Anniversary

Marty pointed that out to me this weekend while we were in Homer walking the docks in the harbor that its been a year since we quit. I don't know how I could have forgotten, March 17th of last year was the last day I had a cigarette.

I still enjoy 2nd hand smoke in the rare times I find myself around it but I am so glad to be with out that old habit. I smoked for about 14 years. It's starting to feel normal not having cigarettes a regular part of my day. Ruling my day. Looking back I don't know how I smoked up to 2 1/2 packs a day.

I owe it all to God. I prayed and prayed for him to help me stay strong through every part of my day - which I hadn't really done well in hundreds of previous attempts to quit smoking - He totally came through for me.

Saran-wrapped Ford?

While in down in Homer we stopped out at the airport and sitting in the parking lot was this ford. My only guess is that it was someone's idea of a joke. We sure got a good laugh out of seeing it.

Sunset in Homer

Purdy view of the volcano, Mt. St. Agustine from the Spit in Homer.

Fruit?

Avocado's considered a fruit, exactly who decided this??

Luke 21:33-36

Luke 21:33-36 (NASV)
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Cat on the prowl

I took the lizard to the vet's office for a check up on Wednesday and they had a pound cat in a display cage for, ummm an easy target. Since I came in early I had all this time, I just had to check him out. He was so sweet and just seemed to be ok with anything. So after calling Marty and getting the lizards check up outa the way, I went home with the lizard and cat in tow. He's little and about nine months old, we're thinking of calling him Toby - not sure yet. He loves Bossco and Bossco is just fascinated with him. I think Bossco and I are really trippin over the fact that this cat on his first day here has no problem crawling right up and laying down half on me and half on the dog - with out being lured in at all. Things are a bit more entertaining around here these days.

The Sign of the Fish

Its been forever since I posted. Things have gotten unexpectedly busy around here these days and the thought of posting exzuted way to much brain power. But last week I was asked by a family member if I knew where the fish came from when we saw one on a bumper in traffic. I had forgotten but have a bookmarker that explains it all and promised I would share it- so here it is a week later with a bit more than the marker provided. Sorta neat to know the story after being clueless for so many years.



The earliest followers of Jesus were persecuted and forced to worship in secret locations. They adopted a secret symbol as a means of identification between fellow Christians in a pagan world. The earliest followers of Jesus were persecuted and forced to worship in hidden locations. Often these believers would scratch the secret symbol of a fish in the ground to help them identify other Christians.

Not only was fish a common food of the day, often used and referenced by Jesus during His ministry, but the letters which make up the Greek word for "fish" (IXØ U S ) also spell out a secret message about our Lord. I-Jesus, X-Christ, Ø -God’s, U -Son, S -Savior.

Smuggling

Marty and I ran into our sister-in-law while out to breakfast Sunday morning. She is incredibly talented at "twisting" different things out of balloons and made us an angel to take to a friend in the hospital. While she was making it she warned us that the balloons are made of latex and are not allowed in the hospital - so we would have to smuggle the angel up to our friends room. No problem I thought, I'll just hide it under my coat. Well the angel was so big she just about could have worn my coat and there's no doubt the many people we walked by to get to the 3rd floor saw the huge bulge under my coat. I'm not sure why I kept going with it under my coat but I did. I really didn't want it taken away. Looking back now I feel like an idiot for trying to hide it. We made it to the 3rd floor and as I was walking past a hospital employee in a waiting room part of the angels skirt, (or tutu because it was a ballerina with wings) popped with a really loud bang. The hospital staffer just about fell out of his chair. I can with out a doubt say I wasn't the only one trying to swallow my heart back into my chest. The guy looked right at me and asked what was that!? Of course there was no hiding the fact that it came from the huge bulge in my coat. This is where I was asking myself again why I didn't just carry it in to be seen by all, how would they have known it was latex?? I told him it was a surprise balloon and just kept going as fast as I could, thank heavens my friends room was right around the corner. When I arrived my heart was pounding, it was all I could do to stop laughing. I will never try and sneak anything into a hospital again.

Gospels

Why are we given 4 stories of Jesus' life instead of only one? They're told by 4 different perspectives...

Matthew - Seems to be especially for the Jews, often pointing out the fulfillment of prophecy.
Mark - Short and vigorous record appealing to active Romans.
Luke - Literary masterpiece appealing to cultured Greeks.
John - Concentrates on things not already told.

John 20:31 - "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name"

Books of the Bible

Old Testament.....
The 5 books of Law (Also knows as the Torah)

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

12 Books of History

• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth

• 1 Samuel
• 2 Samuel
• 1 Kings
• 2 Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles

• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther

5 Books of Poetry

• Job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiasties
• Song of Solomon (aka: Song of Songs)
  

17 Books of Prophecy (1st 5 being the major because of length, not importance)

• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel

Minor prophets (because they are shorter in length)

• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah

• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk

• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

New Testament...
4 Gospels

• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John

1 Book of History

• Acts

21 Letters

• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians

• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians

• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy

• Titus
• Philemon
• Hebrews

The remaining 7 letters were written by 4 authors, and each is named for its writer.

• James

• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter

• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John

• Jude

1 Book of Prophecy

• Revelation
  

Faith

Three things in life that are most valuable

Love, Faith, & Prayer

Look Tasty?

This morning I was so tired I didn't notice much of anything when I left. When I got to curves I parked under the light. When I got out of the truck and turned to lock it with the remote it hit me that something didn't look right. Took me a second to figure out that a moose had been sucking and licking on the side of my truck last night because I've never seen this, nor heard of such a thing. Upon telling my story to a few different people I found out that a moose sucking on the side of your vehicle isn't unheard of. I guess they like the salt. If you click on the picture it will open it up in a new window where you can click on the picture again to see it larger and clearer. When I drove home I saw 5 moose at the next door neighbors house, 2 young ones, 2 moms, and one bull moose with a great big set of racks on his head. I tried to take a picture of him but of course he wanted nothing to do with it and ran, actually they all ran. But that explains why the whole side of my truck was licked and not just a spot or two. It also explains the heard of moose tracks in the driveway.

Matthew 18:20

I dont know how I could have misseed this verse when I wrote up my prayer list.

"For where two or three gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

Spoken by Jesus

Prayer Verses

One of my present weaknesses is prayer. I almost always remember to pray before I go to bed but sometimes (more times than I'd like to admit) I fall asleep in the middle of it. I next to never remember when I wake up and occasionally remember to pray sometime in the middle of the day - unless I'm at church or a church function. I really needed some inspiration and reminder; these are the verses that I really liked out of all I could find.  My favorite so far is Matthew 6:5-8

1 Samuel 12:23 (NIV)
As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.

Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV)
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you . And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Luke 22:40-43 (NKJ)
When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will but Yours, be done. Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

Romans 2:26 (NIV)
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Saints: Holy ones - set apart (Romans 1:7; 1 Samuel 2:9). All true Christians are saints in the biblical sense of the word (Ephesians 1:12-14; 1 Peter 2:5;9). Not perfect people but those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior (Philippians 1:1; 4:21).

Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV)
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Be Joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 4:7-8 (NIV)
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

As I was looking all this up and typing it out, I have sounded like a broken record singing a favorite church song. I don't remember what comes before or after but I've sang over and over "...I need thee every hour, as I kneel in prayer I hope to meet you there, blessed Jesus hold my hand". - This tune in my head was only picked up because we sang it today, I'm sure its not by coincidence.

Caroling

We spent the evening last night out caroling with the church group. Sorta odd because I used to hide from carolers when I was little. But I really enjoyed it. There was a really large group of singers, and a lot of the folks we went to sing for were not able to leave their home so they all seem to really enjoy it. There were just as many adults and kids caroling but you would have thought it was mostly kids with all the snowballs flying. One of our buddies had a snowball war going with one of the other guys, it seem to end after our friend left a 15 pound snowball from a plow on the other guys front seat.

After the caroling was finished we all went over to one of the church members house for cider, cocoa, & chili which was super good. Before long somebody hollers that the cops were outside, sure enough they were with their lights flashing. Apparently the teens decided the snowball war wasn't over and took it outside to finish it at 11 at night, screaming an hollering. Neighbors didn't appreciate it. Although there was no alcohol it was strange; I haven't been to a party where cops showed since high school.

The stranger

There was a man at Christmas time who looked so out of place, As people rushed about him at a hurried sort of pace. He stared at all the Christmas lights, the tinsel everywhere. The shopping center Santa Claus' with children gathered near.

The music from a stereo was playing loud and clear, Of Santa Claus' and snowmen and a funny-nosed reindeer. He heard the people talk about the good times on the way, Of parties, fun, and food galore and gifts exchanged that day.

"I'd like to know what's going on," the man was heard to say, "There seems to be some sort of celebration on the way. And would you tell me who this is all dressed in red and white? And why are children asking him about a special night?"

The answer came in disbelief, "I can't believe my ears! I can't believe you do not know that Christmas time is here! The time when Santa comes around with gifts for girls and boys. When they're asleep on Christmas eve, he brings them books and toys!"

"The man you see in red and white is Santa Claus so sly. The children love his joyful laugh and the twinkle in his eye. They learn to love this jolly man while they are still quite small. When Christmas comes, he is the most important one of all!"

The stranger hung His head in shame, he looked at nail-pierced hands. His body shook in disbelief, 'twas not as He had planned. A shadow crossed His stricken face, His voice was low but clear. "After all these years they still don't know." And Jesus shed a tear.

Author Unknown

Happy Holidays

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Wonder if everyone else out there is as slightly panicked as I am. Still have a pile of cards to write and presents to buy and presents to wrap. Gulp. I feel so unorganized, I hate that feeling. I can't wait till this part is done so I can just enjoy.

Cartoons

Its super funny when the dog watches TV with you and gets all excited about seeing other animals. Its really odd when he does the same thing for a cartoon. Since I've been watching kids lately I found Boss Loves the animals in Cinderella and is fascinated with Bambi. Cartoons are not real, apparently children aren't the only ones who can't understand this.

Munching

Each day is a struggle. Even now in the busiest month for me all year long I can't get away from it. I can go 12 hours and forget to pee (all the time!) but can't go 2 hours with out craving food. I crave and think, sweet food, buttery food, rich food, even now I think oh yum. I've never had this struggle before. It has been since march since I quit smoking and this food craving has been like a storm brewing inside me only getting stronger ever since. My clothes are bigger then they've ever been and want for exercise in the cold of this winter is non existent. If someone could have shown me this when I started smoking way back when, I would have never started. I have stocked my fridge with fruits and veggies and emptied it of most of the bad stuff, next I need some exercise routines that don't drag. I'm thinking of ordering pilates, M thinks a treadmill would be good. At least this time of year they have those yummy mini oranges that peel easy. Those are my most favorite fruit ever, a few years ago they were called tangelo's, last year they were called clemetines, this year they have yet a new name I can't think of. Yum, I'm gonna go eat one right now.

Snowday

It dumped on us again here today. The children I babysit and I went out and played in it. I tried to shovel the driveway but they begged and begged me to come play with them, so made a snow cave with them instead. Now they have something to retreat to when outside playing. Just looking at it makes me feel little again.

Bible study was canceled for the night because of the snow, I need a hot cup of cocoa and a fire to go with this winter night.