4 ingredients and stir until lumpy.
Add water one teaspoon at a time as needed.
Knead by hand on flat surface until mixedthoroughly.
Form into two logs 2 to 2-1/2 inches high.
Flatten so that logs are 6 to 7 inches wide by 1 inch high. With a pastry brush cover logs on both sides with egg wash then roll in oats.
Place on a non-stick baking sheet
Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes. Slice the biscotti into 1/2 or3/4 inch slices or what ever width suits you.
Place on baking sheets and bake for about 20 min. or until golden and brown and crispy.
When completely cool store in zipper bags or an airtight container.
NOTE- make sure you mark the container so that people know these are for dogs because they smell wonderful! This is a great way to use up those over-ripe bananas.

Taxing Times

2009-02-14T05:45:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the taxes we pay.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Alternative Minimum Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
City Income Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax Luxury Tax
Local Taxes for specific projects voted by the citizens
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Motel Tax (tax on top of tax in our town)
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Road Improvement Tax
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Fe deral, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Windfall Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Isn't there an alcohol tax or so too?

Joy in life

2009-02-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

"However many years a person may live, let them enjoy them all." Ecc 11:8

Remember the most joyful moments in your life and then consider that though the circumstances may have changed, you still have the very same joyous life within you, here and now. You continue to have the ability to experience real and satisfying happiness and fulfillment.

Though time passes and the changes come with each new day, you are still the same you. Your dreams, your hopes, and your positive potential continue to be with you. The world around you changes at a sometimes harrowing pace, yet that takes nothing away from the abundant joy which you are capable of experiencing.

As life whizzes by, focus what is most important to you. Keep in touch with friends and family and focus on the things that really matter most to you and which bring you genuine fulfillment. Focus on the joy of living.

Thanksgiving Cake recipe

2009-02-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

This recipe looked good.

Thanksgiving Cake

3 C. flour
2 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 eggs
1 C. vegetable oil
1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin
6 oz. chocolate chips
1 C. chopped nuts (optional)
6 oz. raisins (optional)

Sift dry ingredients together; add eggs.
Add oil, pumpkin,chocolate chips, nuts & raisins. Mix well.
Lightly oil & flour tube pan (or small loaf pans) and add batter.
Bake at 350F for 70 minutes.

Encouragement for Some Friends

2009-02-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

Some of you who are reading this regularly have people who are less than kind in your life right now (yes, I know that is an understatement). You will enjoy this. It leaves the results entirely up to God. Enjoy the blessing!

May those who love us, love us....
And those who don't love us
May God turn their hearts;
And if he doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we will know them by their limping.

Seize the Day

2009-02-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

This morning this song kept going through my mind and I sang it over and over.

Seize the day, seize whatever you can,
life slips away just like hourglass sands,
seize the day, with grace from God's hand,
nothing can get in your way, seize the day.

That last line may not be quite correct but I can't find any CD with the tune right now. The message is the same. Seize the day.

I sang the song to Joy Dog and she started bouncing excitedly up in the air. I think, if dogs could sing, she would have been singing along with me.

So I fixed myself some crab legs with melted butter for lunch and relished every bite.

Abundant Living

2009-02-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

I have seen this story many times and it is a good one. While this particular story is probably fiction, I have been in homes of people in our churches after a death and heard much the same thing. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The Bible is full of passages about joy, happiness, hope and love. Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. God wants us to be happy.

Here's the story.

A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:
'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.' He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box. 'She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it.

He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.

He turned to me and said: 'Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion'.

I still think those words changed my life.
Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with my family, and less at work.
I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
I no longer keep anything.
I use crystal glasses every day...
I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.
I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.
The words 'Someday...' and ' One Day...' are fading away from my dictionary.
If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now....
I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell.
I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.
I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.
It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

Fudge

2009-02-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

This recipe looked good from the internet. I do not know the people mentioned but it adds charm to the recipe. I have somehow collected several bags of marshmallows and it would be a good way to use some.

From Barb
Mom says this is See's recipe, and it came to her (in the early '50s) pinned on my brother Ken's jacket with the note: "Make your own!"
I've been making this fudge every Christmas since I was old enoughto stir it without getting burnt. But don't limit it to the holidays! It's a chocolate fix for ANY time of year! [Reid says it is the BEST inthe WORLD, and you wouldn't want to argue with a 9-year-old,would you?) Easy (if you play by the rules), and delicious.

Heaven's Own Fudge
4 cups sugar
1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk
1 stick (8 tbs. or 1/2 cup) butter
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
12 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
5 cups miniature marshmallows

Place sugar, milk, butter, vanilla and salt in a good sized (at least2 quart) saucepan.
Stir constantly over medium-high heat until mixture reaches a full, rolling boil.
Lower heat to medium (but maintain boil) and let cook for 10 minutes (once mixture is boiling hard, you no longer have to worry about it sticking).
Meanwhile, put marshmallows & chocolate chips in a good sized mixing bowl
and lightly grease a large rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan(or two 9x13 inch baking pans, or three 9-inch round cake pans.)
Pour hot candy mixture over marshmallows & chocolate and stir until everything is melted.
At this point you can stir in, say, a cup of nuts or butterscotch, white chocolate or peanut butter chips,or add a dash of fruit syrup (berry & orange are great), candied ginger, more marshmallows (for that "Rocky Road" effect).
Pour into prepared pans and let set (preferably at least overnight).
Cut into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Happy

2009-02-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here.

The Lord wants us to be happy. Just read the first chapters about creation in Genesis. God created everything good. He created beauty and good tasting food. He created Eve as a companion for Adam. There is no good apart from God. God is entirely good.

It is not His will for us to be sad, hurting, lonely, miserable or anything negative. Living in a fallen world, those things will happen but it is best not to seek them when one has the choice. Choose to live your life to the full extent God has made possible. It is His gift to you. Do not turn it down.

Joy dog is bouncing again. She is going for a walk and her enthusiasm is unbounded.

Make a Difference

2009-02-07T19:35:00.001-08:00

Go out today and see if you can move the whole world forward just a little bit. It's your time to make a difference in your own special way. It may happen that no one will ever know of the positive influence you are having in your world. But you will know. And the world is richer because of you.

You have a need to be needed. Everyone does. Think about it. Isn't that incredibly wonderful? Do your part to fulfill and express that need today. You'll lift not only your own heart but those around you as well. Make yourself necessary. Make a contribution.

The world around you is yours to the extent that you put a genuine and substantial part of yourself into it. When your every desire has been fulfilled you'll still feel the need to make a difference. Be true to the unique person you are. Give the world your own special push as often as you can.

Pizza Guy

2009-02-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

This is a cute story worth passing on.

The Big Shake-Up

A company, feeling it was time for a shake-up, hires a new CEO. This new boss is determined to rid the company of all slackers.

On a tour of the facilities, the CEO notices a guy leaning on a wall. The room is full of workers and he thinks this is his chance to show everyone he means business!

The CEO, walks up the guy and asks - "and how much money do you make a week?"

Undaunted, the young fellow looks at him and replies, "I make $200.00 a week. Why?"

The CEO then hands the guy $200 in cash and screams, "Here's a week's pay, now GET OUT and don't come back!"

Feeling pretty good about his first firing, the CEO looks around the room and asks, "Does anyone want to tell me what that slacker did here?"

With a sheepish grin, one of the other workers mutters, "Pizza delivery guy."
--------

19"When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise." Prov. 10:19

One of my relatives has been a pizza delivery person. A $200 tip is very good. The guy in the story was probably leaning against the wall waiting for someone to get the money to pay him. Some CEO coming through screaming at him and handing him $200 would have looked very foolish to him. He probably went back to his place of employment and bragged about his big tip and the crazy guy who gave it to him.

Most people get into trouble at some point in their lives for making assumptions and acting without checking first, thus looking foolish. The CEO lost not only $200 but the respect of the people working under him.

Clueless

2009-02-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

"I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I came from or where I am going. You judge by human standards..." John 8:14-15

Charlie has a PhD and teaches at a liberal arts university. He is known for his unusual approach to teaching. He would sit silently among the students on the first few class meetings and the students assumed he was another student. It made for interesting stories. There was a point to it that matched the objective of his subject matter.

Charlie's friend, who also has a PhD plus is a sought after researcher, went to an event some time ago. This person did not tell much, so the organizer of the event put down the individual had some college, a source of amusement to Charlie's friend.

It is not unusual for the very bright or talented not to let on and to let people think whatever they choose. It is a source of entertainment. Business owners, famous personalities, royalty, politicians and others have been known to do that. Many multilingual people will pretend they do not know English either for amusement or to see what they can get away with.

If a person sits quietly, after a while others get comfortable around them and often underestimate them. Sometimes the quiet people are the brightest of the bunch and they are the ones who know where all the skeletons are buried. Silent water might look like a puddle, but silent water also can run very deep.

I often hear those with very little education talking about how dumb those are who are well educated. They say things like they know as much or more than a person with a lot more schooling. They have the right to be wrong. A high school drop out or high school graduate saying that to someone with advanced degrees is like a first grader saying they know more than a sixth grader. It could happen, but for the normal child, dream on.

Jesus warns the pharisees who are judging him that they do not know reality. We don't either. When someone is quiet or is modest about what they have done, when there is no particular reason to pull out the resume', we should not make assumptions. You might just be wrong, just like the pharisees. Treat everyone with respect.

Jesus wasn't laughing here because there was meanness. Observe what you will, but pray to see as God sees and do not be too hasty in judging people. Things are often not as they appear. Man sees the outside, but God sees what man cannot see.

Joy

2009-02-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

1 Thess 5:16 "Be joyful always."

We have a loveable black lab whose whole life seems to exude joy! She is happy to see us when we come home and she jumps for joy. She lives to play fetch and she wiggles all over with joy! Joy dog loves her dog food and dances with joy while she waits a few feet away for me to fill her bowl. She loves dog bisquits and will do whatever we ask in order to get one, then she relishes it with joy. Our lab loves a bath and wiggles with joy when she is bathed. When I bring home a new toy for her, she races around the house with it in her mouth, full of joy. For this pup, it is sheer joy to be alive. Jumping for joy is a part of her normal day, many times a day.

For potassium, I eat a banana almost every day and I share a bit with Joy dog. When Joy dog sees me peeling a banana she comes and sits by my side and watches me eat in anticipation. She loves bananas! I give her the last little bite and she gobbles it down with relish!

The old camp song, I've got the joy, joy, joy joy down in my heart fits her very well. I wonder if we will all feel that much joy in heaven. I suspect we will.

Cookies and Cheese Logs

2009-02-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

These recipes for cookies and a cheese log from the internet looked really good!

Forget the jar! I think I'll just make the cookies.

Black Forest Cookie Jar Mix
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Layer the ingredients in a 1-quart jar in the order above.
Attach the gift card with the following instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Beat 2/3 cup butter in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in the cookie mix, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Cool. Makes 2 dozen.

I love all 3 of the following cheeses, so I bet this would be delicious!

Cheddar-Blue Cheese Log

Equal parts by weight of:
Blue cheese- crumbled
Grated cheddar cheese
Cream cheese, at room temperature
Any of your favorite chopped nuts which could include walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews
Paprika (optional)
Dried Parsley (optional)
Blend the cheeses together until smooth. Roll into a log or ball, then roll in the chopped nuts to coat.
As an alternative to the nut coating, sprinkle a generous amount of paprika and/or parsley on a piece of waxpaper and roll the cheese mixture in it to coat.
Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
Serve chilled with crackers, minature party rye bread slices or mini toasts .

Of Swine and Cretans

2009-01-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

Titus 1:12 says Cretans are always liars. Ever have one of those days when you feel like you have met a few Cretans? It's a downer.

I do not have the authority, the energy or the desire to confront any of these people. It would be more like trying to corner a wild animal, or like trying to teach a pig to whistle. Nothing is gained by it and it really annoys the pig.

Scripture says do not cast your pearls before swine because they will trample them and turn on you. That sounds about right.

Scripture says to avoid certain kinds of people. Sometimes that is probably the best. Sometimes there is nothing to be gained by confrontation except hard feelings, like giving pearls to swine. They have no idea that I am aware of what is going on. Sometimes God reveals things to me, sort of like hidden landmines in the road, so I can avoid them. You don't tangle with a landmine, you just go around and let the Lord, who is the expert bomb dismantler take care of it.

The Lord has blessed me with many good and honest friends and encouragers. He knows that I, like Elijah, can get exhausted and discouraged. God is good. Deliver us from evil.

Prayer

2009-01-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

This evening I started reading a book on the prayer life of Frances and Edith Schaeffer. It is impressive. What if all believers were as faithful and determined in prayer as they were? It could move mountains.

I am a firm believer in prayer but it's not a sentimental, sappy kind of thing. I have a friend who has asked me not to pray for him. The answers are sometimes a bit like those the Bible says Elijah and Elisha had. My friend has heard, over the years, the things God has done with those who are not living as they should, but pretending they are, and what happened when I prayed about it. I did not ask specifically for those things to happen, only for God to intervene. He asked me not to ever pray for him. Well this friend has ticked me off, so he has been put on notice I am praying for him. Only God knows the true story so we will see how God answers this prayer.

Those of you who might read this and do not believe in the real power of prayer might think I'm a little silly. God does not answer every prayer in an obvious manner and most of the time it does not concern me. He knows more than I do and He will take care of the matter.

God answers our prayers. We have to pray in His will but enough reading of the Bible will give a pretty good idea what that will would be. We know that it is not God's will that any person should be lost, so we pray for their salvation. They have free will so this one is a power struggle of prayer versus their sometimes stubborn, oppositional defiant free will and can take a while. They don't always look stubborn but they are.

Snow and Ice

2009-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

Driving on the ice and snow is such an adventure. I've had enough of this adventure for now.

Life is so busy and so full! The bad weather has given me time to pause and consider as I write on the computer to people all over the world that I know, some I have not seen in many years. I have friends in Kazakastan, Hong Kong, China, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Taiwan, India and more. They are every age, color, occupation, religion and more. It is so amazing! Life is so diverse.

It is easy to forget what a big world there is out there when life is busy.

Garden Seminar

2009-01-27T08:23:00.000-08:00

Cold winter days are a good time to look forward to spring and think about gardens. For some of us, it is a favorite winter activity. (I am a terrible gardener but I'm not bright enough to give up the hope.) My parents and I went to a presentation on how to start a garden recently. All the beautiful vegetables and flowers are very enticing. My parents have gardened successfully for many years but it is interesting to see what somebody has to say. We picked up a few tips. The conference room was full of people with all kinds of questions.

One of the things the presenters were promoting was a 1,000 gardens project. They are trying to get at least 1,000 organizations, businesses and families to plant gardens, particularly vegetable gardens this year. It is a national movement, with each group promoting vegetable gardening in their communities. I think it is a good idea for a number of reasons.

For the last few years, and particularly last year, we saw problems with food contamination that made people very sick. A big one that comes to mind is the ecoli bacteria in the spinach last year. Home gardens and local produce are much less likely to have those kinds of issues.

Home gardeners and small, farmer's market type growers have more options so are less likely to use a lot of chemical fertilizers and pesticides than large commercial growers. We know that the chemicals enable large farmers to increase production dramatically, but we are uncertain of the long term health effects. (They like to say there is "no evidence" there are negative health effects, but there is also no evidence there are not. People argue for profit without regard for other factors, so assurances mean nothing.) Home gardeners are more likely to use things like companion planting, compost and such.

If more individuals are growing gardens, it stand to reason they will be eating more produce and that is healthy. Replacing some of the prepackaged and convenience food (which were never meant to be the whole diet anyway) with vegetables will improve the health of many people, thus resulting in a slightly healthier populace. Generally healthier people will help relieve a little bit of the health care crisis and improve quality of life.

Those who work in the garden are getting more exercise. They are getting more fresh air than they might normally. Those things are healthy.

Natural gardeners are recyclers when they compost. Some of the organic waste that normally goes to the landfill will be diverted to use for crop health instead. Our local recycling center collects organic wastes and composts them, then sells that compost to gardeners to help grow healthier crops. Coffee shops give away their used coffee grounds to gardeners for the soil instead of carting them off to the land fills.

The economy is down. Gardens can help people provide food for themselves and their families at a lower cost. It is possible to spend a lot of money on all of the trappings to go with gardening, but it is not necessary.

Community gardens that share produce with the poor are doing what is right and what God says to do. There is more food for the hungry, healthy food, that way. When we feed the poor healthier food, they get sick less often and lessen the burden on the health care system. Right now those who cannot pay seem to make up the majority waiting in emergency rooms because that is the only health care provider that, by law, has to take them whether or not they can pay.

Many of the people who are poor or having economic problems have them because of health problems. Get them healthy and get them back in the work force where lots want to be anyway.

Lots of people are losing their jobs right now. We are told it will get worse. I hope that is wrong. Still, it would be nice if there were a lot of community gardens to help those who are out of work through no fault of their own. Not having an income or not having enough income is bad enough without having to settle for unhealthy food too.

There are senior citizens whose health or living accomodations do not allow them to garden and whose income may be such that fresh produce is rare. Some college students are in a similar situation, low income and no place to garden (and a diet of primarily cheap, unhealthy foods like ramen, mac and cheese and chicken pot pies).

Mary, who has been in our church for many years, was at the garden presentation too. She said, years ago, our church yard had a large community garden. One man, who really loved gardening, oversaw it and many people worked it. I'm guessing it was like a community garden at an apartment complex where I lived years ago or one that we had when we were seminary students. Each person or family had a section that was theirs and they planted whatever they wanted and took care of it.

If we had someone who would oversee it, that would be a good thing to do again. With our property for sale and not knowing when we will be moving, it probably could not be done this year. There is also another teeny, tiny detail. We don't have anybody to oversee it. We can't even get anybody to weed a small flower bed or water it under the church sign. One lady plants the flowers and leaves them and that's all the care it gets. It's really sad. (We keep threatening to pull out a lot of the dirt, cover it with a weed proof plastic mat and "plant" artificial flowers in there.) So while the garden idea is appealing, there is no way we can do it now.

Proverbs

2009-01-24T19:19:00.000-08:00

"It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel." Prov 20:3
I wonder how our new president will do?

Proverbs has many verses about fools. I guess they had a lot of them back then? Prov 17:28 says, "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue."

What Does God Think?

2009-01-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

I read an article recently and I have been pondering it. The author was writing about giving and the heart of the giver. He did not come to any solid conclusions. I haven't either. In this matter, I am only responsible for me and no one else.

The article went into things like the separation of church and government in the New Testament. He was writing about the scripture, "give unto Caesar, that which is Caesar's and to God that which is God's". When people are giving to God, why do they take a tax deduction from a spiritual standpoint?

I understand it from a practical standpoint. Those with higher incomes benefit more somehow from tax write offs. At some levels, I've been told, the fact of the write off is more important than who they give it to. I can accept that, if it's true. I will never be at that income level so it is not necessary for me to understand. It's a different world. No matter what the reason, lots of groups get helped that way, so that would be a good thing. If the tax deduction were taken away, donations to all groups, not just religious groups, would go down a lot and they would be hurting or even have to fold. The tax break is the incentive. (Not the heart here)

A friend explained to me that she has more to give when she takes the tax write off. In her case, I have seen what she does and that is true, not just wishful thinking. I see nothing wrong with that. It is good stewardship.

I'm with the author of the article though. I wonder. I cannot remember ever taking a tax write off for giving, even though I keep records of much of it. (It's a reality check so I have proof if I am just full of hot air. But nobody else sees it) There is something that just doesn't feel right about taking the tax write off, although I know of no reason to tell anybody it is wrong. When I give, I give because I want to give and I am giving my tiny part to God for his work or for his creation, even if it's food to an individual, a donation to St. Jude's, a donation to an animal rescue, Gideon Bibles, Girl Scout cookies, Billy Graham, Operation Christmas Child, American Bible Society, Open Doors, and on and on. There's just something odd about expecting a break or kickback from the government for what I do for God. I wonder how God feels about it?

Many years ago, I remember an incident where I was treated to a meal by an individual. I thought they did it because they were kind and they felt they wanted to do something nice for me and the others there. I found out later we were just a tax write off/business expense that the person wanted to use up. I was still glad to go, but disappointed about the motive. Being a tax write off for somebody has less charm than when you are not.

I wonder if God feels the same kind of disappointment I felt when we give for some motive other than love for Him?

In our society, tax write offs are expected and probably necessary for many, so they should take them. For a few, it enables them to give even more. There is nothing wrong with it culturally, legally or financially. Scripturally, I can think of nothing wrong with it. But, like the author of the article, I wonder about it from God's perspective for the majority of us. I can only answer for myself. I do not know anybody else's giving habits and I don't want to know. That is between them and God and the US government, if they choose to involve it.

Go Getters for Jesus?

2009-01-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, a friend was telling me about her husband's personality. He is a salesman who is constantly looking for ways to make sales. He loves it. He sees opportunities everywhere, works tirelessly and has been very successful. This friend is in business for himself. (He has worked for others in the past but is much more motivated to be on his own, lining his own pockets instead of someone else's.)

Come to think of it, I can think of several people I know who are like that, hard working, motivated salespeople, who are self employed. The harder and smarter they work, the more they make and so they are continually looking for ways to increase their sales and thus their income.

As we talked, it occured to me that I wish there were more people with that much zeal for the Lord and their goal was to win souls rather than earn a higher income. If all the people who excelled at winning sales also (or instead) excelled in the same manner in winning souls, what a difference it could make! The apostle Paul was like the successful salesman. He worked tirelessly to win souls and was constantly looking for opportunities and talking to everyone he could. He had what they needed (the way to salvation, hope, peace, etc) and he worked very hard to show them and help them achieve their own goals.

Not everybody has the personality to be a good salesman. Those who do generally choose not to pursue evangelism. But what if they did?

Thoughts

2009-01-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

Ecclesiastes has some wonderful passages.

"The man who fears God will avoid all extremes." Ecc 7:18
I'll have to ponder that one a while but it is appealing.

"Do not pay attention to every word people say,
Or you may hear your servant cursing you -
for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others." Ecc 7:21-22
I like this one. Don't take a single encounter with a person too seriously. Everybody has moods and good and bad days, even you.

Observations

2009-01-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time reading, including the Bible, studying scripture, and writing, including for sermons, in coffee shops that offer bottomless cups of coffee while I work. Most of the time the people around me are strangers wrapped up in their own world. There are some who do business by cell phone in the various coffee shops. I am struck by how often they do not tell the truth. They'll lie about where they are, who they are with, and what they are doing. It is odd, but sad.

Sometimes I know a little bit about the people around me. One day a couple of people I barely knew were talking to one another. I wasn't paying much attention, but a couple of lines were loud enough that I could hear they were ridiculing someone else not with them. I have no idea if the criticisms were valid. The people talking were among the many I know who do not go to any church but consider themselves Christians. A thought flashed through my mind of God asking those people some day, "What makes you think you are going to go to heaven?" It was odd, but sad. It is as if God were telling me to pray for those particular people because they may not make it to heaven in their current state of faith.

It is a lost and hurting and dying world. Many who take the Lord for granted and ignore him may be presumptious and thus mistaken. I am not the judge. I can only pray. It needs a lot of prayer.

Trust God in a Fallen World

2009-01-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

There is a verse in Psalms that we are told is in the very middle of the Bible.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Psalm 118:8

(If you don't need any bad news or to read anything negative, stop reading here. Much of this is out of today's news.)

There is a bit of uncertainty in life for a lot of people right now. As I checked this morning, the stock market is going down again today. Pension plans that many people now have are invested in that stock market, so it is the retirement invsetments of the average masses that is declining along with those who invested. What's next?

I read in the news that there are a number of companies closing, so there are more layoffs than usual. It is not a massive number, like the (not so) great depression but it is making an impact. Companies have been closing and going overseas since the Reagan years when politics encouraged it.

Amidst all the bad news, people are buying less. They are saving more and are more careful about what they buy. Stores are trying to unload excess merchandise at very low prices. I read that this might start a cycle of hyper inflation. The author's reasoning was this, stores are not going to order merchandise to sell in such quantities because it isn't selling. This will set up a cycle where those who produce the goods will produce less and be subject too more lay offs due to less demand. Less availability means prices can and will go up. I'm not so sure a cycle like this would be anything less than temporary unless government regulation interfered.

We have our chronic energy problems. Petrolium products go up in price and down, depending on politics. There are excesses and then there are shortages (again it is all politically spurred). Then some bright guys get the idea we need to tax gas in a myrad of different ways for a myrad of different things. The goofs! So people buy less and they come off with less than they anticipated. Nobody wins. Consumers have less fuel and politicians have less money to waste.

Our citizenry tolerates too many dishonest people as just doing business and it hurts everybody. Greed has caused many companies to have major problems and some are going to the government for bail outs in the billions. And they are getting it! The first sign that there is something wrong with this picture is what was done with the first few bail outs by the companies themselves. They took tax payer dollars that were intended to keep their companies afloat and gave huge, millions of dollars type, bonuses and raises to those at the top of the companies. It was all for them. They spent a lot of taxpayer money on luxury vacations for executives. These guys are acting like they think they are gods who are entitled to the people's money and they are taking their tithe from the people off the top. (The top dogs are not giving tithes, they are acting as god and feeling entitled to them)

What is considered wrong for any decent human being is considered just business and okay for way too many in our society. It is taken to the extreme with many lawyers "whose consciences are seared as with a hot iron" (that's a scriptural quote). Their destination, if they do not repent is an eternal fire. They are thumbing their nose at the Lord and his teaching. Human rules hold no sway when standing before God on judgement day. Like it says in the Bible, vengence is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. I'm sure he will be much kinder and just than my puny human understanding can comprehend.

There are people around the world who want to kill us. For many, it has to do with what they believe their god wants them to do. The god they serve wants to hurt, kill, and destroy anybody who does not follow him/her. Our Bible talks about one who comes only to harm and kill and destroy too, but it is not our God. People who say all religions serve the same god are badly mistaken and decieved. There are huge differences. But this is the world we live in. We must be vigilent concerning those whose only goal in life is to do us harm. Every once in a while they succeed. We must be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. The battle begins in the spiritual, therefore we must rely on prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit to distinguish the spirits when they are not obvious.

Greed (at the corporate, business and personal level), a sense of entitlement of one human being over another, dishonesty and a desire for power have caused a crisis in health care for many in this country. Everything is so expensive because everybody has to have their cut along the way and it has more to do with what they can get away with than what is right. Insurance companies, formed to help individuals share the cost of heath care, have become profitable corporations more interested in their bottom line than in the people they are supposedly serving. Greed and entitlement at all levels results in suffering and deaths among the bottom levels of those in society.

Socialized medicine is even worse in countries that have it. Care is free but there is not enough to go around so people are put on waiting lists and way too often die while waiting excessive amount of time. It is my opinion that, those organizations who severly restrict the number of doctors who are allowed in medical school in times when more doctors are needed for the sake of the people are murders. Many deaths through lack of available care are the direct result of those restrictions. It is not the organization, but the individuals on it who will have to stand before God some day for the murders they help cause. The book of Obadiah is all about God's attitude toward people aho know the right thing to do and choose not to do it.

The devaluation of homes and the foreclosures, the bankrupty rate rising, credit card debts,the car companies financial problems are all a result of corporate greed. Banks knowingly gave loans and credit to those who could not afford it. They bundled it up and sold it to others so it would not be their problem later. If a person really doesn't qualify for a loan and will have trouble paying it, what makes any sane person think that the same person will be able to pay three or four times that when the rates go up? It was greed and the lenders did not care. I would not be sad if the government restricted the size on these corporations and broke them up, held them liable for their own greedy choices and even reduced salaries and assessed penalties on those who would take advantage of their fellow man in this way. Forget big business. I prefer to do business with the little guy who is much less likely to cheat me.

I was distressed when I learned that the bank that loaned us money for our house sold that loan to another company. It has been sold a couple of times since then. Pooling is impersonal and wide open for abuse and corruption. To me it signals a lack of integrity on the part of the bank. Some people might take offense at that but time will bear me out. Banks are pulling all sorts of other profit motivated things that will come back to bite them. I avoid as much of it as possible (the "services") so I do not get caught in the whirlpool when it goes down. If we ever buy another house, I will look for a bank that has the assets to keep my loan in house (Like our first couple of homes were).

Natural disasters have been a more frequent problem in this country than I remember in the past, from the ice storms, to the hurricanes, to the tornadoes, to the floods and mud slides. So far we have missed out on the earthquakes and volcanoes for the most part. We have no control over these things, so we must do our best to prepare, then trust God. We know there is a possibility of a meteor shower and even a meteor hitting the earth some time. It has happened before. We must be prepared but trust God.

There is the threat of super bugs, widespread diseases, plagues and epidemics. The news tells us of the possibility them all the time. But people are working on how to handle them if they do happen so less are affected. We can do what we can to stay healthy but we must trust God as well. He doesn't want us to be stupid or neglegent.

There are the sexual issues that plague our society. The Bible says sex outside of marriage is wrong but we accept the couples who live together in sin as if it were Biblically approved. (I do not condemn couples, as Jesus did not condemn the woman at the well, but I do not lie about where I stand, which is with scripture. I do not make an issue of it, so my friends who are living in such a way stay my friends and I pray that the Lord will help them come around.) I believe, based on scripture, that homosexuality is outside of God's will for His people. If they are not His people, they will not be bothered by this. I like my friends who embrace the homosexual lifestyle and I pray some day they will do what it takes to come a believer and spend eternity in heaven. Pray and trust God.

The foods that we eat are making us fat. We know we eat too much, but there is more than that. The food itself is often not very healthy. One ingredient may be substituted for another, even though it may compromise health, because it is cheaper and more profitable. When someone asks about it, the industry is inclined to deny it, make excuses or say the equivalent of "you can't prove it". The guys doing this are going to stand before God for murder too, especially those who really know but prefer profits. We must be wise in what we choose to eat and not listen to those who are not above lying for profit. (China had an extreme example of that with the tainted milk and the tainted flour scandals that harmed and killed babies, in the case of mil, and pets in the case of flour. I can't help but wonder if small amounts did not make it into our foods as well.)

I left a lot of things out, like pollution, forest fires and much more. My original point is still my point. We live in a fallen world. We need to put our trust in God first and foremost. It does not mean we do not deal with what is happening in our lives and prepare if the situation warrants it. We need to avoid having any part in anything the Bible tells us is wrong, or not quite in keeping with His will. Things like smoking and gambling are not in the Bible, but smoking harms your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit and gambling is a symptom of not trusting God enough, there is much greed and crime associated with it, it is an addction for some that drains their life savings and causes harm, not only to them but to their families, including children. These are two examples of things that are not mentioned in the Bible, but still not good, and do not work God's purposes in our lives. They should be avoided as soon as one is spiritually mature enough to handle it. (I do not condemn smokers or gamblers, but I do pray for them to stop with God's help.)

Our country, and in a sense our world, are facing the possibilities of economic meltdown, terrorist attacks, widespread natural disasters (under Yellowstone Park lies a dormant super volcano for example, and the new madrid fault is still a possibility) and epidemics. How much pain would it take for people to turn to God?

Short Poem

2009-01-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

When we don't pray, we quit the fight.
Prayer keeps the Christian's armor bright.
And Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.

God's Priorities

2009-01-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

Dear brother,

I love reading and studying the Bible and discussing it with my husband others who love it just as much as I do. I love spending hours in prayer with the Lord. Often I get so frustrated because there are so many other things that work to keep me from it. I feel torn when someone wants me to do this project or attend that meeting or do this or that taking care of someone because it adds up and the study and prayer gets put on the back burner. As I was struggling with this problem, I came across some scripture that tells me where my priorities need to be as a minister of the word and sacrament. There are others, but this one is very clear.

"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.

Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.

We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." Acts 6:1-4

What my desire to be doing is what the Lord wants me to be as a minister of the word and sacrament, in accordance with this scripture. They were to give their attention to prayer and to ministry of the word. I cannot teach and preach very well if I do not spend enough time in study and prayer. I cannot share what I do not know and I have not learned. I cannot know the heart of God if I am not staying close to God. Their focus was the sharing of the word to increase the number of believers, those who were saved. (Acts 2:40-41)

A couple of years ago I was spending one to four hours a day in prayer in addition to reading my Bible through each year carefully, in addition to participating in several Bible studies and listening to several very good Bible teachers. It was a good time of spiritual growth.

It does not make sense to do less as a minister of the word and sacrament. I need to get back to my extended times of prayer, to times of serious Bible study daily and to daily quiet time with the Lord. I need it all the more to prepare sermons, to teach, to write, to grow and to minister. God has given other gifts and other tasks to the other Christians. If they choose to neglect to carry their load and do their part, it is not my responsibility to pick it up and thus neglect what the Lord has sent me to do. Scripture says each is to carry their own load (tasks and day to day loads) but we are to bear one another's burdens (help in a crisis or in times of extreme need)

1 Kings 13 has a story of a prophet who was told by God to do something. Another person comes along and says they are from God and God has changed his mind. The outcome is bad. There are still people who could do that and do.

Monster Mash

2009-01-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

We walk by faith and not by sight. I once was blind but now I see.

The gas prices are down and the monster trucks and huge SUV's are back out on the roads. I wouldn't mind it so much if they would just stay away from me. Instead, it seems like my car is a magnet for them. They are next to me on the roads, blocking my view so I cannot see to make turns. When I park in a business parking lot, by the time I am done with my task, there are monsters on each side of me. I purposely avoid parking next to them when I pull into a space, but they seem to like finding me. They are double my size, like big walls with no way to see around them. Backing blindly out of a parking space in a crowded parking lot is taking your life into your hands. I might as well be driving with my eyes closed because I can't see what is coming at all.

People coming through parking lots tend to be on cell phones, preoccupied, not paying any attention, and often just plain going fast. It is a rare person who sees someone pulling out and stops to let them go on ahead. One gets the feeling they would like to hit me, just like in bumper cars, by the angry faces they often make. We live in a "me first" world for many, where kindness and consideration of others is the exception rather than the rule. The upside of that is, a Christian who is behaving like Christ stands out as a light in the world and people do notice and appreciate them. Probably one person in ten is kind, which is a good amount, but we have to watch out for the other nine.

Even Christians may seem to lose their religion in cars and behave like pharisees (they follow the letter of the law but do not have compassion on others and have a sense of "me first" entitlement). Not good. Non Christians who instinctively understand these things may outshine the Christians in these arenas.

The gas guzzlers are back on the road in numbers for now, blocking my vision and the vision of everyone else who is not in a monster vehicle. I will continue to back out of parking spaces with fear, very slowly, and catch my breath every time somebody zips around me, coming very close to hitting me, as I blindly back out slowly.

Wouldn't it be nice if parking lots had monster vehicle sections, compact car sections and midsized car sections so parking could be less of a heart stopping adventure?

Gas prices are going back up. If they continue to go up, as they did before, the monster vehicles will get to be less and less of an issue. The average person will avoid driving them due to the expense. I don't want to pay a lot for gas, but if it happens, it is as they say, there is a bright side to everything.

Old Codgers

2009-01-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

I just told my husband I was doing pretty good for an old codger and he laughed. Then he said we are not old codgers. I guess it depends on who we are talking to.

There are several computer networking and blogging sites available and I am playing around with some of them. You can use them to communicate with people you know. Most of them seem to be used by predominantly younger people in their teens and twenties. Given that perspective, I'm an old codger.

The majority of women on both sides of the family lived into their 90's and even beyond, which means I have a good chance of doing the same. As I get past my 70's, these 20 somethings and 30 somethings now could be my peers then. As I get into my 90's, these people who are young adults now will be old enough to retire. Wow. Better to make as many friends as possible of all ages for a happier old age.

There are so many older people who lament outliving their immediate family and friends. They are often sad. If you keep making friends with younger people too, it is very unlikely that you will outlive them. Besides, there are a lot of really nice younger people and I like having lots of friends. I'm not going to be able to relate to all of them but I don't relate to everybody my own age either. Nobody does. It's more about common interests. As long as there are Christians interested in serving the Lord to the best of their ability, I can always make like minded friends.

So I'm an old codger but that's okay with me. It's all in the way you look at things.

The Ripples of Our Lives

2009-01-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

Each of our lives can make a tremendous difference when the impact of our actions is viewed over time.

When my mom was 7 yrs old, she had an attack of appendicitis and had to have her appendix removed. They say she was very sick for quite a while and her survival was in question. She was out of school so long that year that she had to repeat the grade. Mom lived in a small town in the far north, in Presque Isle, Maine. I have been told that there was only one surgeon, Dr. Somerville, and he saved her life. He probably saved thousands of lives over the years, so one could multiply what I am writing by thousands.

Until recently I hadn't thought much about it but, over time, this one thing has most likely has made a huge difference. A little girl lived, grew up, moved away, and had 4 kids. Later there were 5 grandkids and 1 great grandkid so far. Ten lives that might not have been, and that's just on the surface of the matter. Each of our lives have touched many other lives. For example, my brother was out boating one morning and came upon a man whose boat had exploded out in the middle of the lake. The man was badly burned, especially on his arms, and Dan took him to shore and helped him. Would that man have drowned if Dan had not been there? Dan is always helping people. The world would not be quite as good a place without him. And we know nothing about the man he helped that day. How is his life impacting others?

Each of the 4 of us helps other people as a normal part of the way we live. Our children are repeating the pattern after us. As long as there are new generations, until the end of time, saving the life of one small child back a long time ago will still matter. Over time the effect grows and multiplies.

How often, during the course of our lives or our jobs, do we do something that may have saved someone's life, or job, or made their life better in some way? How many have become a Christian because of something we said or did? Many times, the ripple doesn't stop. The one that was helped could touch many thousands over time, even if we never see it happen. Each thing we do, whether great or small, can make a huge difference, especially if looked at from the perspective of eternity.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." Matt 13:31-32

Proverbs Thoughts

2009-01-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

I just read through most of the book of Proverbs today. There is so much wisdom in there. It is an interesting book to read through from time to time.

This is an interesting thought. "He who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." Prov 17:9

"Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam, so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out." Prov 17:14 That's good advice no matter what the situation, but hard to do sometimes.

I like this Proverb,
"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." Prov 16:33 (We are not as much in control as we believe we are.)

This is a good reminder, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."Prov 10:19 ( The quiet people who say very little are the smartest here.)

Here are a few more random ones.

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart and good news gives health to the bones." Prov 15:30
(If you want to make the world a better place, smile and say more positive things.)

"Hatred stirs up dissention, but love covers all wrongs." Prov 10:12

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." Prov 3:27 (There are consequences tied to this one named in other scripture.)

"Rich and poor have this in common, the Lord is the maker of them all." Prov 22:2

"Better to live in the corner of a roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife." Prov 25:26 (Solomon should know as he had many wives.)

"Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer by who meddles in a quarrel not his own."
Prov 26:17

and here's another dog one- but gross
"As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Prov 26:11 (Ewww!)

"Without wood a fire goes out, without gossip a quarrel dies down." Prov 26:20

"If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse."
Prov 27:14 (I have to agree with this one. Early morning is not my thing.)

"He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry, even what is bitter tastes sweet." Prov 27:7

"A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of a fool blurts out folly."
Prov 12:23 (Open mouth, insert foot, or both feet if you are thorough.)

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." Prov 14:30

"To man belong the plans of the heart but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue."
Prov 16:1

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and he will reward him for what he has done."
Prov 19:17 ( The poor cannot reward you but God will and I bet his rewards are fantastic.)

"It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel." Prov 20:3

"A gossip betrays a confidence, so avoid a man who talks too much." Prov 20:19 (There's that foot in mouth disease again.)

"The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord." Prov 21:31

God is in control.

Computers

2009-01-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

The computer is a wonderful invention and tool. It seems to have the effect of dividing the people though, kind of like those many years ago who chose to ride horses after cars had been around many years and those who refused to use a telephone or get indoor plumbing. Time marches on but there will always be hold outs.

Those who have come into this age of computer use talk a different language than those who refuse or cannot. Everybody under 30, unless they went to a poor rural school and dropped out 10 years ago or more, knows how to use a computer and does. It is a rare and very small, backwoods type business that does not use computers too.

Given that computers are part of our cuture, what kind of person does not use them? A few, I understand feel that computers are for work only so they avoid them. Their interests and lifestyle are such that it doesn't matter. A few are truly too poor to afford them and some have no one to teach them. Some make a choice based on their personality. In those there is often a hint of resistance to many things in life. There may be other things.

Most of the time, I don't care one way or the other if a person uses a computer or not. There is a whole world out there that we cannot discuss so it does make conversations a bit more limited. Of course those who do not use computers don't know it.

People who cannot use computer are higher maintenence for businesses and groups. They want things printed out, they want phone calls, they want things that take more time and energy than those with computers. I was in a business two days ago that sends out email coupons and offers to customers. For those customers without computers, they send things by mail. The owner of the store was saying they planned to go to completely computerized in the next few months. Postage and paper costs are high, and the extra work involved in sending out to the small percentage who did not use computers was not cost effective.

Anybody can go to the library and use a computer for free if they choose to so not using one in a choice not to get things and information, as in that business a few days ago. The person who does not choose to use a computer can always stop by the store and see what is on special. We are transitioning from an economy that says, I, the customer, choose not to use the tools available so you, the business or group, have to make exceptions for me, to an economy that says, we offer these things and if you choose to opt out, it is your responsibility to make the effort to get the information, however you choose to do it. The choice is yours. If you want it enough, you will do what it takes.

I have been on the lists several businesses like that and have gotten some really good offers. They only give out coupons and offers in emails to those who sign up. This has been going on for several years.

If you are a university student, the only way to get information for your classes, assignments, tests and what is going on around campus is the internet and computers. There are no other options if you are to do what is required. People who will not use a computer cannot pass a class.

So our culture will be dividing more and more as time goes on. But it is no worse than those who chose to keep their outhouses and their outdoor water instead of indoor plumbing into the 60's. It was quaint and different and they did less laundry than other people. And it was really cold taking a bath in winter.

I think I'll keep my indoor plumbing and my computer!

Appreciation

2009-01-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

I came across this video and thought it was good. This is the way it is for most teachers I suspect. Maybe, in our human nature, we think that those who give them most and put the most of themselves into things get appreciation from many, so we do not think about saying anything.
http://www.appreciationmovie.com/

When many people see something, such as a crime or an emergency, they assume that somebody else is taking care of it and they do nothing. The same psychological priniciples apply to things like appreciation. Teachers give so much of themselves, for lower pay than other occupations with equivalent education and qualifications. They give of their own resources to get supplies for students. They spend their summers in university classes and workshops and gathering resources for the next school year. For their sacrifice, they get less respect than equivalent occupations. It is no wonder that teachers leave teaching after a few years and burn out. It is no wonder the best and the brightest tend to avoid teaching. It is no wonder that teachers often retire as soon as they are able.

It is even worse for those who teach special needs children and teens of any kind. The job requires more education than a classroom teacher. You have to know all a classroom teacher knows plus all the special methods, tests, regulations and on and on. In many places there are less classroom resources for special needs. Even the school districts themselves put special educators in a lower category. They teach in trailors, dressing rooms, storage closets, converted bathrooms and all sort of odd places. Some have no classsroom at all. They have a cart and go from room to room. Some must drive, at their own expense, from school to school.

Because special teachers have to have more education than the average teacher, they can be tapped for any need in the school and they are. I have filled in for every type of regular classroom teacher, every type of special class, teacher's aid, secretary, principal, counselor, librarian, nurse and everybody but janitor in my years as a special teacher. I wasn't qualified for everything I did but I was the closest of anybody when somebody had to be gone. My special resource students just stayed in their classrooms those days.

You get the kids who are beaten down and you raise their self esteem,
You get the kids who can't learn in the regular class group setting and you help them learn,
You get the kids that the teacher can't handle in the regular classroom and you teach them,
You get those who make very slow progress and you stay with them and cheer them on,
You work more directly with parents and reassure them when they need it,
You take a child who is not learning and work miracles to help them learn,
You look at each child as an individual and teach according to their needs versus teaching material to a group,
You advocate for the child who cannot advocate for himself,
You have to write reams of reports and plans and forms, for all of which you are legally liable, even though law is not one of the things you are taught,
You test and you observe, you see things and the world gets complicated,
You understand that there will be children and teens that, despite your best efforts, will not make as much progress as you had hoped.

There is no extra pay for the extra stresses of the job. It is not surprising that the average special teacher lasts less than 2 years. It is not so much the children, who are often victims of an unfair world, as it is the other things, with those who are not victims.

But through it all, almost nobody ever says thank you to most teachers. When I taught regular first grade, parents would sometimes send a note of appreciation at the end of the year. I saved all of them for those 3 years, my first 3 years of teaching. But I taught for 24 years at every level, pre-k to 12, every subject, special, regular and gifted, often in the same year. Like the lady in the video, I often wonder if it really mattered. I saw the numbers so I know it did in that sense, my students always learned, but did anybody appreciate it or was it just a job in their eyes?

I guess it is the same in every serving occupation where the burn out rate is high and a large percentage of people leave after a few years or less. Social workers, policemen, firefighters, ministers, church workers, non profit workers, advocates, and even some levels of health care workers all experience the same thing. The stress is high, the people contact is high, the worker is well educated, the wages tend to be low for the education and there is a lack of appreciation and the kinds of perks that make this kind of job worthwhile. So people quit on a massive scale all over the country. It is sad.

We are a lot like the people of Jesus' day. They did not appreciate him and they even crucified him. Those who serve the most are treated the poorest, as a general rule. There is no excuse, just like there was no excuse for those who crucified Christ. It is just more evidence of the sin in the world and the sin in the hearts of each one of us today.

Paper Clips

2009-01-01T15:42:00.000-08:00

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God." 1 John 3:1

Somebody lost a paper clip on the parking lot today and I picked it up and put it in my pocket. I love paper clips. Every time I see a paperclip, I am reminded of God's love for me. It symbolizes that God is in control of my life and it is He who is holding everything together. Paperclips are one daily reminder that God is always with me and cares about every aspect of my life..

It's such a little, common thing that sometimes people laugh at me, but I believe I'm getting the best deal at being happy with the insignificant stuff. I can be happy anywhere that way. People who enjoy the little common things are probably much happier overall than those who need the mainly big stuff to be happy.

A New Year

2008-12-31T20:02:00.001-08:00

The old year passing
a time of reflection
for what has been
a time of looking forward
to what will be.

The new year
a time of hope
a time of plans,
a time of dreams.

We cannot know the future
but we can trust in the Lord
who loves us
and plans good things for our lives
in accordance with His perfect will.

Joy To The World

2008-12-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

The word "Christmas" has taken on a new meaning, at least in this area. Somehow it seems a bit odd to me. People say they are having "Christmas" on this day or that with some family or friends. What they are really saying is, they are having a gift exchange and possibly a meal.

That's not Christmas. It is a gift exchange or a family get together or a meal and has nothing to do with Christ at all. It's a party.

Christmas is about Christ, not family, not friends, not presents, not food, not drinking, not spending, not singing, not Santa Claus, not any of those other things that are so profitable for merchants in our culture. The wrong focus leads to major depression in those who do not have these things. Expectations cause a lot of misery.

If Christmas is about the birth of Christ, the logical place to celebrate might be church. The focus could be a quiet one based on prayer and praise and meditation. It would not matter if a person were alone for Christmas because the focus would be on Christ and not on other people, presents, or food. Believers could get together at church to praise and worship the Lord.

The loss of a loved one who will be missed at Christmas could be viewed differently. Yes, you still miss them so I'm not talking about grief. You would be rejoicing that Christ came to earth to conquer sin and death so that loved one is in heaven and you will one day join them. You would be celebrating his birth that made it possible. If it has been a bad year for job loss, divorce, illness, and so many other things, it can be a time of rejoicing that through it all, Jesus walks with you, loves you and will never leave you nor forsake you. The whole world may fall apart, they may let you down, but not Jesus.

If "Christmas" is nothing more than a gift exchange and a big meal with family and/or friends, I think I may rethink celebrating it. It is a whole lot of work, money and stress and what do we get in return? Without Christ there is no point. What do I care about spending money so strangers make a good profit at their businesses? It would be better to give gifts because I want to give them to people rather than the way it happens now. We neglect each other all year long, as a general rule, then we get in a buying frenzy for one day a year. (That's not to say that some gifts are not given because we want to.)

We want to make sure that low income children, families and others have a good "Christmas" by giving them lots of gifts. Other children get lots of things and they want them too. I can understand that. How much better if they had enough food to eat for more than a few days, adequate clothing year round, a family who cared enough about them to take care of them (and many do not have this, although some do), adequate medical care, help with school work when needed and a christian church to nurture them and help them grow up with solid values feeling the love of a community. It isn't going to happen.

Some guy wrote an editorial in the newspaper yesterday and substituted the word "winter" for "Christmas". He talked about winter holidays, winter shopping, winter pageants, winter presents, winter parties, winter songs, winter trees, winter ornaments, winter dinner, winter decorations, and winter worship. It makes it sound like some sort of pagan festival to a goddess of winter. Sounds like a false god to me. Winter can be very cold and unforgiving and it is definately not worthy of any kind of worship or religious celebration.

It is time for real Christian people to rethink what we are doing and why. This has become some sort of pagan celebration to the gods of greed, gluttony, consumerism, envy, pride, and so much more. We worship our families and friends (sort of like shinto/buddhist cultures) and sit at the base of trees and decorations. What are we doing? There is not harm in stuff, families, food, friends, parties, gifts and such but WHAT are we thinking in some of this?

Do I want to do away with Christmas? Probably not. But is is time to reconsider some of what we do. That anybody would even consider trampling others such as happened at a WalMart this year and injuring them and even killing them for a price reduced bargain is not of the Lord. It is the presence of evil and, even in our town at local stores, people pushed and shouted and acted like they were football players to get to the bargains before Christmas. If it happened here, it happened everywhere. We are not known for our aggression in this part of the country. The stores keep it hush, hush when people get hurt because that would hurt their business profits but it happens a lot. Deliver us from evil!

Peace and Security

2008-12-24T16:33:00.000-08:00

These are notes from a news article about a sermon preached in the Holy Land very recently.
The major point is this, True security comes from God.
"War does not produce peace, prisons do not guarantee stability. The highest of walls do not assure security," said Twal, the Catholic Church's top cleric in the Holy Land. "Peace is a gift of God, and only God can give that peace."

Peace that passes understanding is the peace believers have in the midst of trials and in the midst of the storm. Not everybody has it.
The world is in turmoil but this is nothing new. We have been spoiled by many good things and good times. When the going gets rough we realize our only true security comes from God. Everything else is shifting ground and is subject to failure.

I see a lot of stress on the faces of many people whose countenances used to be relaxed and smiling. The Lord is the only one who can bring back the joy in troubled times.

Readability

2008-12-23T17:22:00.000-08:00

In the last few days, I was talking to a friend about the work I did much of my adult life and I started mulling it over. I was a teacher. I am thankful for where I am now. That chapter in my life is past.

Reading over my posts, it is apparent that I primarily taught those who read on the first and second grade level. The paragraphs in many of them are so simple they might have been written by a child. The words tend to be single syllables, many of them 3 or 4 letters in length, primarily the Dolch first 100 words for beginning readers. That was the readability level required for the students in many of my classes for over 20 years, whether it was the little ones (preschool, kindergarten and first grade) or the learning disabled students of all ages through high school.

When I started teaching years ago, we had to create our own materials regularly. There were no stores to go and buy supplemental materials. Everybody wrote their own as far as I knew. In the beginning of my teaching career, I was a first grade teacher. I started with a totally empty classroom, no materials at all in it. They had added one class to each grade that year and I was the new addition. They did bring me some textbooks after a while. It didn't matter what socio economic group they assigned me, my students averaged reading on the third grade level by the end of first grade. One year most of my students were low income kids, some really low, but they still did well. Another year they gave me a class that had a number of seriously ill children with life threatening problems. The school did not have a full time nurse yet so, when they had issues, I had to call parents and make sure they were taken care of. It didn't matter what group they gave me. My classes tended to run a bit bigger by 1 or 2 or 3 than the other first grade teachers in my building, with 28 or so students. I worked hard and the kids did well. It was fun working with those little guys who were so full of enthusiasm. I could have stayed a first grade teacher forever but I got married and moved.

After that, there was only one year that I had a regular class, and it was fourth grade. It was a good group, but not as much fun as the first graders. For a couple of years I had a preschool and a couple of years I substitute taught. I loved the time I spent substituting in kindergarten while a teacher was on an extended sick leave. As we moved around, every other job I got was teaching in the Resource Room plus other duties. I primarily had kids with learning disabilities or behavioral/emotional problems who had academic troubles, although in high school I did have some mentally challenged students with them because I taught specific subjects in my resource room. The two other resource room teachers taught different subjects so all special students had access to each subject they needed.

My other duties varied with the setting and school and included teaching part day sixth grade and even gifted classes. Since I was multi-certified in 6 areas, pre k-12, the schools could place me anywhere they needed me. They were able to get extra funding and services needed in their buildings based on my qualifications (although I rarely ever got to actually use any of those services, such as the teacher's aides. They went to the unqualified colleagues.) I filled in at every level for every person except the janitor, bus driver and cooks over the years. (any teacher, secretary, aide, personal assistant, principal, nurse, etc) Every special ed position required diagnostic-prescriptive testing of students and being a part of a diagnostic team for all of the students in that building. All of them had a lot of paperwork, much of it legally binding and reports to write on the students. I participated in meetings and evaluations of hundreds of students over the years.

Special needs children and teens most often read at the first to third grade level, although an older teen might attain a reading level of fourth or fifth grade or even sixth if they are among those with higher ability. Materials have to be modified for success, which means rewriting them at their readability level when necessary. Because every child and teen was on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), it was often necessary to create the materials they needed to use to learn. Materials did not exist for some of the needs and learning styles. It was mandated by law that every IEP student would learn and make progress. Now it was okay if a non IEP student sat in a classroom and learned nothing according to the law (although anybody knows that would not be right) but, if they had trouble learning, they had to learn, by law. The state monitored and progress had to be documented and on file for the periodic reviews. Normal student progress was not monitored.

The students in my classes always learned. Most made progress and went on to do manual labor or minimum wage labor. Some took off academically and did very well. Several of my former IEP students went to college and some even graduated! It was a huge achievement and I have been so thrilled for them!

But, after all of those years of creating materials on the primary reading level, that's the level on which I have a tendency to write. In computer jargon, it's my default setting. When I look back over my writing, sometimes it looks to me like it was written by a second grader. Old habits stick with us.

I never want to go back to teaching. I burned out. It wasn't the children. They were fine. When you can do everything, and do it well, that's what they want you to do, everything. There was no reward for a job well done. They just added more to it. Budget cuts, you know, so everybody who did not have a regular, self contained class had to pick up the slack. I totally burned out on the public schools and I was totally miserable.

I've complained enough and I am glad to be where I am right now. Life is good. God is good. And I will probably continue to write on the primary vocabulary level.

Joy To The World!

2008-12-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

Joy to the world, the Lord has come! We are preparing to celebrate Jesus' birth this week. As we make physical preparations, are we preparing our hearts also? Let's listen in silence for the still, small voice and not allow the noise of the world to drown it out.

Last night we went Christmas caroling to two nursing homes and two homes. The joy on the faces of some of those we caroled was beautiful. At the second nursing home, all of the residents were seated at tables to eat. We stood around the wall by the man we came to visit and caroled for everybody. The man was thrilled to have us there. He, and many of the residents at the tables, sang along with us as we sang. The whole group seemed so happy to have us there for a few minutes and there were many Merry Christmas wishes and smiles. Our first song, each place we sang and to each person or group we sang was Joy To The World! Our last song was, We Wish You a Merry Christmas! each time.

Everybody we went to see was happy to see us. In the first residental home, we caroled a man who was in his apartment and he was very happy. Then we went downstairs to see a lady who was in the dining room with many others. So we surrounded her table in a semi circle and sang to everybody in the room. Several sang with us and enjoyed the caroling.

The people we went to see at their homes were appreciative and enjoyed our presence too. At the end of the time together we had a delicious meal of spaghetti, chili dogs, desserts and snack foods. While we were eating, we called three different ladies who were home sick and all of us sang to them via the telephone each time. We also called a couple who are in Florida right now and sang to them. It was a unique way to Christmas carol.

Fifteen people, including two children, participated in the Christmas caroling, so we had a good group sound wise. We had fun singing and being blessed by those that we went to bless.

Cold Tuesday

2008-12-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

We started the morning early with a prayer meeting. Prayer for safety in the bad weather, those who are sick, the financial shape of our country and individuals, the state of souls, blessings for the people, guidance, thanksgiving and more were covered.

I agreed to wrap some presents for the Christmas families. Now I am tired of wrapping gifts for a while. I spent much of the day shopping for the Christmas families, with money donated for that purpose, and other things. I found some good specials. My feet got tired too. Shopping for long periods is not my thing. I came home and wrapped stuff, about 35 packages altogether.

After prayer meeting, I went directly to WalMart to buy the church family gifts and avoid the crowds. People do not get out early around here. I was in the store over 2 hours and it drizzled while I was in there causing a sheet of ice to form on my car windows. It was really cold out there too. As I was scraping my windows, a couple came by and the lady asked me to hand her my scraper, so I did. She scraped off most of my front windshield for me. She said I looked cold and I didn't have any gloves on. That was such a nice thing for a stranger to do! What a blessing from a total stranger.

Speaking of blessings from people who clear off windshields, Gordon has been known to go out and clear off windshields for John and others many times without our knowledge. Jim has too. John has been known to go out and do it for others also. They are wonderful guys.

Joann and I spent some time talking about Sunday school and children's church plans when both of us stopped by the church at the same time. She is a wonderful, loving teacher who cares about those little kids.

In the evening John wasn't feeling so great and he rested. Tomorrow we go to the doctor for the regular physicals so he can ask about it. Our hyper little lab is so cute. When somebody is not feeling well or having a bad day, she can tell and she goes and quietly sits on their lap. Otherwise she wants to play endlessly. She was on John's lap last night.

Sunday

2008-12-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

It's Sunday evening and I am still hobbling but not as bad. Recovery is on the way. I realize that it is mostly my family members who read this so I am writing with that in mind. Hi! When you guys ask me what I did that day, I usually can't think of anything to say so this gives you an idea. This was a normal Sunday. Some are busier.

Next Sunday will be much busier. Much of what we did this Sunday will happen next Sunday but there will also be pot luck dinner to bring plenty of food for (Some of our low income people, our guests and a few who forget won't have any food so I always make sure I bring extra, enough to feed 10 to 20 people. They like to say we have lots of food and we won't run out, but we would if I, and one or two others, did not do that. I made my pie yesterday, so I have 2, plus dinner rolls. I'll come up with a meat and a side dish. And it has to be something that does not require attention because I am busy and there is no one else who is willing to take care of things consistently, no kitchen crew. Note to self, pray for a kitchen crew like we had at our first church.)

There are very few in the church who stay around to clean up after the pot luck, so often I do that too. (I mentioned to one person maybe we should cancel it if more people do not help with the clean up. It falls on the same 2 or 3 most of the time who wash dishes. Nobody wants to wipe down tables or sweep the floor.) We will get home by around 2 or 2:30 and be back at church before 4 for caroling. That will be fun.

This evening we saw a movie about the nativity and Jesus' birth at church. It was good. The people at that time went through a lot. We sang a song after the movie and had a prayer. During the movie I worked on knitting another hat and got it about half done. I buy yarn where I can find it at garage sales, rummage sales and second hand stores as much as possible. I hate to pay full price if I don't have to, and usually I don't. For that reason I rarely have two skeins of yarn the same color and most of the hats are multicolor knits. I make as many as I can each year to give away around Christmas time when it is cold. This year I only got around 25 done so far.

John fixed popcorn for people to eat during the movie and coffee. We ate it in the sanctuary. Some churches do not allow coffee or food in the sanctuary but it is their loss. (We do not allow children to eat crumbly and messy stuff in there, especially the ones whose parents do not clean up after them.) I will miss the relaxed atmosphere of this church when we really do get the new one. New carpets, new pew covers and all those sort of things will be in the new place. People will be worried about getting it dirty. So there will be rules. I understand but I still prefer comfortable. I am not called to be a prim and proper person. Most of the disciples and apostles weren't either.

After the movie John had some of those frozen pizza for everybody to eat. I think there were 16 of us there tonight, a little bit down. But we had fun. Usually attendance is in the 20's. The weather forcast is bad for tonight. Yuk! They are predicting another ice storm. We had one the last two years so I pray this one passes us by.

Our church has adopted some Christmas families to give gifts. Vicki is overseeing all of it and she asked that all gifts be wrapped this morning. Some that had been brought in already were not wrapped so I was going to wrap them this evening before the movie. It took a bit longer than I thought but several of the ladies helped me. Eight children is quite a few, even though they could use more gifts and probably will get them. With a few exceptions, the majority of the gifts were little ones with a few items of clothing for some of the children but not all.

I knitted little Christmas bells and finished them up this week so John could give them to the children for children's sermon. I had 25 ready. None of the children who came to the party given by one of the women's groups yesterday came to church today. I heard they had 15 kids and that the kids had a good time. That happened last year too. Odd.

We did have 6 kids in church today, including two regulars and 4 little girls who had never been there before. They were the cutest little kids, a 7 year old, a 4 year old and 3 year old twins. Their mom asked for prayers. The 4 year old has a problem in her brain causing neurological problems that was just discovered, she said a cyst. That would be hard.

There was an issue about people on the van using seat belts so session talked to the van riders and told them it was mandatory, it is the law. No more griping at the driver. No seatbelt, no ride, no arguments, no matter how old you are!

After church this morning we went out to eat with several others, including the new lady and the little girls. The lady who invited us was so sweet. We were detained by a million details and she was waiting for us patiently. There are always a lot of needs after church. People use that time to talk to John and to ask questions. There is nobody in charge of things like lights and the coffee pot and all the little details that could be taken care of. I guess that could be my next prayer, somebody obsessively dependable who will make sure all that kind of thing is done each Sunday.

Lunch was good. I had a big omelet with all kinds of veggies, including mushrooms. For dessert I had strawberries. Fresh strawberries in December, how wonderful is that?

After lunch, John and I went back to the church to get our things. The temperature outside was 60 and it was sunny and nice. (It's 25 now and dropping) I suggested we change the sign while the weather was still nice to announce our Christmas eve services, so we did. That takes about half an hour to do.

One of the ladies at church gave me some children's clothes to take to Crosslines. I got my bowl back that I loaned to a lady to make candy. I put a little more food in the pantry, put a few food items in the boxes for the Christmas families, gave a couple of grooming type items to Martha for the Bridges ministry and gave some Christmas card fronts that I found last night to Joann for her class project. I need to see if I can find a few more.

There were about 2 hours between the time we got home and had to go back to church for night services. In that time I finished a hat I had been knitting for a child and put a pom pom on it, read my email, and did some organizing in the garage. I did some other stuff too, cleaning type stuff, but I can't remember. I think that was when I watered all the plants too. Cleaning is rarely memorable.

Right now I am sitting here eating celery. I got hungry but I do not want to gain weight so I'm looking for good, low calorie options. I do not have to get John's lunch items ready. I did that yesterday. Every day he takes 4 cookies, corn chips, a banana and cheese. I buy the items in big packages and divide it up for him. It saves money that way. Four cookies that way is about 15 cents versus out of a machine for 75 cents. Chips come out to about 15 cents a bag also instead of 50 cents or more prebagged and he gets more. Bananas are getting more expensive and come to around 40 cents each. That only saves about a dime. He takes a can of soda that I get on sale that costs about 25 cents or less a can. A soda machine is a minimum of 50 cents and usually 75 cents. He uses plastic grocery bags instead of buying lunch bags. That saves about $1 a day, $5 a week, $250 a year or more. His lunch costs about $1.55 a day. A cheap lunch costs a minimum of $5 a day so that is a savings of about $3.45 daily. That comes to $862.50 difference a year. We are always looking for ways to save money so we have more for the things that are important to us.

It is getting late and tomorrow starts early. This isn't everything we did today but quite a bit of it. We still need to put up a tree and buy gifts for one another and do at least a few cards and bake a few items and all that other Christmas stuff. It might be easier to be like old Scrooge and say Bah! Humbug! but I won't.

Saturday Afternoon

2008-12-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

My legs still hurt and I am still hobbling. I'm shaking a little bit too. That might be why I am inclined toward the slightly negative side of life at the moment. It is better if I am not around a lot of people right now. If people get cranky with me, it is harder not to get cranky back.

I'm still thinking about that editorial and the food shortage. Prophecy says such things will happen on a massive scale toward the end times. Are we there or close?

There are many things that are outside of my control, the banking problems, people losing their homes and jobs, the automobile industry problems, the stock market, retirement accounts, fuel issues and more.

There is some control possible on the personal financial level, paying off the bills, staying out of debt, being careful with our money, saving and that sort of thing. We repair things instead of replacing them and use things up instead of throwing them out. What was the very old saying? Fix it up, use it up, wear it out?

I fixed a rip in John's jeans today. I went through the pantry and used up some food that had been there for a while and put out some other stuff to give away. This week I intend to cook up more of those kinds of things and use them up.

We can conserve too. Even though I do not think global warming is caused by people, some of the pollution in our environment is. I can use less water, gas and electric. I can hang clothes out to dry. I already air dry jeans because they take so long in the dryer. I can recycle and generate less garbage through deliberate actions. It is very small but it is something.

I can grow a few more of my own vegetables. Fresh tastes better anyway. I grew a few tomato plants in a flower bed this year and they were good. There are even a few bags of the extras in the freezer. If the food shortage threat is real, I could always put out a small garden in the back yard.

It is a good idea to buy locally as much as possible. In the case of food, it is fresher and therefore healthier overall. We have a good farmer's market.

I make my own convenience foods. That way I know what is in them and I do not use fillers, colors, chemicals and preservatives. It is healthier that way. It also costs less. Some of my convenience foods are planned leftovers. Extra rice becomes fried rice, extra corn goes in soups and casseroles, so does any other extra vegetable or meat.

If the man is right about the shortages (and he is not the first to predict it), wouldn't it be a good idea to have an extra supply of food on hand, at least some of the basics? That and the backyard garden are probably about all I can do, but most people can do that too. Think I will go and hobble into my pantry and see what is in there.

Saturday

2008-12-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

It is just as I thought could happen, my legs are so sore it is hard to walk. I need to walk more often, although I can walk for several miles normally without problems.

I read an editorial this morning written by a 90 plus year old man. That would make him born around 1918. He was warning about the way we are headed economically in this country. At his age, he saw the great depression, before and after. His major concern is the possibility of coming food shortages. His assertions are worth checking out.

He says that farmers are getting less for their grains than they were. By itself, that is not a big issue. It is my understanding that many big farmers borrow money every year for their seed, fertilizers, etc and repay it with interest when the crops come in and are sold.

Last year fuel prices were way up. That affected farmers down the line in what it cost them to grow crops. They probably recovered the extra expense since prices got higher. Those caught at the tail end of it all, with later maturing crops, might not have fared as well. They had to pay more to produce but were able to get less for it because the prices went down for their goods.

Since the banks are having so many problems, it is likely that many will have a harder time getting loans to plant. If they are already in the hole with the price reductions, they might have an even harder time. If any of them got loans from the shady bankers, it could go even worse for them. Just as people are losing their homes, people could lose their farms. All of this kind of thing has happened before and has not caused massive starvation that the man is predicting.

What does he see that I do not see? He writes about prophecy and God's judgment. He is correct that God could judge this nation in order to get it to return to Him. But is that what is happening? If so, we will see floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought and all sorts of other things. To a degree, we are already seeing wierd and extreme weather and have been for a few years. Will it get worse?

I am not sure how it relates but it seems like it might. We have one person in 10 in the USA in jail. That does not seem possible. What are they thinking? Most of the inmates' crimes are said to be drug and alcohol related. About 25% of those between 15 and 35 suffer from depression or more serious mental illnesses. (One might conclude that many of those with drug and alcohol abuse problems could be self medicating. That age group also has a problem getting health insurance.) Among those who are older, the percentage is similar. Domestic violence and child abuse is high. There are a lot of sad, mad, hurting people out there.

People in jail are not working. Working people support the jails and those in them. Their children are recieving less care than if the parent were working and productive as a general rule. Instead, they may be in foster care and the working people pick up that bill too. Does that mean I want criminals out on the street?

People with significant mental illnesses are often not working or they are working in low paying jobs, often less than full time. In those jobs, people (customers) tend to treat low wage workers as less than human, more like servants. They take plenty of abuse. This is just what every person battling depression and low self worth needs right, abuse and being treated badly? Being nice to everyone could save tax dollars? If people are less depressed they tend to do better themselves and need less services that cost tax dollars. They may feel less need to drink, take drugs, call in sick, waste company resources, make mistakes, or feel angry and become abusive. Some will do all of that regardless but not all will.

How do large numbers of people committing crimes and being miserable affect the economy and the food supply? Well, we have 35% either not working or miserable and not working much. We have another percentage who are disabled and do not work at all. I do not know that percentage but it could be as high as 10% or more. We have another group who are retired. A lot of them are working part time, or even full time, anyway. Some aren't. Then we have the children under 16. They do not work. They are taken care of by parents, family, friends or the state or sometimes a combination as in thsoe families who get food stamps and child medical care. Maybe we are at 10%-15% children in this country. There is another group who have low ability (mentally challenged) and work at low paying jobs part time. That could mean that 1/2 to 2/3 of everybody is not working or working at a low paying job, most likely part time.

I didn't even mention the illegals who work but get paid under the table so contribute only minimally to the welfare of this country (they do have to pay sales tax). So it is possible that only 1/3 of the people in this country are carrying the majority of the financial weight for everybody else. As my generation continues to retire, the percentage could go down of those working. There is a birth dearth and not enough young people to fill in the vacant jobs. Illegals, and sometimes legal immigrants, come in and do the manual labor but they often do not pay taxes, and when they do, their wages are low so it is less than it should be for the jobs they do. Too many people are fat so they develop health problems which will eventually lead to disability for them.

I don't know whether to be glad for the fully productive 1/3 or sad for the 2/3 who are not.

Here is the power of paranoia and negative thinking at work. What if we had a flu virus like the one in the early 1900's that struck the younger healthy people and killed them in large numbers? That would really shut down the economy.

This rambling has been fun but I lost my point. Maybe the point is that the future is uncertain and bad things can happen. We may not be quite as secure as we would like to be. And sometimes life is not fair, but survivors survive in spite of it all.

Raspberries

2008-12-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

"A good name is more desireable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold." Prov. 22:1

Raspberries, what a strange name for such a tasty fruit. I have several containers of them in my freezer and they are wonderful! God has created what man cannot in that little berry.

Raspberry has another meaning that is not so positive. To give someone a raspberry is to show your displeasure with them. It has nothing to do with fruit. It can be teasing too but it is at least mildly negative. A raspberry is where somebody sticks out their tongue at you and makes a pffbbt noise in your direction.

Like the word raspberry, a name can be either good or not, depending on what is behind it. Are your actions and your life bearing good fruit or are they worthy of frowns and hot air?

Change Your Filters

2008-12-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name." Ps 105:1

There is so much to be thankful for this advent season. The house smells like brownies and chocolate cake, just out of the oven. It is only 10 am and already the laundry is done and there are two pans of brownies and one cake baked for the bazaar tomorrow. The vegetable soup for the Soup Lunch at tomorrow's bazaar is ready to go and the dishes from the cooking are all put up. The rice krispie treats are already over there as are most of the bazaar items I had, about 6 boxes, I think.

There is still much to do today. In a perfect world, nothing would go wrong, but it does. My furnace is putting out plenty of air but it is all cold. It is 22 degrees outside right now so that will need addressing. The man who comes to fix my furnace, which was installed brand new almost 18 months ago will ask me if I changed the filter. In his opinion, all problems are caused by the filter. When it comes to life, he might be right. Many of our problems are caused by what we do not filter out of our lives, whether it be gossip, criticism, strife, complaining, threats, lack of love, blackmail, greed, selfishness, carelessness, lying, dishonesty in other areas, discourtesy, our favorite bad habits, drunkenness, fornication, adultry, bitterness, grudges, unforgiveness, laziness, and on and on. And that's just the "good" Christian people. Others are worse.

The furnace man is not right about the filter being the root of all mechanical problems in furnaces, but he may be right in life. What we choose to let into our lives matters. What we choose to put out in our lives matters too. Are we putting out good, clean air, filtered by scripture and the Holy Spirit or are we putting out foul air that destroys and chokes others and gets in the way of our relationship with the Lord?

As we go out into the sea of humanity this season, let us focus on the bright spots, the smiling faces that are like rare gems among the stress and frowns. Le tus focus on the beauty around us. Let us be the rare smiling face. We have much to smile about. The Lord is with us and that's all that matters.

Black Friday Death

2008-11-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

This is so sad, a 34 year old WalMart employee dead in New York. He was trampled by the crowds trying to get to Christmas bargains in the store. There was no panic, nothing life threatening facing the mob, they chose to forge ahead based on greed. That is not a Christian value. There is another tidbit in all of this that may not make the news but is a sad commentary on commercialism and godless business.

A few years ago, it was in the news that WalMart takes out life insurance policies on all of their employees. Therefore, if one of their employees dies, they profit. The way it is set up, the family gets nothing, just WalMart. This is a goulish practice to me and I hope they have stopped doing it by now. Why should they profit off the death of a minimum wage, or slightly higher but still low income, worker?

Yes, they pay the premiums, but they get it in bulk and it would be pretty cheap. If they did not expect to make a profit in this manner, they would not do it. What a fallen world we live in!

The Advent Conspiracy

2008-11-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I came across something called the Advent Conspiracy. It is worth a thought. Our holidays (short for Holy Days) are very commercialized. The focus is on getting more and more and doing more and more. We are encouraged to buy, buy, buy for the sake of the god known as the economy. We are stressed and distressed and often wish the whole Christmas holiday season would just go away, with all of it's tension, work, debt and often less than pleasant obligations. We eat more than we should, we sleep less, we are troubled by many things and we generally overindulge while not taking good care of ourselves. We do harm to our physical bodies that way, not to mention our souls and spirits.

The following link is interesting. I do not agree with all of it but it is food for thought.
http://innumerablebenefits.blogspot.com/2008/11/join-conspiracy.html

The thought of buying less stuff and giving more of our time makes sense. I do not want to do away with gifts but there are better ways of doing it. Why buy a gift card, for example, when money does the job so much better? Use the cash to go to a favorite restaurant and use the change for something entirely different that you would enjoy. Gift cards waste money because the balances at the end are kept by the shop keeper rather than the recipient.

Home made gifts are great. I have loved getting homemade cookies, candies, breads and such over the years. Sometimes family and friends have painted me a picture, crocheted a beautiful item or made some other gift. I keep all those gifts of love. I have done the same for others. One friend showed me the baby quilt I made for her son at birth and he was then in his mid 20's. Another friend showed me a Christmas ornament I had made for them the year they were married, close to 25 years ago now. An aunt kept a pillow I made for her on her sofa the rest of her life. People look forward to cookies and candy and goodies.

We are so busy, we do not have time to make gifts and cook. We buy things and get in debt so we have to work more hours to pay for all the things we bought. It is a trade off. How many hours do you have to work to buy that $100 purse? That $35 sweater that will sit in the back of somebody's closet? That $800 - $1,200 electronic TV, computer or gadget? That $40 toy that will be broken and tossed aside in a few days?

For a person who makes $10 an hour after taxes, these gifts represent 10 hours, 3.5 hours, 80-120 hours ( or 2-3 weeks), and 4 hours of work. How much more satisfying all around if you spent time with that person instead. How many batches of cookies, cakes, pies, candies and other things could you make in 10 hours at a fraction of the cost of buying things?

This may not work well for many because it would simply be adding to an already busy schedule. For the sake of our souls, let's look for ways to slow down and cut out the nonessentials, the things that stress us that we really do not enjoy. Instead, let us seek peace and quiet time to pray, to study our scriptures, to spend time with those we love and to enjoy the small blessings God has given us that go unnoticed in the chaos.

Our time is a gift from God. We choose how we use it and how we give it. Time with God is our gift to Him. Time with our families and friends is our gift to them. Time with those who have needs is our gift to them. Some things are a waste of our precious time. It is okay to say no to those things that are not worthy of it. We have a bad habit of doing the things with our time that are of no eternal value and that we do not enjoy and neglect the things that matter most. Why? The useless is the noisiest and most demanding and convinces us that it is necessary. It is the tyranny of the urgent. What if you just don't do it and put first things first instead?

As the season gets under way and I feel more like a shredded cloth, pulled in way too many directions, I plan to write more about these things. But for now, let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts and in your lives.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T17:28:00.000-08:00

"Come let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." Psalm 95:1-2

As a child growing up, my Mom sang as she worked and went about her daily life. We would go over to Grandma Honey's house and she would sing as she worked. We went to visit my grandparents in Maine and Grandma Brown would sing christian songs as she cooked and went about her daily life. (And she was a fantastic cook!) As we rode in the car as a family, my parents both mom and dad, and siblings and I would sing. In my little world, everybody sang. We had songs for everything.

It was not until I had been an adult for quite a while that I learned that most people do not sing their way through life. How sad. Singing makes the work seem easier and brings a sense of joy and contentment. It lightens the heart and increases the joy.

God wants us to sing for joy. He wants us to praise him in song and to be thankful. A song touches more than just the ears and the brain, it can also touch the heart and soul. A heart without a song is like a car without enough oil and water. Pretty soon the engine overheats and everything gets dry. Then things go from bad to worse.

I am thankful for the songs. Sometimes I forget to sing, now that I am grown and that is not good. Songs of praise have the ability to lift the spirits, bring joy to the heart and feed the soul.
Thanks be to God.

Progress

2008-11-20T21:07:00.000-08:00

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Prov 16:9

The economy has affected our present church building plans in some ways. We shall see what the Lord has in mind. God is in control.

Attitude

2008-10-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

I've been reading the Old Testament this month and am about 2/3 of the way through it. The Israelites had quite an attitude over and over again. They were very proud of who they were and were not true to the Lord and his teaching. Many generations had no idea what he taught at all. They did their own thing and expected God to bless it. Kind of reminds me of our generation. (So I have decided to write a mildly grumpy blog, NOT FOR THE CHURCH NEWSLETTER. I might change my mind tomorrow and get rid of this whole thing.)

Over the last 30 years, since I married my pastor husband, I have prayed for many churches of many denominations and God answers. I like to pray for God sized, (almost) impossible things along with the normal prayers we pray for everyone each day. Even though I was assured it could never happen, I prayed that the Worldwide Church of God would become a Christian denomination, way back in the early 80's, every time they had their convention at the lake close to our first tiny church. God answered that prayer.

I was amazed (and distressed) that the Assembly of God denomination had no large anchor churches, at least one, in the city where they had their denominational headquarters. I was told AG churches were never big. I decided I did not like that answer. So I prayed about it (and I started praying in the late 70's). I kept praying for years. I told the Lord that it wasn't right. These churches were reaching the lost. They were reaching people we could never reach. I told God I could never be an AG, but there were many lost people out there who would be saved by their style so they needed to grow anyway. Not only in Springfield, although that was my main prayer, but everywhere there were lost people that could be reached. (Traditional AG's are a bit too demonstrative for me to be comfortable. I like periods of quiet reverence that emphasize the holiness and awesomeness of God. AG's tend to be a bit loud for my tastes.)

God said yes to my prayers. There is a church in the area called James River Assembly of God and the attendance is around 7,000. It was not around, or if it was it was very small, when I started praying and was told it was not possible. God showed them! Not only did He raise up James River AG, in about the last 15 years, He has blessed some other AG churches too. There is a movement throughout the country to grow AG mega churches. I have attended one in St Louis, and they are sprouting everywhere.

I watched a church called Second Baptist being built whenever we came into town more than 10 years ago. I listened to several people talk about how no church needed to be that big. Typical of my defiant spirit when I think someone is wrong about a spiritual matter, I prayed about it. I prayed for Second Baptist that it would not be too big but that it would be too small. I prayed that it would reach the lost and that many would be saved.

Again, I told the Lord I never wanted to be a Baptist but they were reaching the lost and so they needed God's help and blessing to do so. It takes all kinds to make a world, and the people who would go there would have different needs and personalities than I have. Baptists tend to go to the rigid side of life quite often so I never wanted to be one. God answered my prayers and Second Baptist grew so big it outgrew the building and they had to add on.

We went to Second Baptist for a few years, which turned out to be a surprise for me. It is a very good church and I am glad I prayed for them. While we were there, those in charge started griping about many of the things that happen when you grow. The parking was a source of constant complaining. After a few months of listening to them gripe, I prayed that the Lord would stop the growth so they would quit griping. God answered my prayer and the growth stopped and attendance leveled off. As many come in as go out now approximately.

The Baptists did turn out to be a bit too rigid for what the Lord called me to do. So the Lord called us to the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination instead. Southern Baptists do not approve of women in ministry and that is what the Lord was calling me to. (Why? I suppose because the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. And God uses those who are willing.) There were a few other odds and ends too. As long as I sat there and enjoyed the service and did not try to serve, everything would have been fine forever, but I have to obey God first.

There is no doubt in my mind that God answered all these prayers, but was it just mine or were they joined by many others? Doesn't matter.

Now I am dealing with a different situation that is annoying like a fly buzzing around my head. I ask people what church they go to and most people will say they go to thus and such church. However, those who go to the mega churches sometimes have a different attitude. They have a tendency to stick their little noses in the air and proclaim, I GO TO JAMES RIVER or I GO TO SECOND BAPTIST. Sometimes, if their preachers saw their behavior, they might be ashamed of them. My heart drops when I experience the condescending attitude but I tell them they go to a wonderful church and that I too have enjoyed many services there.

I have been to both churches many times and enjoyed them. The music is world class, the choreography is top notch, everything is perfect, only the best and the brightest ever are allowed a part in anything and the preaching is fantastic. It reaches the lost and that is great. Some could not be reached any other way. For the person who is more mature, if they are not part of the active ministry, it is a fabulous free show that leaves them feeling great. But that's it if they are not involved in a ministry. And it is hard to be involved in a ministry although it is easy to attend one.

I grew up in a mega church but not as big as these (and not AG or Baptist). Perfection in the service is a major issue to those in charge. The average person, unless they are the top in what they do, has no chance. The net effect is throwing people away, in a sense. I have invited some of the youth and adults who want to play an instrument or sing or serve otherwise to come and see us. We will welcome them. If they want to glorify the Lord, we will encourage them. There is a poster that says, If only the prettiest birds sang, the forest would be silent.

God calls people into missions and these mega groups turn them away because they have too many wanting to go. How sad this must make the Lord. People are dying without the Lord every day. It seems to me what they are doing is a sin. Two days ago I talked to one of the people who was rejected by the Baptists because she was ordained and the man on the IMB who interviewed her didn't think God could use ordained women to do His will on the mission field. (He should read more of his Bible and follow it) The man doesn't know that there are cultures where women will speak to women, but not much to men, so it takes a woman to reach them, for example.

We have had many groups come to minister and talk about their ministry. We have a group coming in to do liturgical dance Sunday. Churches do not want these teens to come in. I guess they don't fit with their perfect choreography or maybe the preacher has too weak an ego to allow it. Arrogance. Over and over we see this. Missionaries who are not allowed to speak, singers who are not allowed to sing, musicians who are not welcome to play. May God speak to the hearts of the pastors, deacons, elders and church leaders.

The pastor at Second Baptist would never have become a pastor if he had grown up in his own mega church. (He didn't say that part, I did) As a youth, he tells us, he was chosen to preach on youth Sunday. He tells us he really wasn't seeking it, he got somewhat railroaded, as small churches sometimes do. It was through that experience that he tells us he felt the call to ministry. That isn't going to happen for any teen in a mega church. The best a teen might get to do is speak to a youth group and only if they are the best and the brightest and really want to speak. Mega churches are spectator churches for the majority.

Youth and children's programs are awesome in the mega churches. It is top quality instruction and entertainment and they love to go. Who can blame them? Parents don't have to fight with the kids on Sunday morning to get them to go to church. It is so much fun. We only hope the kids will remember to turn to the Lord when life is not fun sometimes, maybe not until they are adults even. They get a lot more kids than the boring churches. Parents want what the kids want. It is easier that way and I do not blame them. Life is hard enough, right?

The show must go on. People are saved and lives are changed. That is a very good thing. But like seeds started in those little perfect pellets, when they take root and start to grow, they must be transplanted or they will be stunted or even die. Big churches of any kind would do well to be continually planting new churches so the masses who are growing have room to grow and use the talents the Lord gave them, especially if they are not perfect or the top cream.

Alive

2008-10-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

This morning I was watering the plants in the front entryway to the church. They were a little bit droopy. So far, the Lord has not sent anyone with the gift ministry of caring for the plants of the church, indoors or outdoors, on a regular basis, so they are watered by whoever happens to think of it. (Whosoever will.)

It is good to have live plants in homes, offices and churches. They add an air of comfort and life to a building, even though the effect is somewhat subconscious. Humans feel better around living things. They lift our spirits.

Many places have gone to artificial plants. They look good and they require no watering or pruning of dead leaves. They never change, they never grow, they never filter the air. They are beautiful, but they are dead. Non living plants are low maintenance.

Lifeless is low maintenance in other ways too. Empty pews stay clean. An absence of children means less noise and dirt and mess to clean. An absence of teens means an absence of all the energy and issues they may bring. A kitchen that is not used stays pristine. A rug that is rarely walked on stays cleaner and lasts much longer. And, if you want to preach to a group of people assembled in perfect rows, with no issues and no noise, a no problem congregation, there is a way to do that. Go to preach in the cemetary. These people cause no problems. If you want to keep a church building nice, chase out all of the people. But Jesus did not die for clean, beautiful buildings, he died for the lost, for all of us. It takes life to reach life.

We are planning on moving into a new church building. The plans are beautiful. The temptation will be to put the building above the people. The building will be new and pretty and people are messy. They sit in the pews and crush the tapestry. They walk on the carpet with dirty shoes. They spill and forget to clean up after themselves. Children and teens act like children and teens and they may not have a maid/mom behind them to clean up after them or to make them do it.

My prayer is that we not become like the pharisees, self righteous people who put things before people and themselves above others. There will be a temptation. I pray that we would be like Jesus who put people first and did not worry about things. He condemned those who worried about things to the excess, especially when it interfered with ministry to people. Jesus ministered to the lost, the poor, the outcasts (yes, they could smell bad), the lonely, the handicapped, the blind, the sick, alcoholics, prostitutes, those who knew they were sinners, children and anyone else who would come to him. (whosoever will may come) He rebuked those who kept them away for any reason. May we be more like Him.