Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Thoughts From My Pocket Calendar

At the end of the year, my hairdresser was giving out a cute little pocket calendar--the weekly type where you write in your appointments, etc. It's a very nice one, and even though we write most of our dates to remember on the wall calendar, I discovered something nice about this little pocket version. It has a quote for each week and many of them are by people who don't impress me as folks I'd ordinarily think of as being persons who'd pass on words of wisdom.

Since I haven't been able to think of much to blog about this week, I decided I'd pass on the calendar's quotes for the first eight weeks of 2009. (Can you believe we've come that far in the year already?) Enjoy these--I think most are quite good; of course, some are witty. I surely would like it if you'd pick one as a favorite and tell us why. Or maybe you'd like to tell others which one impacts your situation or your needs in a particular way.

"New Year's Day is every man's birthday." -- Charles Lamb

"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- J.K. Rowling

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." -- George Burns

"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." -- Bill Gates

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying." -- Michael Jordan

"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything. --Theodore Roosevelt

"Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but paddling like the dickens underneath." -- Michael Caine

"Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people." -- Barbara Bush


I love quotes. Folks often have a way of saying things that hit at the core in just a sentence or two. It would take me a long dissertation to try to get across a point which another person will say in just a few words.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Who Is On the Lord's Side?

Lately something has become quite clear to me: People are horribly divided. There are so many "sides" one against the other. All around you see bitter contentions and strife. To tell you the truth, if you're paying attention at all, it's getting somewhat scary. Which side are you on? Well, the only way you and I are going to make it through all of this is if we're on the right side of the only issue that really matters in the long run--that we are taking up our places in the army of God and battling all those who stand in opposition to His cause. Yes, reach out in love and invite even His foes to join in His military; but when the world says "No" to His offer in the gospel and persists in warfare, will you be on the Lord's side? Are you wearing your helmet of salvation? Got your shield of faith? Make sure that breastplate of righteousness is in place! And whatever you do, don't forget to take your sword--the Word of God!!! And you know you don't dare go into any battle void of prayer. Let's not worry--we're on the Lord's Side. But even more important, if we're in His army, then He's on our side!

Who is on the Lord's side?
Who will serve the King?
Who will be his helpers,
Other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world's side?
Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord's side?
Who for him will go?
By thy call of mercy,
By thy grace Divine,

Not for weight of glory,
Not for crown and palm,
Enter we the army,
Raise the warrior psalm;
But for Love that claimeth
Lives for whom he died:
He whom Jesus nameth
Must be on his side.
By thy love constraining,
By thy grace Divine,

Jesus, thou has bought us,
Not with gold or gem,
But with thine own lifeblood
For thy diadem:
With thy blessing filling
Each who comes to thee,
Thou hast made us willing,
Thou has made us free.
By thy grand redemption,
By thy grace Divine,

Fierce may be the conflict,
Strong may be the foe,
But the King's own army
None can overthrow:
Round his standard ranging,
Vict'ry is secure;
For his truth unchanging
Makes the triumph sure.
Joyfully enlisting
By thy grace Divine,

We are on the Lord's side,
Saviour, we are thine.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


Guess Who?


Saturday, February 14, 2009

A Valentine's Day Love Note


The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3

Valentine's Day is, once again, here with all its red, pink, and white colors. A day of flowers, candy, teddy bears, greeting cards. Even with a troubled economy, as you walk through stores you see the many colors of the season with the accompanying displays saying "buy, buy, buy." Gone are the days of my childhood when a little paper homemade Valentine is sufficient and all that was expected on this day in the form of a gift were a few little heart shaped tiny candies with the words "be mine" or "be my valentine."

I'm thankful today for the twelve red roses from my husband; thankful for this sweet expression of love once again given on this day. I'm also thankful that he remembered Neesie this year, giving her a bunch of pink roses, which meant so much to her. But mostly today, I'm reflecting on the love note I read this morning. I remembered having received this expression of love time and time again, but it came to me afresh as I laid in bed during the early moments of the day. I decided I wanted to come right out and read it again and post the words here. " I have loved you with an everlasting love." What can be better than that?

As these words permeated my heart this morning, my thoughts went to several folks, some whom I know personally; some whom I've never met or ever will meet. But this love note is reaching out to them too. I can't explain why the circumstances of their lives are such that they need to have the touch of these words so much more specifically than others may at this time. But, as I said recently, "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" All I know is, I hope and pray that these dear people whose struggles are more intense than mine at this particular season of life, today, on this Valentine's Day of 2009, will know and experience the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's an everlasting love.

This is just a partial list; there are even others I've not mentioned:

A young woman, two months pregnant, who was widowed last night when her twenty-five year old husband, a Philadelphia police officer, was gunned down in the course of carrying out his work.

A woman I know well, in her early forties, who has two children ages ten and seven, who is on the last leg of her journey here on earth. Her breast cancer has spread to her lungs and other parts of her body, and her desire is that she may continue to be on her feet and care for her family until the very end.

A woman from my church who buried her husband in November and found out in January that she has cancer which has spread to several organs in her body. She's awaiting test results to determine how to proceed.

A dear friend of many years, who I had lunch with on Thursday while her husband was undergoing one of the many incidences of needed blood transfusions. Much of her time these days is spent driving her husband back and forth for chemo treatments for his leukemia. He's been weakened lately by a severe cough that he's been unable to shake off.

A friend of the blog world whose husband recently unexpectedly left her and their family. I don't know the circumstances and don't need to know. All that I do know is that she and her family are mourning their loss.

A lady from church who drives almost an hour each way, twice each Sunday. She travels this journey alone, because her husband and sons no longer want to have anything to do with the church. Not only that, she is not being treated kindly (to put it mildly) about her commitment to Christ and His church. And may I add, I seldom see her or talk to her that she doesn't have a smile on her face.

Christians I read about in Voice of the Martyrs magazine and get emails about, as well as in my persecution blog feed, who are burned, tortured, slashed, imprisoned, and on and on. They're in China, Indonesia, Eritrea, Iran, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and more places than I care to mention.



I hope I haven't made you sad. But these are realities of life that I'm unwilling to forget about on this usually happy day set aside to express our love to others. Not only is this an expression of my heart, but a request for prayer from you as you read through this list of people whom you will probably never know. But God knows just who they are, and while I can't answer for Him as to why He would have them to go through what they are going through, I feel quite certain that each of us at some time or another will have to go through SOMETHING on this earthly journey. While we're going through it, I hope we'll all remember this wonderful "note" of love: "I have loved you with an everlasting love."

Thursday, February 12, 2009

A Tribute to Abe Lincoln

Today is the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States. In my estimation and that of many others, he was a great American. I didn't say he was a perfect person, nor did I say that everything he did was right. But he was an upright and honorable man who loved his country and did all that he could to preserve her and keep her unified. I don't know for sure what his personal opinion of slavery was; all I know is he did the right thing while holding the office of the Presidency. He held that office in high esteem, held God in high esteem, and held the people whom he served (we the people) in high esteem. It is my prayer that the day will come that God in His mercy will send us more men like Abraham Lincoln.

Did you know that this tall, stately man had a terrific sense of humor? Once I was looking for joke books for children for my business newsletter, and ran into a delightful one entitled The Abraham Lincoln Joke Book by W.L. Cummings, which contained a bunch of interesting stories about him and by him. He was really funny!! You might want to get this book for your children; it's in the juvenile section of our library.

I'd like to post here a few of the quotes by this great man (from several sources); I could include so many more if it wouldn't make this too long. There are some of you who will especially notice several of the ones I've included; you'll know which I mean. Heavy duty.

"Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors."

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." [Remember this one, moms.]

"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

"In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong."

" Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

" I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong."

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."

"Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the man before the dollar."

"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."

"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."

This one is a favorite of mine, especially in the time we find ourselves now. I've posted it before and hope you don't mind if I post it again:

"Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."

Mr. Lincoln was always a favorite American for me. I consider it a blessing that our children can learn about him in their history books. Soon I want to make a post about another person whom I view as a national hero.

Monday, February 09, 2009

New Blog!

I've just become part of a new blog with a few other ladies. All of us are excited and I'm POSITIVE you'll like it and will want to bookmark it for the future. Who wouldn't want to get tips on being more frugal and on various topics to help you live your life as a better steward of your time, money, health, and etc.? Knowing the ladies who are taking part, you're going to be privy to all kinds of neat stuff. I may even "sneak" in a couple of my old Sneaky Nutrition posts. Come on over right now to get a more thorough explanation from Susan!

Hands and Hearts. . . For Him.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Pray With Me


Tomorrow is the Lord's Day and I am glad. We've been bombarded with news, news, and more news. Worries, worries, and more worries. There are so many issues and so little prayer. I feel convicted that my prayers have been hindered. I fear that various concerns and convictions may be causing me to not pray as I should, especially for our government leaders. I need to give all of these issues over to God. I mean, really give them over to Him. He knows all and He alone is sovereign. He knows exactly what He is doing here in our country and in us as individuals.

We've suffered so little while all over this world so many of our brethren are being persecuted daily. Maybe for Christians here to have to struggle more is good for us. In fact, I know it is. The latest from Voice of the Martyrs Persecution blog is "Three Christians Dead in Eritrean Prisons," which is just one of the many stories from around the world of the sorrows and hardships that many of our brethren face daily. How dare I fret and complain about the petty grievances that I have from day to day. Sure, some of the concerns are serious ones, but am I lifting them up to God in the right spirit? I'm afraid that often I'm not.

So, my dear friends, pray for me and with me. Pray for our suffering fellow believers all around the world. Many of them have a faith that puts mine to shame. Pray for America. If the worries that many have over the fact that things are going to be more difficult for Christians are legitimate, perhaps the purpose of God is to make us have a stronger faith. Actually, I'm all for that.

The following is one of my all time favorite passages of Scripture. When we want to question what God's doing in a particular situation or set of events, this one is perfect to open up to and pray back to Him. I'm confessing here and now that I need to meditate on it more.

I hope your Lord's Day is blessed in Him tomorrow.

Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, andhis ways past finding out!

For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Romans 11:33-36

Friday, February 06, 2009

A Republic if You Can Keep It

This has been so heavy on my heart all week that when I saw this YouTube video posted at Freedom's Journal Magazine, I just HAD to post it here. Please take the ten minutes to look at this. It's a very important message for the time in which we find ourselves. Actually, we need to be on our knees for our Republic. God is able.



If any of you are interested in calling your senators to urge them against voting for that monstrosity stimulus bill you can go here where you'll find phone numbers to call. I'm sorry to say that if this thing passes, it's another giant step away from preserving our Republic as we've known it. Dear friends, America has survived hard times in the past without giant governmental takeovers; we can do it again. (With God's help if we would only turn back to Him.)

That's not to say times aren't hard, because they are. I sure do wish we would look more to our dear Lord to help us, don't you?

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Tuesday Tips #4 - Coffee Filters


Hi everybody! Doing okay here--how about you? Hope I can get by to see some of my friends when I get through my home school and housework duties of the day. It's snowy here where I live. What's your weather today? Here it's a great day for a cup of soup or a cup of COFFEE. Almost every household has coffee around; even if you don't drink it yourself, it certainly is hospitable to offer it to your guests, so I'm assuming that most households have coffee filters somewhere. So here's some info from an email I received just a couple of days ago.

I haven't tried any of these suggestions yet; it never occurred to me that this little item could be used for anything but coffee. Have any of you tried any of these and if so, which ones? If not, which do you think you'd like to try?


COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters ..who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.
Coffee filters make excellent covers.


2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.


3. Protect China. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.


4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.


5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.


6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.


7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.


8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.


9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.


10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.


11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.


12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.


13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.


14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS