Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

…The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

I’ve been busy writing new articles. I got hired by another company and things have finally started to pick up a little. I’m so grateful for the work but professional writing is no piece of cake. I got hit with THREE rewrites in two days. Even though the communication problem between me and the client was probably an honest one (other writers were hit with rewrites from this client, too), they were still rewrites. Pro writing is wrought with tension. You have to know your topic (or do a heck of a lot of research first), you have to write succinctly yet meet the usually large word count. You have to use impeccable grammar and proofread the piece to death. And then when it’s all said and done, you hope what you submitted pleases the client. Whew. So after a couple of 800-word, War-and-Peace-style theses, I’m a little too tuckered for blogging.

I’m also doing a lot of daydreaming. Spring is a-coming and the fresh breezes fill my little head with all sorts of ideas for new projects. A new shelf here, a built-in cabinet there, a whole new bathroom here and here and here…. oh yeah. Plus, I’m going to New York City again and am very excited about the trip. I’m going to peruse some of the sights in Washington Heights (unfamiliar territory) so I’ve been scouring Google Earth to get my bearings. And I’m also doing more reading again. I was always a voracious reader and I think it largely fueled my blogging activities. I stopped reading so much after I began writing full time, though. But now I am trying to pick up again. Right now, I’m reading The Testimony of Watchman Nee and a book he authored Love Not the World which are very sobering. And I’m spending time every day reading through the New Testament again, in order.

Sometimes I feel that the blogging udder is dry, that I have nothing more to give to the blogs. I’ve always been a gal with diversified interests but after a couple of years things do slow down a bit. I’ve been around long enough to know that these kinds of thoughts are par for the course– they wax and wane for every blogger and there comes a time when you must reassess your goals. I don’t have any intention of stopping (I just paid for another year of web hosting!) but I’m obviously having a slow spell. Knowing me, things will pick up soon and the frentically blazing steam engine will roar once again. Especially after a few cups of my daughter’s high octane coffee.

Everybody goes through these kinds of seasons– a time to learn, a time to give, a time to reflect, a time to be silent, a time to learn and give all over again, and on it goes.

What have you been doing lately? Have you been a blogging fiend or have you slowed down to recoup?

As an ardent admirer of Kathryn Kuhlman, I have heard of Smith Wigglesworth. He was a plumber in Wales, born in 1859. He was an evangelist who did AMAZING miracles of healing. I don’t know what you believe about God still doing miracles– all it takes is one or two times to logically prove that they do still happen, right?

Well, I recently purchased the “Smith Wigglesworth Devotional” book. It was compiled after his death, I believe. It is full of events and Bible teachings about believing in God for healing. The book is MIND BLOWING. You can read a quick, free sample of the book here. Pretty amazing.

Smoking Teeth

The kids are taking a health course called The Seven Pillars of Health by Dr. Dan Colbert. It’s a pretty enlightening course. This week is about “detoxifcation.” It might more accurately be called “toxification” because Dr, Colbert explains all the chemicals and toxic stuff we are exposed to on a regular basis. No wonder cancer has become the Number One cause of death of people in industrialized nations.

Of great concern is the high mercury content in amalgam dental fillings. If you think the USDA and FDA protect us, think again. Dental fillings account for FIFTY PERCENT of our toxic exposure to mercury. The FDA and other groups have been sloooooooooooooow to stop it. I found a very good video about mercury in fillings, called Smoking Teeth. I don’t always believe everything I see or hear, but just knowing that there’s 50% mercury in our dental fillings is enough to make me very concerned.

Presidential Election

While my husband is riveted to the news and stories about the presidential election, I am purposely avoiding it. It’s too stressful right now. Besides, I did my homework a long time ago and already did my homework– I know who I am voting for when the time comes. It’s not the Tooth Fairy guy from Massachusetts, it’s not the marriage-breaker guy with the white shaggy hair, it’s not even the fake conservative who is part of the Political Machine in Washington that has destroyed our country… nope. It’s the guy from Texas who insists that we abide by the Constitution, also known as Dr. No by the Congress. His last name is Paul. ;) GO RON GO!

Going to the Big Apple

It’s still a ways away, but I am slowly getting excited about my upcoming trip to New York City. I am a country girl through and through, but I like the city and its energy. It’s so full of history and things to do! I recently watched a video of how to get a MetroCard for the subway. When I lived in NYC there were no cards, you paid cash. Now, there are vending machines! The choices had me baffled and I needed to refresh myself on how to get 3 cards. Last time we were there, my credit card company froze my account because I used the card three times in a row to get 3 Metrocards (each person has to have their own). this time, I’m bringing plenty of cash!

Working Online

When I first started working online, I thought, “How easy!! Easy easy easy! I can make lots of money and it will be so easy!”

Um. NOT.

I write articles for companies, websites, advertisers. It’s pretty durn tough. For one, advertisers by nature are not the most expressive and communicative people. Their grammar is deplorable and they change their minds on a whim. It’s like trying to grasp water sometimes. So even though I work at home, there’s still tremendous pressure and the tasks are tough. At least I don’t have to wear pantyhose, though, thank God for that…..

Happy Wednesday, friends.

***

I am currently unemployed, except for a few blogging offers here and there. It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted work and never got it. What a terrible feeling. I now know how debilitating and depressing unemployment can be. I simply can’t imagine how awful it must be over an extended period of time, especially for a man who is the bread winner of a family.

***

My kids, who learn their school lessons at home, are pretty self-sufficient when it comes to the schoolwork. I have to look over their work, I do some administrative duties, and sometimes one of the kids will have a problem where they need assistance, but most of the time they read their own books and do the work without any active teaching from me. (It took a long time to get to this place, believe me!). The two most intensive subjects where they still usually need Mom and Dad’s help is with writing compositions and certain math concepts (such as algebra). I handle the writing and the husband handles the math.

Last night, my husband was working with my youngest son on math– banking, taxes, and investing. I was busy working on the computer while they were wrangling through various word problems and filling out math worksheets upon math worksheets of calculations. I tried to “set the mood” by playing classical guitar– you know, brainy music that would “enhance” the learning experience. At one point in the conversation, I heard my husband say quietly to my son: “Einstein said that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe.”
That made me literally laugh out loud. Unfortunately, my  BWAHAHA!!! interrupted the brainy reverie for a while. :duncehat:

***

In church on Sunday, part of the following passage was read to us. It’s one of those “precious” parts of the Bible that I love:

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-10, New Living Translation

Our culture likes to mock Christians and Christian beliefs, but to me it seems people are cutting off their noses to spite their face. It’s like they don’t WANT to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He rose from the dead, and that He is returning. The proof of the holy scriptures and of the resurrection is rock solid. But it’s all mocked, all in ignorance of the facts and the historical precedents before us. You know about those guys who did such silly things like invented the steam engine, drafted our Constitution, developed the heliocentric theory of the solar system, developed electromagnetic induction, developed the first and second laws of thermodynamics and the absolute temperature scale, invented the method for milk pasteurization, and invented peanut butter? Yeah, all those stupid people were Christians who believed in the birth, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus Christ. How silly they were, right? I mean, they didn’t even have their own TV shows!

Today, it’s so fashionable to be skeptical, but I think it’s so stupid to be skeptical, especially when the facts are readily available for anyone to look into. Jesus is coming back soon.

I once talked to someone about the book of Revelation, the last book in the New Testament. I said that I found it absolutely amazing that in no other moment in history were the events in Revelation able to occur until now. A global currency? Not possible until now. An army of 200 MILLION?! Not possible until now. A “mark” that is forced on everyone or else they can’t buy or sell anything? Not possible until now. As I stated this, I asked the person to whom I was talking, “Isn’t this some proof that the Bible is true and that these things are going to happen soon?” The person just looked at me and said, “Well, they MAKE it happen.”
:duncehat:
How can you MAKE HAPPEN an army of 200 million people PLUS all those other things? At the same time?! It’s not something you just cook up one day.

I spent a lot of years, looking all this stuff up. I have scoured ancient documents, researched archaeological discoveries, read books and books and books. It’s pretty insulting to have someone throw all that research back into your face because they just don’t “feel” that it’s true. If people don’t want to believe it’s true, fine. Don’t. But it’s so insulting and baffling for some folks to mock my years and years of looking into the subject and mocking the people of the past upon whose discoveries and inventions we enjoy today. I don’t know, maybe I am now led by a sense of duty to at least make the effort and cast my opinions aside and see what the truth is. I just figure others would want to know, too.

*steps off soap box*

***

The cares of our life can swallow us up whole, if we let it. We forget that we are emotional beings– spiritual beings. There’s an old Scottish proverb:

Be sure to live your life, for you will be a long time dead.

Indeed. I don’t think that means to eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. It means to make peace with God and live in peace in this life, for the next life will be a long time lived in light of our decisions here.

***

I told you I’ve been thoughtful, lately.

Thanks for reading.

There seem to be a LOT of silent monks singing The Hallelujah Chorus lately, as I spotted at least a dozen on YouTube alone! LOL. Must be one of their favorite renditions. I watched some of them, and many of them were much more polished than the video I posted here… but I like mine because it’s done by kids and they make it very fun.

Then today, I visited Karen’s blog who had posted a video of The Hallelujah Chorus as done by students in Alaska. Wow! These kids are terrific and I laughed out loud a number of times.

What a great video!

I looked up the history of Handel’s Messiah and found it so intriguing that I thought I’d share it with you. Handel’s full name is George Frederic Handel, and he was born in Halle in 1685. He’d been a relatively successful composer, but had difficulties with his royal patrons (all music composers were supported by various royal houses of Europe at this time) and sometimes lost funding. Handel also became severely ill (so he said) from a stroke, and suffered debt, financial ruin, and severe depression. Handel retreated to a private life in London and stopped composing music.

George Handel with King George of England.

In his depressed state, Handel came across a piece of music written by Charles Jennens. The work was entirely Biblical verses put to music. Handel read the verses and was “deeply affected.” He plunged into creating a composition about the Messiah, Jesus Christ: the first part involved prophecies from the Old Testament (the book of Isaiah, specifically) that gave information about Christ’s coming to earth. The second part dealt with Christ’s birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. The third part centers on the New Testament book of The Revelation, and concerns Christ’s next coming. Handel’s work is SIMPLY AMAZING. When Handel wrote the Hallelujah Chorus, he said, “I did think I saw heaven open, and saw the very face of God.” That is exactly my response, too. It’s nothing short of inspiring.

Handel performed Messiah for King George of England, who was so overcome with awe and praise for the King of kings and Lord of lords that he stood up when the singers sang The Hallelujah Chorus of the composition. Back in those days, when the king or queen stood up, EVERYBODY stood up, so the entire audience stood with him for the entire performance. This has become a tradition whenever The Hallelujah Chorus is sung.

Me, I want to jump up and down. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!

Hello, it was 11 IN THE MORNING on Thanksgiving Day!!!

I’ve done the “Black Friday” thing. I got up at 4am to stand in line for 2 hours in the freezing cold. Even though there was a loooong line ahead of me, I still waited. The doors opened at 6am and BANG people rushed to the doors. By the time I got inside, everything was gone. Never doing that again. What a waste.

But still, let’s say you have tons of time on your hands and, say, you REALLY REALLY need a new 50-inch plasma TV. I mean, the necessities of life, right?! Hey, if I REALLY REALLY needed a plasma TV, I guess I would wait in line, too. But I’ve never needed one, nor do I foresee EVER needing one.

Anyway, I was pretty surprised to see folks lining up in front of stores already. Wow. These folks have got a long wait, and in here in New York State, it can get pretty cold outside, after dark.

I don’t have anything against Black Friday, per se. It’s good to save money, and if it is worth your time to wait in line– hey, that’s cool. But I do not like Thanksgiving Day being marginalized. It’s supposed to be a holy day, a day when we publicly and personally give God thanks for the amazing blessings He’s given to us. No, Thanksgiving Day is not the day we give thanks for the Indians saving the Pilgrims’ skins, as nice as that was. It’s God’s day. He deserves it.

So as much as I think it’s great to save money, I greatly dislike the commercialization of yet another holiday. Marketers have already wrecked Christmas, blown Halloween WAY out of proportion, and now they want to scarf up my Thanksgiving holiday?! Must the money lovers encroach on our holiest national holiday of the year?! :hmph:

I felt that way while I perused Facebook last night. I decided to look up a few people I remembered from my younger years, back when I was a teenager living near a big city, back before my parents dug up our roots and went to live the self-sufficient life in the wild boonies of southern New York. Moving is hard on a teenager. It was very difficult for us. I remember resisting vehemently, lamenting that I had just begun to make friends and become active in a social group. I learned much later that my parents were concerned for me and my brothers, and they moved the family to get us out of the bad neighborhood. My eldest brother had been arrested for drug use which was rampant in our area, and he later dropped out of school and ran away from home. My parents were increasingly concerned about the kids we hung out with; they were coarse and the elder siblings were junkies. So they yanked us away to the rural outback.

I looked up some of those folks on Facebook, wondering how their lives turned out. I saw some of their shattered lives, bruised by teenaged abortions, drug use and gambling. Some of my peers were on their third and fourth marriages, their children wayward and aimless. It was very sad. As I saw their faces, I kept thinking, “That could have been me. That could have been my life.” It was sobering.

When I moved to the rural setting, I was the “city slicker” for a time (until I learned to adapt). Life in the country was much slower, and, to me, duller. In retrospect, I don’t think it was so dull now. And there was certainly less opportunity for trouble and more opportunity for hard work and accomplishment. Even though I never felt like I fit in, I eventually did well. I became a Christian, too, and found peace with God. My life completely turned around.

I once had a dream where my entire life was slowly swirling around on a great big stage. Major events of my life were portrayed with props and characters. As I watched the stage slowly turn and saw my life’s big moments from an objective perspective, I covered my face and cried. Some of the events brought me great shame, while others just made me sad. But then I looked up and I saw God looking down at me. His face was glowing white, shining down on the entire stage. It was as if He was telling me that He was here with me — through thick and thin — in everything. It gave me courage to face the giants.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

Maybe it’s a rare thing to be able to see your life this way, to see how life COULD have been had something not happened. But then again, I believe that God is always trying to get through to us, to tell us that He is here with us no mater what stage of life we are in. It’s very sobering. I think that the move to the country — as much as I hated it at the time — totally changed my life. It was the turning point.

Are you aware of a turning point in your life?

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us.

-Psalm 40

I’ll have more photos and some interesting stories on my travel blog, New York Traveler.net. I have about 200 photos and 20 video snippets to hash through yet. :blink: But today, I have to work and catch up on stuff I missed from yesterday, UGH.

Ah, but first things first– Meet Me on Monday… Tuesday edition!

Questions:

1. The best part of waking up each day is __________?

…Folgers in your cup….

2. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

I’ve always looked young for my years. Up until I was in my late 30s, I couldn’t buy a bottle of wine without being asked for ID. But I aged, suddenly, just a few years ago. I had herniated disks in my spine and was in a lot of pain for a long time. I took a lot of wacky drugs to help with the pain and I think that stuff, plus my very strenuous jobs while renovating my rickety old house, aged me. All of a sudden, my skin was saggy, my hair was limp and turning white… weird! But I am on my way back “up” again. I’m starting to feel stronger and have more energy, thank God. So I guess I am probably now looking my age, which is mid-40s.

3. Red or Green Apples?

Red.

4. Do you forgive easily?

Yep. By the glory of God, I do. I wrote about forgiveness in one of my posts: Forgiveness, Or He’ll Give Ya POWAH.

5. If you could live in any home on a television series, which would it be?

Gosh, I have no idea. I don’t watch television. I’m trying to remember some of the old TV shows I used to watch as a kid… hmmm…. maybe Grizzly Adams? LOL. Or…. uhh… I can’t think of anything! I’ll take one of those log cabins from the DIY Network, definitely.

Have a happy week, friends!