tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38240176267585313852024-03-14T00:40:31.984-04:00Tangled HighwaysFollowing God’s narrow way through earth's Tangled Highways. You’re invited to come with meVondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.comBlogger363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-67544323246795018482019-08-30T12:57:00.001-04:002019-08-30T12:57:51.559-04:00Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-90236781378001872092019-08-30T12:42:00.000-04:002019-08-30T12:42:21.044-04:00Explanations and Excuses
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It’s been so long since I posted here that I feel
guilty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I think anyone reading
deserves an explanation. Or an excuse if you want to call it that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here goes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I am retired but I have a lot going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not the active, run-around-all-over-town,
doing-this-and-that kind of busy, but brainy kinds of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve written several books just for fun and
published one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve enjoyed that
tremendously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, I just whipped them
out and got the words on ‘paper’ (so to speak).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then came the proofing and editing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s when I can’t believe they came from my head. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Several years ago I read what was called a ‘Christian
romance.’ Basically, it was a Harlequin love story with a few scriptures tossed
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was disgusted. I don’t mind a
‘romance.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are very sweet and keep
my confidence in life alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I don’t
like smut. Too many love stories today are merely a storyline supporting a lot
of soft porn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">OK, put my soapbox away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Anyway, I read this Christian romance and I was so disgusted
that I said, “I could do better than that!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I wrote ‘Refuge from the Storm.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I started out with the story of Ellen and Eli Slade and their story continued
through four more books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I went on
to do eight more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some relate back to
Ellen and Eli in some way, but others are entirely separate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After publishing my first one, I had a
better idea of what was necessary for further editing and proofreading and I’ve
been working on the rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(if you want to buy it go to Amazon and enter
‘Refuge from the Storm” by Vondalene Howe)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I started writing this kind of story because I feel strongly
that young people (Ok, young women) today NEED to have examples of a godly
courtship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today’s books and movies are
filled with sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See a ‘sex,’ guy and
catch him by jumping into bed. Such a shallow way to build a life!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old-fashioned concept of virginity is
the strongest basis upon which to build a lasting marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A love which is strong enough to postpone sexual
relationship until after marriage gives each partner a greater confidence and
assurance of the other’s commitment. So I set out to portray the fact that
there are Christian men and women still living in today’s lust-filled society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Thus far I have 12 completed books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been involved in not only writing
them, but also with the work involved in editing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That takes longer than the actual putting the
story down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I wish I had the self-confidence to promote myself and see
them published by a Christian publishing house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I cannot afford to finance my own publication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t understand people who can talk about
their accomplishments and impress other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I just don’t know how to do that I feel there is a crying need for these
romances in the Christian genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
stories came so easily I know the Lord had a hand in them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe someday I’ll find someone who has the
knowledge and the skills to see them published.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I started to post the story of Ellen and Eli in a separate
blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know what I was doing
when it came to posting a book in a blog so it is a little hard to follow. You
have to go back to June to read it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first four chapters start there in reverse order and you have to continue going backwards. Sorry. I was dumb. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://refugefromstorm.blogspot.com/2012/06/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">http://refugefromstorm.blogspot.com/2012/06/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSewaryACkjqsiq7fdMFY65A1eLBjApEawGt2zBrm-LpjQ2UElNLM835WMrQM6dSccY83UuYmoFKMQQPp55YCUwDAN6Wnqz0Jn_uRqz3W9VHMvz53Iytg7I5C8CmzOrJJUirBFegmku4w/s1600/yucca+in+snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="959" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSewaryACkjqsiq7fdMFY65A1eLBjApEawGt2zBrm-LpjQ2UElNLM835WMrQM6dSccY83UuYmoFKMQQPp55YCUwDAN6Wnqz0Jn_uRqz3W9VHMvz53Iytg7I5C8CmzOrJJUirBFegmku4w/s320/yucca+in+snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">After I did that someone said I shouldn’t have because it
would be easy for someone to steal it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now the book has been published so I guess
the danger is over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">At any rate, now you know the reason I haven’t been posting
so much on my blogs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you take the
trouble to read Refuge, leave me some comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is my rough draft so you may find typos etc. but I think you will
like the story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-2157732956026796432018-06-06T00:38:00.001-04:002018-06-06T00:38:19.242-04:00Thoughts on the Love of God <div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="textjohn-3-21"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I just read a ‘devotion’ that was all about love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, I would be the very last person in the world to discount the Love
of God. It is the reason I am the person I am today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the reason for my eternal hope. It is
the reason His Son was willing to die a horrible death to become the sacrifice
for MY sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those things alone are
evidence of the love of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It
represents the most all encompassing love the world has ever known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">John
3:16 is repeated over and over as evidence of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="textjohn-3-16"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></i></span>And I John 4:9-10 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="text1john-4-9"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">In this was manifested the love of God toward
us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him.</span></i></span><span class="text1john-4-10"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><sup><span style="color: red;">10 </span></sup><span style="color: red;">Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text1john-4-10"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In both of these specific references the
Love of God goes far beyond the smarmy, sweetsie, gooey kind of love that is
taught in much of the religious world today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God was concerned with our eternal destiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t seem related at all to being lovey-dovey
and hugging homeless people or talking constantly about how we “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">luv”</i> everyone. God’s Love doesn’t
involve overlooking sin in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
doesn’t involve patting sinners on the back and telling them it will be okay,
just go ahead and ‘do the best you can.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s Love is focused on eternal
issues. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span class="text1john-4-10"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">God loved Mankind so much that He sent
Christ to provide a path to Salvation, a path to righteousness, that Man might
have access to eternal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a
tremendous Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He created Man; He
gave him free will and he watched as Man used that free will to fall away for
Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In spite of that, God still cared
enough to put His Plan of Salvation in place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span class="text1john-4-10"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Man has taken that all encompassing love
and turned it into a mundane thing that is hardly related to the Love of God. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Modern Human Religion wants to emphasize Love
and neglect the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">“</span></i></span></span><span class="textmatt-23-23"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">the weightier matters of the
law, judgment, mercy, and faith.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span class="textmatt-23-23"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">God’s Love comes with judgment, first,
and is followed by his mercy and then <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">our
</i>faith in his love.</span></span><span class="text1john-4-10"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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<span class="text1john-4-10"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The ‘devotion’ that I read said, </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333399; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“God loves you with an extravagant and irresistible love”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">That
is in no way descriptive of the Love of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>First off, God’s Love is not ‘irresistable.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man has been turning a cold shoulder to God’s
Love for centuries. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possibly because
they don’t like the way the ‘free gift’ is presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To ‘unwrap’ it we must change our ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must turn from sin and live for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">God’s
love is not an extravagant love in the sense that He tosses it out with no
consideration or plans for distribution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it does go beyond what is deserved or justifiable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of us are deserving of His Salvation. It
goes far beyond what is our due and there is a very definite plan for its
distribution. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
“devotion’ began with the text from Luke 6:33-36<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">And i<span class="textluke-6-33">f ye do good to them which do
good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.</span></span></i><span class="textluke-6-33"> But the quote stopped there and went to promote the gooey
kind of love taught in modern religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The reality of the text has nothing to do with that we hear on every
hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First it continues to compare
God’s children to sinners:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="textluke-6-34"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="color: red;">34 </span></sup><span style="color: red;">And if ye lend to
them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to
sinners, to receive as much again.</span></i> But the Love of God takes us
beyond that:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="textluke-6-35"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="color: red;">35 </span></sup><span style="color: red;">But love ye your
enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall
be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the
unthankful and to the evil. </span></i></span><span class="textluke-6-36"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="color: red;">36 </span></sup><span style="color: red;">Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.</span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Loving
our enemies requires a much deeper kind of love that the glad-hand-Harry kind
of love that slaps everyone on the back and overlooks all sorts of sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doing good seems to be rather easy, until we
get to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">‘lend,
hoping for nothing again.’</span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of the glad-hand-Harry types have no trouble sharing their
resources but they definitely don’t share it with no expectation of
return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or if they do they have no
hesitation to ‘blow a trumpet’ announcing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Notice this text doesn’t require that we be overly affectionate (verging
on the obvious pretense and hypocritical).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It requires that we be ‘kind’ to those who are unappreciative and evil. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Those
who promote the ‘extravagant and irresistible’ kind of Love are most often
content to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>talk about love, to pat backs
and distribute hugs, to brag to others about their good deeds to the homeless
and those less fortunate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They make sure
to blow their own horns and let people know how loving they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ adjoins us to not be as the Pharisees
who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">sound <span class="textmatt-6-2">a trumpet before them, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Our
modern love is a very flamboyant kind of love that is made very evident to all
around. It forgives all evil and overlooks all things that are ungodly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That isn’t the Love of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
‘devotion’ closed with the statement: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: navy;">“Love must become your life-style, the habit of your
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it starts with a decision. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">That
is very true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> is</i> the habit of life for the Child of God because God’s Love
permeates our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is presented
backwards here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t “start” with
a decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t “decide’ to love
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love follows humbling ourselves
before God in sorrow for our sins and repentance of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It follows turning from our sin and following
Christ. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It involves deciding to accept
God’s Love under the conditions with which it is offered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we see ourselves as the sinful creatures
we are before God we recognize the tremendous love He bestowed on us it causes
us to love others as He loves us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Repeatedly
in the Old Testament God demanded that the Israelites turn from sin and
evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They never accomplished that
because they were living after the flesh. Now God in his Great Love is offering
a way for us all to achieve that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John
3:16 is a popular text, but the verses following it are overlooked
completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because they outline the
plan God had for men to take advantage of that Love announced in verse 16<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="textjohn-3-19">this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">men loved darkness rather than light</b>, because their deeds were
evil.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="textjohn-3-20"><sup>20 </sup>For <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">every one that doeth evil hateth the light</b>, neither cometh to the
light, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">lest his deeds should be
reproved.</b></span><span class="textjohn-3-21"><sup>21 </sup>But he that doeth
truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span class="textjohn-3-21"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">To experience the Love of God we must understand that our
deeds have been evil. We must be willing to come to the love-light of God that
our deeds might be reproved. And when we come to the love-light our evil deeds
are manifest and we are changed. From that time on it becomes clear to all that
our deeds <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">are
wrought in God.</span></i><span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>And that includes demonstrating God’s
love for the world—not by the glad-handing, overly sweet, love-all-and-sundry
kind of the religious world, but by being a light to sinners and by doing <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the complete will of God every day of our
life, not just ‘being a Christian’ but by being ‘Christ-like.’<span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>That is the
love of God.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-47661011112340530322018-05-17T12:39:00.000-04:002018-05-17T12:39:44.369-04:00Micromanaging God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTSLbfsVg9-Jeozoxl5ruoDLBOHKAaly2q1lVgqQ5kYkaWqP4uU" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTSLbfsVg9-Jeozoxl5ruoDLBOHKAaly2q1lVgqQ5kYkaWqP4uU" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was recently involved in a
discussion about praying for a special need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One individual was saying how they were very specific about what they
wanted God to do. It struck me then that they were trying to ‘micromanage’
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I realized that I had been guilty
of that very thing more than once in the past! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">We talk about bosses micromanaging
their employees—giving a capable employee a task, then coming by every few
minutes to tell him how to do it, checking his progress, redirecting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or even taking over the task themselves for a
few steps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are irritated when a boss
does that. We all realize that the task would be accomplished much more
efficiently if the boss would allow the capable employee to do his job. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">How much more ridiculous would it
be if the employee stuck his head in the boss’s office every few minutes to
give him step by step instructions on making his latest report, to make sure
there were no typos in his work, ensuring that he knew the proper format for
that report or checking to be be sure the boss had replaced the ink cartridge
in his printer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
But how often do we do that exact thing with God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We pray for healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we go step by step through the symptoms
telling God what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ask for His
help in a financial situation. Then explain very carefully what needs to happen
for the situation to be resolved and when the funds need to arrive and who
needs to wait patiently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or even in our
spiritual burdens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We not only ask God’s
help but we also tell Him how to fix it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve done that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But from now on I won’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Job 23:10 tells us He knows the
way we take and a little farther on we learn that (Job 28:23) God knows the way
and he knows the place for making things happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here I am, telling the Master of the Universe
how to arrange to fix my little problem!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Before we even call on Him the Lord knows what our difficulty or burden
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He already had the plan in mind to
deal with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Isa. 65:24)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t need to outline the process for
Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has the entire situation in
hand!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here I am, telling Him what to
do for me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">And even though I have been guilty
of trying to tell God, how and when and where, I’ve also relied many times on
the verse in Romans that speaks of the Spirit making intercession with
unutterable groanings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the Spirit
translates our groanings, we have no need to give God step by step
instruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why am I just now
realizing that? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, we are taught to bring our
burdens before the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in
time of need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span>And yes he is a
very present help in time of trouble. (Ps. 46:1)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But are we hindering our faith by trying to
tell God how to supply our needs and give us help? Are we floundering in worry
and heartache because God isn’t following our directions?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">We all know that He will supply
our needs. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(<span class="text">But my God
shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i>Philippians 4:19) And yet when it
comes to asking, we seem to think we need to tell Him how to do it.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-79759919515885562292018-04-13T18:03:00.002-04:002018-04-13T18:03:39.724-04:00Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I found this little story somewhere. It has a good point to it.<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text"><sup><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></sup></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience;
and experience, hope:</span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><sup> </sup>And hope maketh not ashamed
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us.<sup> </sup>For when we were yet without strength, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly</span></i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Romans 5:3-6)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A young woman
went to her grandmother and told her about life and how things were so hard for
her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She
was tired of struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Her
grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed
each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed
carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground
coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty
minutes, she removed the pots from the stove. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She fished
the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed
them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee and beans out and placed it in a
bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, <i>“Tell me what you see.”</i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">“Carrots,
eggs and coffee” the granddaughter replied. Her grandmother brought her closer and
asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The
grandmother then asked the girl to take an egg and break it. After pulling off
the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg. Finally, the grandmother asked her
granddaughter to sip the coffee. The girl smiled. As she tasted its rich aroma,
she asked, “What does it mean?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Her
grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity –
boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and
unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened
and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected
its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides
became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were
in the boiling water, they had changed the water.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">“Which are
you?”
she asked her granddaughter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When
adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or
a coffee bean?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">May we all be
COFFEE!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-45358306408867026232018-04-03T19:05:00.000-04:002018-04-03T19:05:42.285-04:00A Cross is to Die On
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbYeH8gDPez4acbJ5Yz0siOCPUTIv7H3WuHBgvDQ29aatA13Je4RBMa6WDDZVr1239FnUc6QxdQ8yf8Y3SZ8mIk82ppRS06rjKPFFQXAyNnhtgE7qj6AEfOvtIlJGJlD6sEV2ro9dxkY/s1600/8d9b4c4d4ae0ce937206bfcee6c4bf82--cross-walls-cross-designs%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbYeH8gDPez4acbJ5Yz0siOCPUTIv7H3WuHBgvDQ29aatA13Je4RBMa6WDDZVr1239FnUc6QxdQ8yf8Y3SZ8mIk82ppRS06rjKPFFQXAyNnhtgE7qj6AEfOvtIlJGJlD6sEV2ro9dxkY/s320/8d9b4c4d4ae0ce937206bfcee6c4bf82--cross-walls-cross-designs%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I saw a post about the Cross this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
spoke of hanging our problems on the cross, the worries, the obstacles, the
unanswered prayers, the heartaches and loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a beautiful concept but it didn’t really represent The Cross.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have glamorized the cross in religion today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is like a magic token.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hang them in our vehicles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We put them on poles outside. We display them
on the front of our churches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wear
them on our lapels and around our necks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hold them in our hands with a string of
beads when we pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see them made of
marble, alabaster, ebony, gold, silver, granite, mahogany and all other sorts
of precious materials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I guess, for
those of us who have been born again, the cross DOES represent a beautiful concept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ loved us enough to voluntarily give up
his life to die on one. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But long long ago, brother Emerson Wilson preached a sermon
that has stuck with me for probably fifty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his sermon he said, “A cross is to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">die</i> on.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When we “take up our cross” we are to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">die</i> on it. We die to our selfish desires. We die to our own goals
and motives. We die to getting our own way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We die to following worldly ways. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We die to ‘the old man.’</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Christ died on His Cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He rose to an eternal life, far better than the earthly flesh. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The next time you hang that pretty cross around your neck. Or
pin it to your lapel. Or hang it on the wall of your house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have YOU died on that cross? Have you died to
the ‘sin that so easily besets’ us all. Have you died to ‘doing your own thing?’
Have you died to your addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex? <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A cross isn’t a pretty thing of sentiment. A cross is to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">die</i> on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-82865075337245168442017-10-17T15:43:00.001-04:002017-10-17T15:43:57.799-04:00Sinning Ignorantly
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The idea that we can
sin ‘ignorantly’ causes a great deal of confusion and even guilt in honest hearted Christians today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> False teachers use it to keep their followers in bondage and Satan uses it to torment innocent saints. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">
IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE COMING OF CHRIST, in the Old Testament, sinning ignorantly
was possible since there was a long list of ‘dos and don’ts’ to be remembered
and the priests of the latter days were constantly adding to them. So anyone
could commit sins that weren't through willful disobedience, but ‘ignorantly.’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lapses of memory and just plain not knowing of
a law (sin) was completely possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
to unknowingly do a thing that was contrary to the law was possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Lev. 4:2"... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments
of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done..."</i> )<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And God made arrangements for it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Paul tells the Galatians
the purpose of the Law: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wherefore then serveth the
law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom
the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”</span></i></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gal 3:19 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…Without
the law sin was dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><sup>9 </sup>For
I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived,
and I died.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Romans 7:8-9 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The law showed Man what sin was. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again in Galatians 3: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. <sup>25 </sup>But after that faith is come, we are no
longer under a schoolmaster. <sup>26 </sup>For ye are all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus. “</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we see that God had practices in place to
let the early Hebrews know what sin was. </span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">
<br />
BUT IN THE GOSPEL DAY we recognize sin through the leadership of the Holy Spirit: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall <b>teach</b> you <b>all</b> <b>things</b>, and
bring <b>all</b> <b>things</b> to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John 14: 6 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
would argue that this is only referring to the teachings of Christ, but the
phrase ‘all things’ eliminates this theory. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">And
again, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye
need not that any man <b>teach</b> you: but as the same anointing <b>teach</b>eth
you of <b>all</b> <b>things</b>, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I John 2:27 That Spirit that saved us will also teach us what sin
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, the phrase ‘all things’
covers EVERYTHING necessary for our life in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So,
we see that sinning without knowing we sin is not possible under the
administration of the Holy Spirit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Holy Spirit in our lives will let us know. Before Salvation a man might be able
to do all sorts of sinful things thinking they are all right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul lets us know this in several places. But
AFTER being born again, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and teaches us those
actions and thoughts which are sin. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hebrews tells us, “He will write his law in
our hearts</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I will put my <b>law</b>s into their mind, and write them in their <b>hearts</b>:
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:</i> Heb 8:10 and
10:16<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His law isn’t written in books and
books that we must search through, it is now in our heart and mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t sin ignorantly if it’s written in
your heart and mind. You have to consciously override it. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It
requires an effort to walk close to God and listen to his still small voice
that calls us to a</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> closer walk and a life free of sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why humans like to have a check list
as to what they can and cannot do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
like to have a check list they can point to and say, “Lookee here, sister
So-n-so went here or there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s a
sin.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or ‘Brother Somebody-r-other
played basketball with only a tank top on. That’s a sin.” <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">And
we like to have a list we can point to and say, “Look, I do this and this and
this. I’m a good Christian.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And at the
same time condemn others by that same list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Christ called people like that ‘whited sepulchers.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some
pastors and congregations get bogged down in providing a laundry list of
sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Short hair, short dresses, (for
women) bare arms and chest, (for all) wearing jewelry, going to fairs, movies,
concerts….the list goes on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And a
definition of sin becomes an effort of trying to include these things under the
title of ‘Sin.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">However.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are several places in the Word where we are given
SPECIFIC lists of sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We often
overlook these in our efforts to include a whole bunch of other things:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<span class="text"><sup> </sup>Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,<sup> </sup>Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God.”</span></i><span class="text"> I Cor 6:9-11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and in Rom 1:29-32:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Being
filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,<sup>30 </sup>Backbiters,
haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things,
disobedient to parents,<sup>31 </sup>Without understanding, covenant breakers,
without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:<sup>32 </sup>Who
knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of
death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Depending on our background in the Word, we may lack in
understanding of God’s Word, but as we study and follow God, we will come to “</span></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">the</span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> measure of the stature of the <b>fulness</b>
of Christ.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eph. 4:13<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we learn more and more of what God
requires of us the Word of God is written in our hearts and we bring our life
into accord with His Righteousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is a very definite process that leads to sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“But every man is tempted, when he
is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.<sup> </sup>Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death.<sup> </sup>Do not err, my beloved brethren.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">We
cannot sin without knowing it.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-21339068779209445212016-06-14T13:49:00.000-04:002016-11-05T22:44:45.293-04:00When God's Hand Moves<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Rachael and Michael were
established here, I wanted more than anything for my whole family to be in
church together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael had always gone
to church services with me when he and Rachael visited. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in Westerville we had no good
congregations to attend, Rachael’s job made her work on Sundays and the closest
congregation was too far for me to ask Michael to drive.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we hadn’t gone to church
together for several years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Notah and Kerra have been
attending a little Nazarene congregation since they moved here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is closer to our house than any
congregation I’ve ever attended—only about ten minutes’ drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hoped Rachael and Michael would go with
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another blessing, when Sunday rolled
around, both of them were up and dressed and ready to go without my saying anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It blessed me because some of the Christians
Michael had experience with had not been the best examples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The wonderful thing was that he
liked Pastor Chad and enjoyed the services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He listened to the messages and seemed to soaking it all in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then in October brother Arnie came to hold a
revival for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of about the
last service Michael took Rachael’s hand and went forward to pray!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there has been a real change in Michael.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every once in a while he’ll make reference to
the ‘old Michael’ doing something different from the way he is now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and Rachael have always had a good
marriage, but I can see them both growing in the Lord together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They bought the house in Tierra
Grande and from the first planned to have family and church people to visit in
the big courtyard at the back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Incidentally, and again this had to be the Lord, the house had an in-ground
pool in that courtyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not many houses
in the desert have swimming pools and they hadn’t been looking for one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Rachael injured her back in the accident
at Kroger’s the company had refused to pay the medical bills and compensation
for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has suffered with it ever
since and her private doctor recommended that she swim as rehabilitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The swimming pool was simply God planning to
take care of her!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On January first or second, they
began cleaning the house!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> a major job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two thirds of the house had to be
gutted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ALL of the floors had to be torn
up; it was so urine soaked that it couldn’t be saved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When all of the carpet, ceramic tile and
wooden flooring had been ripped up, the subfloor was scrubbed with bleach and detergent
but still had to be coated with a special sealer to be rid of the odor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The central portion of the house was broken
up with half walls and posts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those were
torn out and the area turned into a beautiful great room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The master bath had to be gutted also since
the bathtub was cracked and the shower needed renovating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now it is nearly complete, only
the master bath needs finishing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The landscaping looks like a
different place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wild brush and
trees have been pulled out and cut down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The fruit trees and larger landscaping trees have been pruned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pool has been cleaned and Michael had the
pool men out to tell him how to maintain it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like a little paradise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
family have gathered several times for late dinners after church on Sundays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last Sunday Seth’s friend, Andrew from church,
came and they spent the whole afternoon in the water! Everyone was in and out,
too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Now I’m only waiting for this house to sell so I can move into the room they’ve
designated as mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was praying and
meditating the other morning and the lord gave me the most wonderful assurance
that when everything was complete at Marta Court this house would be sold. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has already done so much for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why should I doubt him now?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-82217811723544050512016-06-10T13:02:00.000-04:002016-06-14T13:14:54.448-04:00A List of Miracles<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I haven’t spent much time here in
the last months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t that there
haven’t been many, many blessings, but simply that my time has been taken up
with so many other things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking back, I see that I’ve
neglected to mention that we have moved from Ohio to New Mexico.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rachael and Michael have had A Plan to move
here from the time they were married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They had a beautiful house in Ohio. They loved their house and its
location, but it wasn’t New Mexico.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
plan was to save their money, upgrade their house and accumulate enough money
to make the move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Rachael and
Michael set their minds to something, they DO it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shortly after the first of the
year in 2015, they decided the Time Had Come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They began putting the finishing touches on their property to make it as
attractive as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They made a trip
to NM to scope out available properties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That provided a contact with a realtor and access to a very attractive
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things moved forward for the move
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of their problems was getting
ME moved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lot</i> of junk!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a number
of conversations with Notah they hatched a design to move me and some of my
things first, at the end of April.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
began packing my personal things and cleaning drawers, shelves and my
closet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the things I boxed and
left for them to take their moving truck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My clothes, some of my books and my plants I took with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My bearded dragon and Maggie were at the top
of the list to go along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moving pets was
a bigger hassle than moving myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
addition to them, I took Rachael’s turtle and her cat, Cole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Notah was in the process of
purchasing a cargo van for the moving company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He would have to pick it up at some location since it wouldn’t be
shipped to them directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He elected to
pick it up in Columbus as the least expensive way to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See how God works things out for his
children?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His time table is NEVER wrong.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I stayed with Notah’s family
while Rachael and Michael moved forward, listing their house with a realtor and
arranging their move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as that
was accomplished they began packing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
house was listed in May and sold within a month!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have an amazing Lord!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How often does a house sell within thirty
days!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet when God has His Hand on the
timing, it happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was blessing
after blessing but by mid-July Rachael and Michael arrived in New Mexico!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can I help but praise the Lord?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By this time I was living in
Notah and Kerra’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘old house’ that they
were preparing for sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rachael and Michael
were able to store their things in the back room and live with me while they
were job hunting and getting organized for a few months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after six months of rushing and working
and organizing, they took a little time to kick back and relax.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rachael wanted to show Michael her
homeland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had seen the area around
Albuquerque and Gallup during the times they had visited Notah and our family
in Rock Springs, but there was the whole southwest that he’d never seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They took a week or two as a break and
visited Monument Valley, Zion National Park and other.’ landmarks around the
reservation before they began looking for jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now another example of how the
Lord works things out for His People.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When they returned and began job hunting they both had jobs within a
month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, how amazing is
that!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a time when jobs are hard to
come by, especially good jobs they found good jobs almost immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael was hired to manage an ironworks shop—the
same position as he’d had in Ohio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rachael was hired as an assistant manager in a bank!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could hardly believe it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next issue was finding a
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They explored the area around Albuquerque,
north to Santa Fe and south to the Tijeras area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They wanted a house ‘in the mountains.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After they had made a few rounds viewing
houses, Kerra mentioned that some friends of theirs had a house for sale in
Tierra Grande. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t thing they would
be at all interested; Tierra Grande is a wide flat plain lying in the bowl
between the Sandia Mountains, the Manzanos, Los Pinos and the Ladrones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked and still do like, having the distant
mountains watching over us, but the land could by no stretch of imagination be
called ‘mountainous.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But when Rachael and Michael
looked at the house they liked it immediately, in spite of many drawbacks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people living there were horrible
housekeepers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their could-be beautiful
house was in an awful condition. They had goats and pigs and dogs running
loose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their granddaughter kept Rabbits
and chinchillas in wire cages on the floor in her bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The property was overgrown with well-intentioned
but improperly maintained vegetation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
couldn’t believe it when Rachael and Michael began talking of buying it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now THAT was the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">At any rate, the sale finally
went through and they took possession the first of December, 2015..</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-41002848249910573622015-11-12T09:39:00.000-05:002015-11-12T09:39:41.427-05:00Lift your your eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeclX8fjBxWuZKRHi7LC-mESB0OrxeyT9LVXzGVrAb6y8TqZ-sncRleo2xtim3rf4ZOXagQ4GvqTG-GaSMV_Jx-ZK34J_P5z19hfW8Aj_tZvMGg8fQ-x7BjHsCJOfA_1ptgQZKBNIvmw/s1600/20140322192123.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhhawPvGgjovH4r5xqRVqHJBnse-K7lYaojzMeArNnWVEMVq7-C6Q3Ekqby8BOGZGURu3IHHhJqlZsebkO9Xcvg1UPggrva1PBlzZZuXu2CR564fwiyUMWhqBJth9uMHCgaholo-bxmw/s1600/manzanos+from+Notah%2527s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhhawPvGgjovH4r5xqRVqHJBnse-K7lYaojzMeArNnWVEMVq7-C6Q3Ekqby8BOGZGURu3IHHhJqlZsebkO9Xcvg1UPggrva1PBlzZZuXu2CR564fwiyUMWhqBJth9uMHCgaholo-bxmw/s400/manzanos+from+Notah%2527s.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">There’s a gospel song that goes, in part, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Lift your weary eyes and look above the
shadows, all your many troubles will be gone…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was thinking of that this morning as I was wrapped in my
blanket sitting on the deck waiting for the dogs. The people next door have
three dogs, neatly kept and well cared for, but scattered around and two boats parked in their yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
boats aren’t neatly parked but one was just left at an awkward angle on the slope
of the hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not particularly
attractive, but it is their yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then the house down the hill from us has an old car, an old
pickup, a camper and two boats squeezed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">behind</i>
their house and garage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are all
crowded in among the natural sagebrush and bunch grass-- seems like tempting
haven for rattlesnakes to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, the combination of properties there aren’t what I’d
like to see from our deck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BUT, and here
is where the song comes in, all I have to do is ‘lift my eyes above…’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Above the clutter I can see the sage and
grasses in waves stretching to the mountains where the sun is sending its glow
above their ridges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess I could moan and grouch about the
boats and the old cars, but the view above them is worth it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And I was thankful for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then I came inside and it was warm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went to the kitchen and turned on the water
to run a pan of water to boil Rachael's breakfast eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
remembered the day when I had to dip water from a barrel to cook or wash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thankful for the stream of water
running out of the faucet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so
easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I set the pot on the stove and didn’t have to build a fire
under it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Ma and Pappy had to do
that. My mother in law had to do that. I learned to do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know how, I can cook on an old wood stove. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can cook on an open fire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">But this morning I was thankful I didn’t have to.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Psalmist said, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I
will lift up my eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never considered the verse until I saw the
mountains of New Mexico.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter what
is happening in my life, no matter how I might worry, those mountains endure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Hand of God that placed them there is the
Hand that controls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sends help when
it is needed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><o:p>And for that we can be thankful.</o:p></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-52671752717975439932015-06-29T11:43:00.002-04:002015-06-29T13:07:44.521-04:00Road trip and God's Grace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black;"> One of our family's favorite weekend activities is taking road trips. Most people reading this think of a road trip as a pleasant drive along some scenic highway, looking at the trees and livestock grazing in green fields. Maybe you stop at a 'scenic overlook' to view a sight of historical significance or special beauty. After a couple hours, you might stop for dinner at a pretty little restaurant off the beaten path, then drive straight back home.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Not the Howe Family.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">On Saturday we took a road trip-- Notah, Kerra, Seth, me and our honorary uncle, Pat Smith. Somewhere south of Socorro Notah chose a side road at random. It was almost non-existent. We followed it for maybe a half mile and it literally ended at a deep wash..<strong> </strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">"We'll go up the road a little ways and there'll be a connecting road to bring us back around." Notah said. <strong> </strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: black;">Yeah, OK.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: black;">We <em>did</em> go up the road a ways and we <em>did</em> find another road, somewhat better than the first.. You see it here.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBh2XuN_rUm2mA4O4_Zc3kS0L86TwykfNpN-K3B6LdBlBQOIMgqhxqI-TI7ZGSmNQ0kB0ZRTGiwcLLPrjih47T8YFF7EUf41ASKQm1nVxG1QbjJTt700sL_t3MAIldGGy4JnkMekN4Slo/s1600/20150627_133438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; height: 251px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 425px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBh2XuN_rUm2mA4O4_Zc3kS0L86TwykfNpN-K3B6LdBlBQOIMgqhxqI-TI7ZGSmNQ0kB0ZRTGiwcLLPrjih47T8YFF7EUf41ASKQm1nVxG1QbjJTt700sL_t3MAIldGGy4JnkMekN4Slo/s640/20150627_133438.jpg" width="360" /></div>
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Not too bad as New Mexico roads go...not the best either, but it promised adventure. The problem was that after a ways, it turned into this....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxyapAKBvy47VSGx09mfpyeGnUaevgl4Sv_9xAbiKOTjtBaBkN2BvgnbtPK7wK0qinCdzkDXk6Nz5U9ZUsixFf-BoYjNbvp9ruLluFEcCP7ZcTGtoTwXksD7WALx5tfNwpkgM4kxDLmc/s1600/20150627_133343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxyapAKBvy47VSGx09mfpyeGnUaevgl4Sv_9xAbiKOTjtBaBkN2BvgnbtPK7wK0qinCdzkDXk6Nz5U9ZUsixFf-BoYjNbvp9ruLluFEcCP7ZcTGtoTwXksD7WALx5tfNwpkgM4kxDLmc/s1600/20150627_133343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxyapAKBvy47VSGx09mfpyeGnUaevgl4Sv_9xAbiKOTjtBaBkN2BvgnbtPK7wK0qinCdzkDXk6Nz5U9ZUsixFf-BoYjNbvp9ruLluFEcCP7ZcTGtoTwXksD7WALx5tfNwpkgM4kxDLmc/s640/20150627_133343.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And the next thing we knew, here was Notah looking for the road.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black;">He was disappointed at the direction it took so he justc turned off the road across desert, over sage brush, small dead trees, humps of grass, washes, low places and dead. We bounced all over the truck. I cracked my head on the ceiling. The three in the back seat yelled. Things flew off the console and we came up on the other side of the bump. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: black;">And then there was this long ominous hiss....like the sound of opening a soda bottle</span>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZQu4841gZrKMn_Kew7ZPnj9jmQBMRnPmzFRzPWg8dXMw8B_8sa2qTFLkJQyrFQtNzzzIpGIbEdO9XigPQoRSbhKQxj40RZHFznh5bVsDt8nyNSTKnixGiy1V34jFLnf8fddZd_kisCg/s1600/20150627_141842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZQu4841gZrKMn_Kew7ZPnj9jmQBMRnPmzFRzPWg8dXMw8B_8sa2qTFLkJQyrFQtNzzzIpGIbEdO9XigPQoRSbhKQxj40RZHFznh5bVsDt8nyNSTKnixGiy1V34jFLnf8fddZd_kisCg/s640/20150627_141842.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Now THAT's a puncture!</div>
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Okay. Flat tire. Everybody has had a flat tire once in their life. The difference was, this flat tire was in the desert, probably five miles from the nearest hard road, eight or so from the highway and another thirty from a town with even a gas station. I'm guessing here; my estimation of mileage is shaky at best and I'm writing this on Monday when Notah is at work so I can't check with him. You get the idea anyway. We were in the middle of nowhere.</div>
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Changing a tire in the desert is an Experience. First, the truck was sitting is soft earth. Jacking it up required that stones be placed under the base of the jack to make a firm surface. Otherwise the jack just sinks into the sand instead of raising the truck. ( I didn't help with this tire change, but I have with others.) Notah sent Kerra off to find flat stones. He sent Seth back and forth to the bed of the truck, bringing tools and sending them back. </div>
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The most difficult part of the whole process was removing the nice little lugnut caps put on for decorative value. They been spun on with a pneumatic wrench and wouldn't move. I don't know how long Notah spent with a screwdriver and a hammer loosening them up. I don't know if they will ever be <em>decorative</em> again.</div>
When the little caps were off and the lugnuts loosened, of course, the wheel had to come off, which required more jacking and more stones to support the jack. Because of the soft soil, Notah and Pat worried continually about the truck slipping off the jack. One of them came up with the idea of slipping the old tire and wheel under the frame so that if the jack did slip while they struggled with getting the spare on, the truck wouldn't fall on anyone but would be caught by the wheel. <br />
Another difficulty, that anyone who has changed a tire knows, is that when the flat tire comes off, the axle isn't high enough to get the spare <em>on</em>! More worrying about getting the truck jacked high enough to do that. It isn't a problem when the vehicle is sitting on concrete or pavement; it's a different story when it's sitting in the middle of the desert. Eventually either Pat or Notah came up with the idea of letting the truck <em>stay</em> at the height it was and digging out<em> under</em> the tire. That worked.<br />
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The tire was back on. They released the jack. That old wheel they'd shoved under the frame to catch the truck if the jack shifted...remember? Yep. It did its job. It caught the truck and kept it from falling. Problem was it kept the new tire from just barely touching the ground...in the bottom of the hole, of course. </div>
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Jack the truck again, just enough to drag the wheel out. Release the jack. The truck is sitting of four good tires.</div>
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"Okay, load up," Notah instructed. "Let's go!" </div>
I'd spent all of the two hours while Notah and Pat struggled on the ground in the dirt and heat, sitting in my camp chair under a shade pavilion that Seth and Kerra pulled out of the truck and set up! We all snacked on summer sausage and cheese. It was pleasant in the shade where the easy wind kept things cool. Notah and Pat weren't so lucky down there beside that flat tire. <br />
At any rate, tools were collected and stowed away. The pavilion came down and was folded into its bag. All of the trash and water bottles went in plastic bags. We all crawled back into the truck. We were ready to go back across that vicious sage and dead tree desert to the road. And we had no spare! I said my own prayer that we'd get back without another hole in a tire. <br />
It shows you what our flat tire site was like when I say we were all glad to get back on this road.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTwkPILLNhAuXpW1Gfcjl1Yuh-kognU65QsOrMaFIg4EecvTMwYZKjo_D9VT0opiwX1OwKKz29Rvml9eMMRk2vA0B7A-UG7d2oOXsasrhkTclaU4VmVF-9Ga7DfTdlOQjMbPfrs7Twu0/s1600/20150627_164712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTwkPILLNhAuXpW1Gfcjl1Yuh-kognU65QsOrMaFIg4EecvTMwYZKjo_D9VT0opiwX1OwKKz29Rvml9eMMRk2vA0B7A-UG7d2oOXsasrhkTclaU4VmVF-9Ga7DfTdlOQjMbPfrs7Twu0/s640/20150627_164712.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A good time was had by all. </div>
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The thing I want to point out is this. We spent the afternoon in the heat of the desert. That tire was a hard job and those lugnut caps were the dickens to get loose. The thing that blessed me repeatedly was that there was not a single cuss word or even irritated complaint! Nobody got mad and slung the tire tool across the desert. Nobody kicked the tires and slammed the jack handle into the fender. </div>
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And there was plenty of justification for any of those things. What wonderful evidence of the power of God in a man's life. </div>
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We didn't get any place special, but it was an adventure. And there was plenty to see while we were there. Seth brought me a pretty little horny toad. I even held it. Kerr,a Seth and Pat picked up the usual trash to be found in the desert remnants of men who struggled and lived there. Notah and Pat looked at the ruins of an old stone house where Pat found a belt buckle that said 'JEWETT' on it and an 'emerald.' probably from a ring or a button. It was evidence of a family that lived out there so far from anywhere a long time ago.</div>
The desert is always fascinating.<br />
<br />Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-46821805634297994452014-07-08T17:49:00.000-04:002014-07-10T16:46:24.978-04:00Gabriel Felix<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gabriel Felix Howe</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">February, 1997-July 7, 2014<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don’t have words for the
emptiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gabriel Felix has ceased from
his suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday was a hard day
for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gable wasn’t walking except for
a few feet then he would slowly collapse onto his side. He stopped eating
Sunday and would only drink water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yesterday he would stand over the bowl and lap a few times then look at
it as he slowly slid down to his belly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I carried him with me when I went
any place because otherwise he still tried to follow the pattern of years and
follow me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wherever I went he was always
with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I went to the kitchen, he
was there. If I sat in the den he was beside me or on my lap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I sat on the deck, he was right there
lying in the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For meals, he was
beside me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I went to the bathroom in
the middle of the night he got out of bed and went with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These past days, he was too weak to follow
me all the way but he’d go as far as he could and collapse until he’d regained
his strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I carried him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">For the last three days he
couldn’t walk out in the yard to potty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I would carry him out and put him down on the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would stagger a few feet and lay down or
potty then stagger a bit farther.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
last night he was with me, he wanted out at 4:00 in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I carried him out and sat on the deck with
him until he’d walked around a bit and fell in the grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He liked laying in the grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally he was all the way to the fence and
could go no farther.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using my phone
light I trekked across the yard in my bare feet and nightgown in the dark to
pick him up and carry him in. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">And that was OK because I loved
him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The vet, when he saw him, knew
immediately from the odor that Gable had kidney failure. He said it was time to
end the suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I knew that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is just that I’ll miss him so much.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last night I woke up in a little
panic twice thinking I had slept past the time when I needed to take him out. The
first time I was about to get up before I realized he was gone. The next time
it was storming and before I was entirely awake I thought he would get wet and
cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I looked across at the empty
bed and remembered he was gone. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was strange this morning,
letting only three dogs out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when
they came back in it took a minute to remember that I didn’t need to look for
Gabriel because he wasn’t there<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">For almost seventeen years, if he
had a choice, he was with me—on my lap, standing in my shadow, lying down
beside my chair at dinner, following me when I walked laps around the yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went to New Mexico with me until he was
too old to make the trip comfortably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">When he was a puppy he went to
day care with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was so cute and
even his toys were tiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The staff would
bring him little balls and stuffed animals even though he already had several;
the floor of my office was littered with puppy toys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kids and staff vied for the chance to take
him out to potty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or just take him for a
walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peggy Miller took him out with her
for a smoke break, the children would come and ask if he could go to the
playground with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes I had
to say that he’d just been out and had to rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">All sorts of events went through
Gable’s life, but he was content as long as he was with me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">And now my life goes on without him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gabriel, I’ll miss you</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-65516039069999275682014-06-07T20:54:00.000-04:002014-06-07T20:59:40.939-04:00Lonely Abandoned Ranch<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the day we visited the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rocky</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Canyon</st1:placetype></st1:place>
we passed through an abandoned ranch site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m sure the property belongs to someone; at least someone has re-built
the windmill fairly recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
watering trough is full and the whole area has cattle tracks and cow piles
around it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">It was another one of those sites that carried a sense of
history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was a rock house that was tumbling down. From a distance
it was nearly invisible among the brush and rocky landscape. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one time it was a pretty decent home for
the times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laid up neatly of stone, there
were two decent sized rooms with sizable beams that must have been hauled a
long ways to make the roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t
appear to have had a board floor, but that might have been covered by years of
blowing sand and trash sifting over it.</span></div>
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<a href="http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt340/honchess/Desert%202014/10440847_725431414146760_3533850690453174640_n2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt340/honchess/Desert%202014/10440847_725431414146760_3533850690453174640_n2.jpg" height="396" width="640" /></a></div>
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(Here's a closer picture in case you can't see the house.)</div>
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<a href="http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt340/honchess/Desert%202014/10455841_725431540813414_2038165117234191448_n1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt340/honchess/Desert%202014/10455841_725431540813414_2038165117234191448_n1.jpg" height="398" width="640" /></a></div>
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It looked like another pile of rocks if you didn't know what you were looking at.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The home site had once had sizable cottonwoods growing around
it but now they were dead. Some stretched along the ground; other still stood
offering skeletal arms to the sky and weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All around now brush crowded the walls.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Across the way in front of the house there was a corral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was built with a combination of the old close-set-stake
fencing, wooden post and rails and woven wire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think it had probably been used more recently than the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might have been able to contain my mom’s
placid milk cow, but I’m not sure any animal with more energy would have had
much difficulty getting through it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">
The ranch site stood in the center of a bowl surrounded by
ridges and cliffs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived there
after a long bumpy drive across the desert through sage and clump grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the middle of the bowl a hundred (maybe)
yards behind the house was a huge boulder that had broken free of the cliff off
to the right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when I say huge, I
mean huge!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was larger and much taller
than the house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We parked the truck and walked around the site for a
while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was evident the property had been
intentionally abandoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no
articles of living remaining in or around the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The corral had been maintained but there was
no other evidence of use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Once again I was awed by the courage of the men and women who
lived here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had driven probably two
or three hours across country in a TRUCK from the nearest paved road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nearest town was probably an hour, hour
and a half from the turn-off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a man
on a horse it must have been most of a day to the nearest town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a wagon it would have been two
days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know those cowboy movies where
Pa hitches up the wagon and trots in to town and back by noon?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well it didn’t happen here!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I doubt I we would have made the trip and
back in the truck before noon.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;"> A</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">ll of these things go to demonstrate how very fleeting life
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Men build in wood and stone as
permanently as they know how, but nothing lasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And yet man persists in believing his works are supreme. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Who do we think we are anyway, when our works are so easily destroyed?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><em><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;</span> </span><span class="text Ps-8-4" id="en-KJV-14017"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">4 </span></sup><strong>What is man, that thou art mindful of him?</strong> and the son of man, that thou visitest him? </span></span></em><span class="text Ps-8-5" id="en-KJV-14018"><em><span style="color: purple;"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">5</span></sup>For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour</span> </em> Ps 8:3-4</span></span></span></div>
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<br />Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-64293601803298450472014-06-05T15:42:00.004-04:002014-06-07T21:04:01.536-04:00The Graves.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">As we traveled and hiked through out of the way places in the desert we have come across several graves. These are always strangely sad and lonely for me to look at. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I told you about the ones we found in the ghost town. They were cheerless and redolent with history, but the most heartbreaking ones for me were the single ones in the middle of no where. They were momentos of someone who was loved or at least cared for in some way, but they were all alone--just piles of stone in an oval heap. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For some the pile remained. For others the heap of stones had collapsed in on themselves. And for others, unless you knew the pattern, you might not have suspected it had once been a grave. Usually for these all that remained was the outer ring of stones. It depended on how the body had been buried. Those where the body had simply been wrapped in a blanket, or perhaps just put in the ground, hadn't collapsed much as the body decayed and the sand sifted through the spaces remaining</span>. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those which had been buried in a 'coffin' or a box had much more space under the ground. As the box decayed and broke, the desert sands and the rock on top fell into the emptiness over the body. When that space was filled, it caused a the stones and dirt on the surface to sink. Only the ring of stones around the grave were still apparent.. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I guess what was sadder still was the fact than no indication of whose remains were buried there could be seen. We make a production today of gravestones and monuments; I suppose at sometime someone may have placed a marker over these lonely graves, but time has worn away any marking scratched on stone and faded any words made on wooden crosses or sticks. We never found a cross at any of the ones we saw, although I'm sure at least a few would have had a cross, given the time period. But the desert wind and blown sand desroyed them over the years.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I couldn't help but think of the brave men and women who had taken their courage in their hands and set out to make a live in this country. As much as I love it I don't know if I would have that kind o courage.</span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-22162168777460448212014-04-26T10:44:00.000-04:002014-06-07T21:04:37.624-04:00Ghost Town.<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">This trip we went back to southern New Mexico. Pat wanted to see that Rocky Canyon. Notah and Kerra had been trying to figure out the actual name of the canyon. It was deep and long and they thought sure it should have a name. They came up with two, but I know the one was wrong. I don't know about the other..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">We went in the way we had come out last week. It was shorter than the other way. We turned off the highway onto the graded road. We turned off the graded road onto a two tire track. A little ways along that track, Pat thought he saw a grave and wanted to stop so he could look at it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">We're always ready to 'stop and look.' Good thing we did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">After they'd walked around for a while I decided the ground was even enough that I'd have no trouble walking so I got out too. I'm glad I did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">There was a grave there. In fact there were several. Pat had discovered an old, old graveyard. A rough path 'paved with a variety of flat stones, had once led among them. The path was only visible after we'd found the graves. Then it was obvious the stones scattered here and there had once led through the graveyard. There were no markers remaining, only heaps of stone or sometimes circles of stone surrounding a sunken pile of others.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Beyond the grave yard was the remains of an old well, It had been filled in long before, but the circle of the wall remained. To the side were three metal rings of the sort once used to bind barrels and buckets. Like these.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The rings were small, about 12 inches in diameter, so the bucket or barrel must have been of a size easily carried when filled with water. The wood had long since rotted away, only the rings remained.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's all that remained besides tumbleweed and some windblown trash. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Across the road, (I didn't go over because my 'walking around time' was over.) Kerra found the foundations of houses. There had e vidently been a small town there that had remained long enough that they needed a cemetary. I suppose there were eight or ten graves that we saw. There may have been more scattered among the brush. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's poignant to think that this is just one of many towns scattered throughout the southwest. I wondered who the people were who had lived here. Why did they start a town here in, seemingly, the middle of nowhere. What did they do for a living? Did they arrive intentionally or was it a last ditch choice? Did they all leave at once? Or did the town just slowly die? Or did the well go dry and force them to leave? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">It made me think of the poem by Shelley: <em>"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay . . . boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.'</em> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">That was the feeling there beside that lonely lost town.</span> Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-69902719247550321842014-04-12T09:12:00.000-04:002014-06-07T21:05:11.567-04:00Rocky Canyon <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I always come back and say, "I wish I had taken pictures." But on this trip I was too busy holding on to take pictures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let me say first, that if I EVER have an ocassion to buy a pickup truck (at almost seventy and on a limited income) I will buy a Dodge Ram. Notah's four wheel drive Ram is amazing. He takes that truck to the wildest places--places where the incline is so steep I doubted if we could go <em>down,</em> never mind back <em>up</em>. We have climbed mountains and gone down canyons while I held on for dear life and my kids laughed at me! One day I came home and my arm was aching from holding the grab bar so tightly for eight hours.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I looked through my photos for a picture of it, but I couldn't find any. Here's as close as i can come....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's pretty good. I think Notah's has bigger tires... Don't hold me to the year, etc... I just pulled this of the 'net.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">That said I can go on with this account. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On Saturday we took 25 south past Socorro and then turned off. I don't keep track of routes and turns. I just ride. We turned and turned again while Notah and Kerra discussed </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">where to go and how to get there. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">We followed another one of Notah's 'here's the road, it goes this way' kind of 'roads'. It led across a couple flats and up a ridge, around another slope and down into a canyon. It was a beautiful ride.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then we started up a canyon. To be honest there <em>were</em> tracks, but I'm not sure what made them. Not a normal pickup, that's for sure. The way led up a gorgeous canyon, In places the rock wall went straight up and there was just room for the truck at the bottom. At different times rain sent wat er rushing through it. Thank goodness there was none today, although in a couple place we looked off to the side and saw little streams or pools. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't have words to describe it but it went on and on. A couple times I thought Notah would surely turn around, but no, he said we could make it... And we did. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">In some places the rocks came right down to the road with a bit of scrub brush along the base. In others pines and juniper marched right down the steep slope. A couple times Notah stopped and debated which fork to take. I don't believe he made the wrong choice at any time, but twice I remember looking back at what had seemed a good way to go. Both of those times I saw that the way was blocked at the end by a pile of rocks. Notah seems to have an instinct for choosing the 'road.'</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">We drove up that long canyon and finally climbed up to a ridge. And it was worth the trip! We stopped and looked around for a while. The dogs jumped down. I think we only took Bella and Thain on that trip. Babycake tends to get in too much trouble. Mia was a rescue picked up from under a cattle guard. She is afraid to get in a vehicle. I think she relates it to being dumped along the road and starving for several days before Kerra coaxed her out. (Kerra will pick up any lost or abandoned dog. I think they have collected four or five to date. Three went to good homes. Two ((Mia and Babycake)) still live with them.)</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">To go on, Bella and Thain jumped out to run around. The family spread out in different directions. I held down the fort at the truck. I mean, well, we wouldn't want anybody to <em>steal</em> it while everyone was gone! Seth climbed along the smooth rocks opposite the truck. Notah and Kerra walked across the wash and went along the slope on the other side. They were gone several minutes a half hour maybe. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Here's the exciting part. When they came back I found out Seth had seen a...ready for it...A WOLF! He had gone up that smooth slope of rock he was on and hiked around behind it. In the distance above him he'd seen a 'dog' trotting along the ridge. Thinking it was Thain he'd called it but the dog ignored him. He called across to his mom and dad asking if Thain was with them. They whistled and Thain popped up right there between them... Seth had seen a wolf. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, remember a few weeks ago when I'd seen that track? Yep. Turns out there <em>are</em> wolves in that part of the mountains. There has been a program introducing Mexican Gray Wolves back into the southwest. (Check here for a video and more info. </span><a href="http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> I don't post exactly where we are in these blogs. Enough to say that it wasn't the Apache Nat'l Forest. There have been releases in NM, too. And no one but Notah needs to know where we were.) </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">The neatest thing is that I really did see a wolf track! WOW.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">We got back in the truck and went down in that wash I mentioned. It turned into another canyon. After winding up that one, just as rough and rocky as the first, Notah decided we needed to turn around. It was getting on toward evening and we weren't sure how far it would be to the next paved road. He backed up until he found a place that would let him turn around. (A space the size of a <em>postage stamp</em> in my estimation!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">As dark was coming on we followed the original route back out. On the hillside, as we made out way out the first canyon, there was a herd of deer, five or six, climbing the slope up from the bottom. Shortly after that two <em>elk</em> were trekking up the canyon slope too. It was the first time I'd ever seen elk in the wild! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">None of the animals seemed at all worried about the big red truck disturbing the peace. The paused and looked at it then went on up the hill.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was dark the time we were back on the road--by a diffferent route let me say. Notah said, 'this will take us out and drove off on another ffork. Sure enough it led to a graded road that led to the highway. How's he do that? <br />Must be generations of Navajo ancestors finding their way through their homeland.</span></span><br />
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Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-33642759632452100542014-03-29T08:08:00.000-04:002016-11-05T22:45:40.400-04:00Sitting on a canyon side in the midst of the mountains.<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We're the only people for eight or ten miles along a two tire track that wandered through the desert, sometimes almost disappearing among the rocks and sage brush. Most people wouldn't even call it a road. But it brought us far from people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is so quiet I can hear myself think. The only sound is the buzz of two flies investigating the red monster of the truck. Even the wind is so gentle I have to concentrate to hear the quiet shusshing Far, far over head, so high I can't even see it in the clear blue a plane passes with a sound so faint it is only a distant drone instead of the usual roar. If I were in town I would never hear it, but here the silence is so deep the sound travels from the vault of the sky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I can see across the canyon to the rock ledges on the opposite wall. The are so even and straight it is easy to imagine they are the remains of the cities of ancient giants--the monster gods of the pueblo and Navajo, the kachina and the yei. I know these formations were created by tectonic forces and the effects of wind and water on the stone, but they look as though some huge hand stacked them like children's toys or carved them as enduring sculptures. In the forty years since I first saw New Mexico they have never ceased to amaze me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Notah, Kerra and Seth are hiking on the canyon slope behind me. They will bring me back strange rocks or broken shards of a pot abandoned by some roving gatherer or, if Kerra's sharp eyes spot it, a broken arrow point or a flake where a paeolithic hunter stopped to make a quick blade to dispatch his kill. Ocassionally they run across tumbled villages or house sites with the accompanying debris of the people who lived there. They take a couple photos to send me and mark them in their memory. More often though their finds are simply scattered across the desert. I wish I were thirty years younger and a hundred pounds lighter so I could climb with them. But at least my knees work and I can walk in the desert again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A few minutes ago I walked around the flatter area here where the truck is parked. The clumps of old juniper trees exude an resiny fragrance if I brush them and I walked among clumps of bunchgrass and old tumblweed skeletons. The ground was sandy with shale-like rocks here and there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A ways down from where we parked I found the old remains of a camp fire. The ashes were beaten into the ground by rain and weather; the couple of burnt sticks were half buried in the sand. Someone else a long time ago had set here and maybe enjoyed looking out across the open space as they sloped away before them. I could imagine a lot of different scenarios about the circumstances that brought someone to this spot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I walked back to the truck I came upon a clear dog track in a bit of open ground. It was huge. almost as large as my palm. (Keep in mind, my hands aren't very big, but still) I smiled at first, thinking Bella had left her mark in this place. Then I realized that it wasn't a new track. It was hard, pressed into mud sometime past! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My first thought was: wolf. Then I laughed at my imagination. I'd spent too long wandering around making up stories about wide spaces and campfires. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I came back and sat down. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now I'm eating my banana and playing with my kindle. Bella and Thain are back from their jaunt with the family so I guess they'll soon be back.</span> Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-30129772880693964452013-10-05T15:47:00.000-04:002013-10-05T15:48:37.487-04:00Day and Night Employment<div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><em>"</em></span><span style="color: red;"><em>And these are the singers ... they were employed in that work day and night."</em></span> 1 Chronicles <span data-term="goog_1757549409">9:33</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;"><span data-term="goog_1757549409">.</span></span><span data-term="goog_1757549409"></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span data-term="goog_1757549409"><span style="font-size: large;">This verse came to my attention. Think about it. These singers were placed in the temple to sing praises to God day and night. Just as God's mercy was enduring so were the songs of praise to be offered day and night. That was their only responsibility--to ensure that praises were constantly going up to Jehovah.</span></span><span style="color: white;"><span data-term="goog_1757549409"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span data-term="goog_1757549409"><span style="font-size: large;">Then I thought how just as Gods love for US in this day of grace, is enduring and his Help is every available for us to utilize, so should our praise be constant. Not that we need to go around "Thank you, Jesus." "Hallelujah" all the time, Because that becomes hypocritical and false after a time. But our hearts should always be in a state of praise and worship before the Lord. We must always be aware of His Presence in our lives and stay our focus on His Salvation.</span></span><span style="color: white;"><span data-term="goog_1757549409"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Christ has promised His Spirit to dwell with us daily as long as we hold ourselves before Him and obey His Word. The Lord blesses us daily with life and breath and His Power to help us live pleasing to Him and he is deseving of our constant awareness of Him. If we keep our hearts in an attitude of thankfulness and praise it will keep the Enemy of our soul at bay. It is difficult to be tempted when our mind and heart is stayed on Him.</span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-25570629783099259712013-06-24T08:19:00.002-04:002014-06-03T10:49:22.576-04:00in the Cleft of the Rock<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1044794_566614956695074_674266761_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1044794_566614956695074_674266761_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I do most of my ‘deep’ thinking early in the morning. Today I
was meditating on how wonderful it is to rest in the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know for me it is something I depend on
fully but don’t often try to verbalize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I was thinking of all the scriptures that describe the state
of being that the Lord offers His Own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
scripture and a hymn stood out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: purple;">“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting
arms:”</span></em> Deut. 33:27<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider the toddler when Daddy (or Mommy) comes home after an absence. The child races across
the room and launches himself into his father’s arms, fully confident that he
will be caught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The seem to have no fear
of heights or depths or scary situations as long as daddy’s arms are holding
him<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can have that same confidence and
the arms that hold us know no weakness or tiring.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Fanny Crosby wrote many of our most beautiful hymns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of them describes how we are protected by
the savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">That shadows a dry, thirsty land;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He hideth my life in the depths of His love,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And covers me there with His hand,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And covers me there with His hand.”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What a safe place to be! I have a picture in my mind of
standing in a small cleft of rock in the desert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tall rocks tower up on three sides and I
look out across a hot and barren land full of dangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all the while I’m safe there in the cozy
corner protected by the Hand of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We have to face the world, but the Hand of God protects our
eternal soul from danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, yes, many,
many times our physical body is held safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But regardless of physical harm we know of a surety that the most vital
part of us is safe in God’s Hands.</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-58916532272546829322013-03-24T12:08:00.001-04:002013-03-24T12:09:56.698-04:00Modern Christian Music<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: large;">Folks, If it looks
like a duck, walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, it IS a duck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it looks like a wolf, acts like a wolf,
sounds like a wolf, it IS a wolf!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't
be deceived just cuz the title on the album cover says Christian"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Beware of false prophets, which come to
you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. "Matt 7:15<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: large;">Our TV cable
package includes a series of music stations. During the day I usually play
either the Classical station or the “Easy Listening” lineup softly in the
background.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday I either
dropped the remote or sat on it. (I don’t remember which.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But suddenly this wild, weird, pounding music
exploded across the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I grabbed the
remote and looked up. I thought it was a worldly rock station. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was shocked to see that I had switched it to
a ‘Christian’ music station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could
hardly decipher the words, but the SPIRIT blasted out with all the ravening
power of Satan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #020202; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before you get up in arms, you really should read this…<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #020202; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dan Lucarini, a former worship leader in the contemporary church
scene, left the ‘Christian Music’ genre that mimics modern pop, rock, hip hop,
and/or jazz, etc has taken a stand against the music he once promoted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #020202; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Read his comments here and then check out his book. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what his understanding is of the
scriptures or even whether or not he is fundamentalist or what, but his stand
on Modern ‘Christian’ music is sound. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the heart of his argument is that rock music, and all forms of
it, is a music style that was created by immoral men for immoral purposes.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whether it's soft rock, pop/rock, jazz, praise and worship, Chris
Tomlin, Delirious? or Hillsong, CCM is "scandalous and offensive because
of where it came from and what it means around us in the world today," he
argues.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">"And I don't believe that Christians can just take it and
sanctify it and call it holy," he says to those who say it can be used to
reach people for God. "I think it's a mistake."<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's like serving a nice juicy steak on a garbage can lid (even if
you try to scrub it, it remains a dirty garbage can lid), he explains.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">
Read more at </span><a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/former-worship-leader-why-i-left-ccm-movement-39870/#wsxjwLddB0QfJq7T.99"><span style="color: #003399;"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.christianpost.com/news/former-worship-leader-why-i-left-ccm-movement-39870/#wsxjwLddB0QfJq7T.99</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-17842887163239187912013-03-24T11:51:00.000-04:002014-06-03T10:50:00.949-04:00Remembering Linda<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Michael brought home the DVD for “The Hobbit.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course I watched it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve written of the Tolkien stories before in
these blogs</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I first found <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Hobbit</i> when I was in about the sixth or seventh grade, perhaps 1957.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may have been before that because I began
reading from the adult section as soon as I was allowed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that was at the beginning of the
eight grade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hobbit</i> in the children’s section of
the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can even remember exactly
where I was standing when I found it—in the front left hand corner of the
library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a shelf section of about
eight feet or so between the corner and the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hobbit was on the second or third shelf
in about the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember because I
went back there to pick up <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hobbit</i>
again several times even after I graduated to the adult section. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was considered a “children’s book.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Trilogy of the
Rings</i> did not become widely available in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> until later in the 1950’s and I
probably found it in 1959 or ‘60.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
devoured that as soon as I discovered it on the adult shelves. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">When Peter Jackson presented his movie version of the
Trilogy I was excited to see it, even though many of the exciting portions had
to be cut in order to keep it from becoming a long running series instead of
three movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end of 2012, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i> opened
and just a few days ago it came out on DVD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael and Rachael surprised me
with it Friday evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saturday morning
(March 23) I watched <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hobbit: The
Unexpected Journey</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was ‘okay’
but only because I had read the book before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If I hadn’t known the story I would have said the movie was great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning I watched the second disc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a compilation of ‘extras”—scenes of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
video blogs about production, and copies of the trailers as well as previews of
the games the movie has spawned. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The blogs were what impressed me the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were made to give fans insights into the
production and shooting of the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">When I was director of the day care, my head teacher for quite
a few years was Linda Mitchell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not
sure how she became involved in day care but she was an excellent early
childhood teacher without the degree in early childhood education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her first love however was the theater and
movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her bachelor’s degree was in
Theater, I believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was involved the
local little theater group, interested in movies and sci fi conventions. We
spent a lot of time, in between the business of caring for children and the
needs of the day care, talking about the little theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Linda was seldom involved in the on-stage
aspects of the productions, the acting, singing, dancing, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was interested in the back stage
production.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>These video blogs have brought memories of her back in
force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How she would have loved the
scope and wonder of the Rings and the Hobbit!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The intricacies involved in costuming especially would have drawn her
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was amazed to see the actors and
then the dwarves they became.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because
there were 13 of them and they were the ‘stars’ of the show, their costumes
involved foot after foot after foot of costumes for the myriad of scenes and
actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Transforming them from men into
dwarves required several hours of make-up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I enjoyed watching the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Linda would have loved the wigs and prosthetics and actual make-up to achieve
coloring that would film correctly! </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The set requirements were extensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hobbiton was built of polystyrene for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rings </i>movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Hobbit</i> it was built of real materials on site then left for tourists to
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intricate planning and
construction was breath taking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And of
course, not everything could be filmed on site so there were acres it seemed of
sites constructed on the production lots—the goblin caves, Elrond’s house, the
interior of Bilbo’s hobbit-hole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
they were all intricate to the last detail. It took my breath away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could envision Linda involved in each and
every part of it, whichever allowed her talents for drawing, painting and
creating effects.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For the very first time I caught a glimpse of the reason for
her fascination with behind the scenes work for the theater and, by extension,
movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Linda Mitchell, you were loved and remembered fondly</span>.</div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-19752820614734084812013-02-14T08:52:00.000-05:002013-02-14T08:54:28.229-05:00Treasure hunters<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If we are searching for natural treasures of this earth, we
go looking in places where they are to be found. Precious gems are deep
underground buried in rock and shale or tucked away in a little clam like
creature deep underwater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Precious metals are intertwined in a matrix of rock buried in the hearts of mountains.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We don’t expect to find those treasures sitting in our arm
chair before a cozy fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we want
them we must go looking in the right places, deep in mines, drilling digging
searching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We bestir ourself and go
after them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talking about searching does
no good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speculating with others doesn’t
help. Reading stories of men who found treasures is encouraging, but they put
no diamonds in our hand. We must put the effort and sweat and time into finding
them ourselves.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is the same way with the treasures of Christ Jesus. If we
want the pearls of great price and the gold tried in the fire they only come
through our effort and sweat and time spent in the Word and in prayer before
Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talking about the riches of faith
is of no use in establishing our own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Speculating about the blessings He has doesn’t bring them showering over
us. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Reading</st1:place></st1:city> and
hearing accounts of the faith in other men and women doesn’t give us the faith
to see the same miracles in our own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">We only grow in Christ and achieve a strong faith in Him by
spending time in the Word—not in other’s men’s explanations of it or in a short
‘devotion’ from a handy little booklet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We must spend time reading and reading and reading the Bible while the
Holy Spirit points out the gems of understanding he has particularly for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we gather those into our heart treasure
to be held and pondered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After years of
reading and study with that great Comforter we find we have accumulated a
treasure of gold tried in the fire and our faith will shine as a beacon to
those weighted down with doubt and worry.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We live in a day of immediate gratification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want our goodies NOW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kids don’t think the should deliver papers or
mow lawns to save for their expensive toys; the expect their parents to hand</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
them over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teens don’t want to practice
abstinence until marriage, they want their sexual gratification NOW. Young
marrieds don’t want to start our in a three room apartment with an old stove
and refrigerator and a table that tips at one corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They demand a house as nice as the ones they
see on television, decorated with expensive furniture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they want it all NOW.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have applied the same demanding greediness to our spiritual
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to come to the Lord and
immediately have a complete grasp of His Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We want to be able to pray and have our prayers answered immediately if
not sooner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to expound the
scriptures to our friends and be regarded as a Man or Woman of Faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want our treasures before digging them
from the depths of the scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
want the pearl of great price with out diving into the Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want the gold without the refining fire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It doesn’t happen that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have to spend the time searching the Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to spend time in the fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <em><span style="color: magenta;"> </span></em></span><em><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span class="textcol-2-2">“. . .unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,
to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="textcol-2-3"><sup>3 </sup>In
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.</span>”</span></em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><em><span style="color: magenta;"> </span></em> </span>Colossians 2:2-3 <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <em> </em></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><em><span class="text1pet-1-7"><sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</sup>That the trial of your faith, being
much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ:</span>”</em></span></span> I Peter 1:7</span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-10341652100795266922013-02-13T09:27:00.001-05:002013-02-13T09:39:58.537-05:00Continuing Saga of a New Child of God.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent">Talked to Dawn this morning. They spent their first
night in the new house. She was excited that even with furniture and boxes
piled everywhere and a mere path through the downstairs, she slept better than
she had in weeks! She said there is such a sense of peace she couldn't describe
it. She said s</span><span class="usercontent">he has never known such peace.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">The other blessing for me is that the Lord is cleaning
up her life. She told me yesterday of how He had already helped her deal with
her overpowering anger with her kids and cleaning up her potty mouth. Now He has
dealt with her about her smoking! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">PRAISE THE LORD! I didn't say a single thing about it!
"But God..." (as another friend commented yesterday). GOD dealt with her. First she was convicted of it
and began trying to stop. This morning she said she lit a cigarette first thing
when she got up (smokers can relate to that) She said she took three puffs of
it and was repulsed buy the look and taste and smell. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">Isn't that just like our God! I've known a lot of
"wanna-be Christians" who have complained that they 'can't' quit and
God understands that kind of addiction and others that said, "God doesn't care
if they smoke (and do a lot of other things)." But here is a wonderful example of
what God does and doesn't want in our lives if we live for him! </span><br />
<br />
</span><span class="usercontent"><span style="font-size: large;">If we REALLY mean to serve Him, He gives us the Power
to do it.</span> </span></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-19391309737040030232013-02-12T09:18:00.000-05:002013-02-13T09:44:28.146-05:00Rejoicing over Blessings.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Regarding yesterday's
post here,</span></b></span><span class="usercontent"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> Dawn said: "I am not ashamed to
say who I am. Dawn Marie Harlan Green and I'm now a Christian. God is so good.
Praise be everyone here. This is my testimony. Thank You, Vondi"</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">
<br />
<span class="usercontent">I’ve been rejoicing over the blessings the Lord has
showered on my friend the last couple days. They just seem to keep piling up.
She called last evening and said, “You are going to have to add more to my
testimony.” ( Right now she is operating off a cell phone—kinda hard to write
much)</span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">Yesterday after she talked to me she had to run to her
mother in law's for something and her son called to tell her they had just received a three day
eviction notice. They have three days to be moved. </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent"></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent">Now here is the part that
blesses me—God had ALREADY planned that all out! The house, the electricity,
the gas, the large appliances (Oh, I didn’t mention that, the land lord had
promised to move some of the large appliances in. Those went in yesterday.) </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">Remember the scripture: <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><em>“Before they call, I will
answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”</em></span> Well, it happened just that way. That
three day notice would have knocked her off her feet, but the Lord already had
her support system in place! Isn’t that great!</span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">And before she left her mother in law’s house the case
worker, who had been working with them since the violence incident and her
husband’s arrest, called to say they had a RENT check ready to send as soon as
she got them the name and address of her new landlord. All I can say is: I’ve
never seen JFS work that fast. She only notified her caseworker late on Friday
of the new housing situation! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">They spent the day moving furniture. As of last
evening, the old house is nearly empty!</span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">But here is the icing on the cake. Last night…nine or
nearly ten o’clock…she called, so excited. She had filed their income taxes a
while back and was hoping that the return would come by the end of March when
she had arranged with a couple of her bill collectors to make a catch up
payment. So when she got home tonight—to her mattress on the floor—she laid down and
was scrolling through her email and found a note about her taxes. Thinking it
was just a message confirming her filing she passed over it, then she found a
second message about the same thing. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">THEN she read them both and paid attention. There were
phone numbers and passwords. When she called them she discovered that her tax
return had already been deposited in her account. THREE WEEKS BEFORE IT WAS DUE!
</span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">To say she could hardly contain herself is an under
statement. </span><br />
<br />
</span><span class="usercontent"><span style="font-size: large;">I have laughed and cried until my face hurts. The
blessings have certainly been showered over her. But then she really needed
them.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="usercontent"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3824017626758531385.post-41870527601844763192013-02-11T09:17:00.000-05:002013-02-13T09:47:49.881-05:00God Is Taking a Hand<br />
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<span class="usercontent"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I just
spoke with the friend</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> who was saved a couple
weeks ago. If you read my page, you’ll remember her. </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">
<br />
<span class="usercontent">She is rejoicing up and down and over and over. She was
about to lose her house; the Lord provided another for her. She needs to be out
of her current rental home soon and she was worried about getting the gas
transferred and also the electric. In a ten minute conversation she has the gas
arranged and it will be turned on TOMORROW between 8 and noon! The electricity
will go on I don’t remember when she said! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">Another old friend has told her just a few minutes ago
that he and his mother are sitting in the gas station…(somewhere, don’t
remember where, I was so excited) with a tank full of gas just waiting for her
to call that she is at the house. They are ready to help haul furniture all
day! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">She drove her mother-in-law to visit her husband
on…Friday, I believe she said. She spoke to him for a while. He THANKED HER for
calling the authorities and having him jailed! WOW! She spoke with him on the
phone later and said the conversation blessed her. </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent"></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent">She is not planning to have
him move home anytime soon, but she is trusting in the scripture:<em><span style="color: #c27ba0;"> “But if the
unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage
in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. 16 For what knowest thou, O
wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband?”</span></em></span><br /><em><span style="color: #c27ba0;">
</span></em>
<span class="usercontent">I am thrilled at the things she has overcome since she
gave her heart and life to the Lord. She told me this morning, “I am so so
ashamed of the woman I was!” </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">She testified of the way the Lord is showing her things
to change in her life. Her little girl was in trouble this morning and she
said, “I felt it, I felt that [mean anger] bubbling up inside me and I stopped
and said a little prayer not to do that!” And she didn’t get so horribly and
hatefully angry. She said she told her daughter very plainly what the standard
was and told her very plainly what the consequence was… </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">She said the dirty mouth that she was so prone to has
also gone the way of the hateful anger. She has stopped swearing and using foul
language and even when a word seems about to slip she has stopped herself. AND
ALREADY it has made an impression on her oldest son—he has cleaned his language
up without any reprimand or sermon from her.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">She was rejoicing over and over this morning. She
doesn't have a 'sin more or less every day religion!" It made me laugh and
cry and rejoice. Tell me our God isn’t Great! I can tell you other wise! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="usercontent">Keep her in your prayers. You KNOW Satan will come in
like a flood.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent"></span></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent">(<span style="font-size: small;">Here's the message she left on Facebook yesterday.)</span> </span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="usercontent"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span class="usercontent"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Good morning Momma#2</span></i></b></span><span class="usercontent"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> , lets just see how life goes today, new day, new things to live for... looks like I have been searching for the light at the end of the tunnel in all the wrong places. for the first time in months and months I woke up and didn't have a cloudy head... I did thank God, even if you gave us rain today... love you much talk to you later<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="usercontent"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(Jan 30)</span></i></span></div>
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Vondihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527315977696655131noreply@blogger.com0