Be Careful! If you get sick and sleep too long, you might wake up and have chickens!

Maybe this'll be a boring post, but it's my blog, and i can bore if i want to.

On Sunday morning, when i started feeling a little sniffly, i thought it must be allergies, and i made sure there was kleenex in my purse and just went on. At church, felt like i should go up for prayer, but i didn't want to, and i did not, and then after church, i just got worse and worse.

I didn't give in though. I cooked a nice Sunday lunch, burned trash, blogged, had adventures with the dixie cups, and was finally able to go to sleep around i think 2-ish in the morning. Monday morning, i got up long enough to establish with my husband that i probably wasn't going to be able to make lunch today and went back to sleep.

I woke up at 10-something, drank some hot tea, and fell back asleep a little before noon. Woke up sometime in the afternoon, i think. At some point i talked on the phone and also looked at my emails. I have no idea, at this point, what my husband ate for dinner. Although, at some point, i think i remember having some sausage. He brought home medicine from the store though, something to be compared to the nighttime sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever so you can rest medicine. I took one dose of that. That was good stuff. I was in bed (as opposed to the couch) by about 9:20, and i didn't know much of anything until James left for work. He came home during his break to see how i was feeling (he's such a sweetheart). I assured him i could make lunch, but he looked at me and looked around the house and saw right through me. He got lunch out today.

So i continued to sleep. I remember knowing that he had come home around 5 or something. But i kept sleeping. Then i heard some thump, thump, thumping in the back yard, so i got up to see. I opened the window and saw my loving man fighting with some chicken wire and some pieces of wood in the back yard.

Is this a beginner's chicken coop?

Yep

When are we getting chickens?

We already have them.

????

They're in the car.

So i went to see about chickens in the car, and i rescued them from the car.

And here they are.



Aren't they pretty?

In 20 or so weeks, we should start having fresh eggs. Yumm!

crash! boom! BANGS!

I should've written this on Sunday, but alas, i came home from church feeling bad and just got sicker and sicker from there. But before i knew i was getting sick Saturday night, my loving man was engrossed in something at the computer, and i found myself staring into the bathroom mirror, contemplating my lack of hair style. If you know Lindsey Tharpe, formerly Crouse, well, she's the last person who cut my hair - way back when she was still Lindsey Crouse. And she did a great job, as Lindsey always does. And it was o.k. because i was trying to let my hair grow long, blah blah blah. And i did. But i've been contemplating the use of a little bit of bang.

I remember when i decided to not have bangs anymore. It was in college, when it occurred to me, after long sessions of mirror contemplation, that i would look older if i didn't have bangs. And thus, i discontinued the bangs. Fifteen years later, it turns out i'm not so sensitive to comments indicating that i don't look my age.

While i advance much too close to my "mid-thirties," (shiver) i think i won't mind if someone thinks i'm only 18. What could it hurt?

The last time i was considering the bangs, i mentioned the idea to my husband and did not get rave reviews. However, i suspected that thin bangs may or may not even be noticed if he didn't know i was doing it, and different hair experiments in the mirror made me think that some wispy little ol' bangs might help my now increasingly popular ponytail and bun hair do's around the house look a little bit less i like i just completely don't care what i look like.

So i did it. I worked on the part for the bangs for like 30 minutes. I wanted to make sure it was absolutely straight. And then i started cutting. First i cut only a couple of inches, and then i took off a big chunk. And then i left them a little long because i remember all too well the dangers of cutting your bangs too short.

So here you go.



It's pretty funny to me looking at this picture now. I didn't realize i was getting sick at the time, but look at those eyes! I promise they're not usually so puffy. =)



Oh yeah, after i cut my hair, i just sort of fixed it too look decent and went and sat on the couch. James eventually emerged from the bedroom and kept looking at me funny and finally said, "You look extra cute." but he didn't know why.

haha

horrifying but strangely comforting

Warning, this is a little bit gross, i guess.

It seems i have a cold.

It came on really quickly. It makes me sneeze and sniffle and have a cheek ache and a forehead ache.

I came to my senses far too late in the evening that i might need medicine. We don't have 24 hour Wal-Mart here in Coldspring.

And after 2 1/2 rolls of toilet paper, which is what i use for facial tissue, and finally resorting to a clean soft t-shirt - in order to save my nose, i took the one and only sinus pill in the house and tried to go to bed. But it didn't work. I mean i was in bed, but the sleeping part didn't actually take place - only the miserable but now lying down part.

So i got back up and starting reading about "nasal irrigation." Previously this has been an off-limits option for me, but misery is the mother of desperate options. I don't have a neti pot or anything crazy like that. So i prepared the solution and found some paper dixie cups that i could bend to make a spout. The article says that you should turn your head so that one nostril is toward the sink and then pour the solution into the top nostril. Supposedly the solution is supposed to go in the top nostril and then out the bottom nostril. I think my nostril's might be deformed, 'cause they don't seem to be connected.

I started with the right nostril, and the solution didn't go anywhere except right back out the same hole it went in. So i tried the left nostril, and it did a little better. I accidentally breathed in, which while causing some minor gagging, helped the solution go up my nose and into my mouth, but not into the other nostril. Perhaps they meant to say, if your nose isn't stuffed up, it will do such and so. Not sure. However, this treatment was strangely comforting. I did get some relief, and the pressure is diminished. Also not sure if it was the saline up the nose or the advil cold. Hard to say. Breathing better through the left nostril though.

Weird post, i know. Sorry. This is what happens when i'm sick. Hope you still love me.

Treasures in Heaven

Working at home - being a homemaker - is so different from working at a desk job. When i worked at the courthouse, especially when i was in the District Clerk's office, it was very easy to know what needed to be done. It was all right there on your desk in your 4x6 cubicle, staring you in the face. And at the end of the day, you could point to a stack of files and say, "look at all these files i worked today." The judge's office wasn't as easy because the work didn't necessarily come to you. You had to go find it, but you could still point at the end of the day and say, "here is what i produced."

Homemaking is much different. There are lots of things that should be done that don't have to be done and that will never actually cause a catastrophe if you leave them alone. The boxes that need to be sorted through, the dusting the living room, the reorganizing the disastrously messy tupperware cabinet....that stuff. But if i don't make a list, i will likely get up in the morning, straiten up, cook lunch for the guys, serve lunch, and then when they're gone, possibly nothing. I'm horrible. Yesterday, i fell asleep at 1 - something in the afternoon and woke up at 3:45!

In addition to the recognition of my lack of motivation to do more than what has to be done, God has been talking to my heart about how i spend my time - it's been too much for me and not enough for my husband, whom i claim to be serving. So today i asked for God's help to do better, and then i did what i should absolutely always do; i started making lists.

So i used an index card and made a list at the top for the things i want to do today and a list at the bottom of the things i need to do "soon."

And i completed my today list and added to it and completed that, but i still miss a little bit being able to look at a stack of files and say, "there, i worked 95 files today, and now my desk is clean." Don't get me wrong; i certainly do not miss working for the county, but the organization and goal-setting was way easier. Of course i was in a 4 x 6 box! I think i will enjoy when we start harvesting vegetables being able to say, "look, i canned 40 quarts of green beans today," or something like that. That will be nice. Ok, i probably won't ever be able to can 40 quarts in one day; i think we would have to have a pretty giant garden to even produce 40 quarts of green beans....but you get what i'm saying.

In spite of the weird intangible sense of accomplishment, i do feel a lot better today. I'm very thankful. I feel like i'm honoring God with the work that i do get done; i know that He finds pleasure in humble service in honor to Him; and i know that He keeps a tally. Maybe today He can look on my spiritual storing up shelf and say, "look, Beth stored up 40 quarts of serving her husband today."

And that's the best accomplishment of all.

James' Smart Guy Job

When James got his job at Yokogawa, people kept asking me what he does, and i couldn't really give a decent answer. I still can't give a very good answer, but now i have pictures. My best understanding is that they manufacture little rooms that end up being the brains, so to speak, of places like natural gas plants (are they plants?) and oil rigs. The steel tubing you see is what he was been doing most recently. I takes some really expensive tools and training to learn to properly bend the tubing so that it's so pretty inside these rooms. Lots of hours of work in these pictures. I think that the rooms you see here are just part way through the process. They still have to have different fancy machines like gas chromatographs (sp?) and other complicated scientific things installed. It's very interesting, but i can't explain it.

yum a yummmmm mmm !

I just made and partook in some really really yummy meatloaf and roasted potatoes.

I googled some recipes here and here and then made my own modifications.

For the meatloaf, i started with about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of finely minced onions and a half a stick of real butter (salted). Truly, you should start any great recipe this way because it makes the house smell FANTASTIC! I sauteed the onions in the butter on low and then on medium until the the onions were very soft and getting a good caramel color. I'm extra thorough about onions because my husband loves the flavor but hates to bite into them, so if i sautee the heck out of them, that usually works.

Next i added about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of water to the onions. The recipe called for salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning but didn't say how much. Now i know what you're thinking. I thought it too, but we were both wrong. Poultry seasoning is for more than just poultry. I liberally salted and peppered my mixture and then sort of measured probably about 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning.

I continued to let that heat while i added 1/4 cup of ketchup, a couple small dollups of worcestershire sauce, 2/3 cup of oatmeal, and one egg to the ground beef which was in a large mixing bowl awaiting my attention. After letting the onion mixture heat about 5 more minutes and then cool slightly, i added it to the meat mixture and then mixed it all up with a wooden spoon. I am not afraid to use my hands as is traditional with meatloaf, but this time i used a spoon.

After the the meat was mixed well, i covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Then i packed the meat tightly into a well oiled loaf pan and baked for one hour at 350 degrees. When it was done, i let it sit for about 5 minutes, drained the grease out of the loaf pan and into a bowl, and then turned the meatloaf upside down on a platter. It isn't very pretty (you might remedy that with some gravy or something), but it tastes SO GOOD!

But wait! That's not all. As soon i had the meat in the oven, i started on the potatoes. I took about 5 small russett potatoes, washed them, quartered them long ways and then cut them into about 1/2 inch chunks. Then i let them drain and put them in a single layer in a 9 x 13 cake pan (i'm sure a cookie sheet would do just as well). Then i got the other half of that stick of butter i used earlier (be sure you kept it in the fridge for this) and sliced super thin slices and lay the slices on top of the potato chunks in the cake pan. The amount of butter i had didn't fully cover the potatoes like the original recipe calls for, but it doesn't really end up mattering in the end.

After all the butter was sliced and laid out, i seasoned the potatoes with lawry's seasoned salt, pepper, and dill weed. I was very generous with the dill because i really like dill. It took me almost exactly 15 minutes to prepare the potatoes for the oven, and then i slid them in right next to the meatloaf. Every 15 minutes, i took the potatoes out and flipped them and stirred them around a bit. The meatloaf was done at exactly one hour, so i took out the meatloaf and let the potatoes cook about 5 more minutes at 350 and then turned the oven to broil for about 5 more minutes. When i broil anything, i always keep the oven open a little bit to remind me to keep checking on my food. Otherwise, i will ALWAYS burn it.

When the potatoes were finished and cooled just a little bit, i spooned them out onto the platter on either side of the meatloaf. It turned out to be a cute and concise presentation. The guys actually commented on it. There was also a bowl of microwaved vegetables on the side.

The guys didn't really talk about the potatoes, but they raved and raved about the meatloaf. Truth be told, my mother makes the best meatloaf in the world, but this was a close second. There isn't any left if that tells you anything. I asked them about the potatoes, and my husband said "they were good." I tried what was left of them, and i thought they were AWESOME. You don't notice the flavor of the lawry's really. You just know they taste GOOD.

I took a picture of the meatloaf plate, but then my husband took the camera to work, and i'll have to post my picture later. =)

pray

If you haven't heard, the North Koreans have moved their long range missile to the launch pad. They say it could possibly reach Alaska. Please pray for the protection of our nation and that the plots of the North Koreans against our country would be unsuccessful.

whew!

did you see that big storm that came through here? kind of thought it might want to blow us away, but it turned out just to be a big crier. there is water everywhere! we finally got to see the little creek bed behind the house holding water - and plenty of it!

there is a rumor that james and i are going to a church tomorrow evening. one of his friends at work, who goes to the first church i told you about, recruited james to help with the tear down after a john jacobs show tomorrow night. i know it's a ploy to get him to go to church, and so does he, and if he's going to bite, then i guess i'm going to go with him and see what happens.

(wrote this last night but forgot to publish)

Industry Revitalization is Like Blood Sausage

The point of a free market system is this: businesses that have customers will thrive because they produce products that other people are willing and able to pay for; businesses that don't have customers will fail because they produce products that other people are not willing or able to pay for.

O.k. o.k. that's the nutshell version, but the free market system works because of these reasons. And because the free market system works, the government does not need to get its micromanaging hands into it.

Please bear with me for a couple of paragraphs; i'm going to make an attempt at an illustration of this principle.

During the nineties, i had the pleasure and privilege of spending 3 summers in the nation of Germany as part of a missionary group from my college. We would travel from town to town visiting different churches as pre-arranged by our guide. In each town, the church would arrange for our lunches to be catered. In one of these towns, it just so happened that our lunches were catered by a local nursing home, who i'm sure offered a very competitive rate. On one of the nursing home days, while we were waiting to be served our lunch, i remember hearing the fateful German words, "schwein blutwurst," (schwein = swine or pig; blut = blood; wurst = sausage).

As part of our training for this "missionary journey," we had been instructed that we should always eat all that was set before us and never show if we didn't like something, in order to never be offensive to the people there. But on this particular day, the smell coming from the kitchen, even before we saw our food, was enough to send a few tender palettes running to the restroom. And of those who were left, the first bite or two of this delicacy finished off at least 50% of our team.

Much to our relief, our kind hosts in that particular city were young and understanding. And we actually learned that they were watching us to see how we would do with the blood sausage, almost as a prank. They told us later that this isn't really what they would ever normally eat, but it was a food eaten mostly by the older generation who probably learned to eat such things during bleaker economic times.

Now, imagine with me that the government of Germany noticed that some old established blood sausage factory in (let's just say) Berlin was in danger of going out of business because the growing younger generation was no longer buying or eating their product. Now let's say that the government decided to supplement the blood sausage factory's budget so that they could stay afloat and continue to produce the legendary and nostalgic blood sausage.

You would think that the German government was full of complete idiots! Wouldn't you!?

Well, now there is legislation being introduced to change the tax status of newspapers so that they could continue to operate even though people aren't buying their newspapers. Do you know why people aren't buying their newspapers? Because people got computers. Do you know why people don't buy blood sausage? Because everything else tastes better than blood sausage.

This is like that.

a peaceful rant

See here's the thing. I seem to have misplaced my muse, so to speak, on the political blogging route. You know, that other blog. There's no point linking to it; i haven't written in it since - i don't know, sometime last week.

I guess that even though my stated goal was just to reveal untruth - or to reveal truth actually, in what we're told by the media, etc., i guess my other, unacknowledged, goal was to be a part of preventing the total downturn of my country.

But then when i read, and subsequently wrote, about the fed's decision to "buy our own debt," whatever kind of asinine double talking that is, by printing a trillion bucks, like that'll make everything better.......well, i guess i kind of inwardly gave up. I resigned myself to the inevitability of the coming American depression, possible revolution, and/or whatever other heinous and disappointing developments might come upon us, due to our own failure to act sooner, to stay true to what is right, and to stand up for the integrity of our nation. Our failure to obstinately stand in the face of political correctness and declare that there is a difference between stating the truth with kindness and stating a lie and calling it the truth - or giving a new, nicer sounding name to something whether that new name describes it or not. Our own personal failure to stand by what we know is right even when it's popular and easier to do everything on credit instead of living within our means. As Christians, our failure to truly invest in eternity instead of this life. These are the "little" things that start the tear on our integrity and eventually break wide open a giant gaping hole in the seat of our pants, revealing to the world and to ourselves that we have become fakers, a country and a people without substance and without anything of true value, because we gave up on the freedom that God gave us, and we handed over long ago the last opportunity to salvage what our forefathers handed down to us. And we used our freedom to freely become fools, blissfully prancing about the American field of "let someone else take care of it" and "it'll all work out in the end."

Stop the ranting here.

This "giving up" is not without its benefit. I remain a hopeless optimist, and have instead given myself over to the knowledge that i can depend on my God. I have encouraged my friends to store up food - not out of fear but out of faith. We have been warned that hard times are coming, and warnings are not to inspire fear but faithful preparation. And now i am satisfied with the assurance that God has a plan, and i trust His plan.

The problem is that now, i'm just not sure what to write on that other blog.

Two Things

Yesterday, following a full day wherein President Obama made his picks for the Final Four and then visited some manufacturers of "greener" cars, the president made an appearance on The Tonight Show, with Jay Leno. President Obama didn't say anything particularly new or different, and he was actually quite funny a couple of times. Too bad he's the president and not a public entertainer.

Let me just say - this is the first thing - that public appearances are fine, and it's nice to let the nation see that you're a nice guy, but if you're the president of the United States of America, and your country is facing a potential depression, i would personally like to know that you are in meetings in deep dark corners of the white house at least 20 hours of the day, discussing and searching to find a real solution for the problems that have been caused BY THE GOVERNMENT.

That was the first thing.

The second thing is that i think that all the president's big public appearances today were all just a distraction. Because the day before yesterday, the decision was made that in order to help our financial situation, we will "buy" $1 Trillion in debt from our own treasury. If that sounds funny to you, it should. I'm no economist, but my understanding is that that means, we've decided to print an extra trillion dollars. We don't have the gold to back it. We're just going to print it. Someone said, "isn't that bad?" Yes, it is. Do you remember the verse in Revelation that mentions "a quart of wheat for a day's wages?" Well, i think that this is how you get there. Printing paper money without actual gold to back it makes the worth of the dollar in the world's economy much much cheaper. This is the tipping point.

That was the second thing.

To read more about this and to get a better layman's explanation, visit Glenn Beck's website here.

this and that

It's really late, and i would like to be in bed, but i'm staying up because i want to see what has possessed the president to be on Leno tonight.

Sanford was returned to the wild outdoors from whence he came today. I finally figured out or decided that i think he was trying desperately to get out of my house but couldn't figure out how. I can't blame him. What a death trap! - for lizards anyway.

Tomorrow, a couple of james' coworkers are supposed to come over and have spaghetti. so i made the best yummy spaghetti and meatballs tonight, and i'll get up and make sure the house is tip top spic and span in the morning.

Not to much news on the personal level today. And i'm sleepy.

Good night.

1 - 2 - 3 - Heads Up!

Not too many posts the last few days.

The reason is that sometimes i'm just overwhelmed with the grand number of things --happening, or being reported by the media, or being advertised on television -- that i should be objecting to. And when i get overwhelmed, as described, it is so much easier to bury my head in the sand. But then i have to remember that when good people bury their heads in the sand in order to comfort themselves, they tend to allow really horrific things to happen. For example, the holocaust, slavery, and the legalization of abortion and removal of prayer from American schools.

The "sand" can be many things. It can be intentional ignorance, "i don't watch the news; it's always bad news." The sand can be self-comforting platitudes to help us believe that "everything's going to be o.k." And in a country where we have faced so little true adversity, it's easy to believe that "what's happening over there doesn't affect me." People like me have to make a decision to get out of the sand and face adversity with hope and courage and action.

I am a hopeless optimist, meaning i seem to be able to find a good side in everything, and i immediately, upon hearing bad news, want to see the good side to everything. I do that because, well because it's my nature, but also because hopelessness is useless and destructive.

And so is intentional ignorance and careless complacency.

I always agree that in every situation Christians should trust God. And trusting God includes asking Him to lead us in how to be prepared for the difficult times that are coming. And if you are a Christian, it includes asking God to use you. It does not mean that if we trust God that all the bad circumstances are going to magically disappear, and we'll be back at the mall on Tuesday.

On March 7, David Wilkerson, a widely respected Christian minister, shared with the readers of his blog, what he called an URGENT MESSAGE from God, warning Christians that hard times are coming and giving some instruction on how to prepare for them. This message spread pretty quickly. In fact, i actually heard a little bit about it on Glenn Beck's t.v. program, which really surprised me. But for many Christians, it incited panic.

David Wilkerson's blog posts following the Urgent Message clearly demonstrated that the message was about getting THROUGH tough times, and not a message to say, "here's how it's all going to go down, and there's nothing you can do about it." It was a message of warning but also of comfort and peace.

What i'm trying to say is, first, realize that our willful ignorance and platitudes have allowed the moral decline of our nation and our government. And second, please take action. I don't mean you need to incite a riot against evil politicians. I mean, sit up, take a look around, and realize that you can influence people. Give people hope. If you are a Christian, pray and ask God to show you where you can be useful to change the world you live in for the better; look around and see that there are opportunities all around you. And if you are not a Christian, well, reconsider.

"All that is necessary for the furtherance of evil is that good men do nothing."
-- Edmund Burke, an 18th Century statesman

glory

But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.
-James 1:9-10

Have you ever wondered about that scripture? I have. So today i did a very short little word study. I'll share.

The Greek word translated "glory," means to boast, exult, take pride in. Well, that's weird. You don't usually catch anyone in the Bible telling you to boast or take pride. And i didn't really understand fully the word "exult." So i looked that up in my regular old American dictionary and found the coolest definition.

exult: to show or feel a lively triumphant joy

hmm

Now i can't decide for sure if i should be glorying in my high position or my humiliation. On the one hand, i am very aware that in comparison to most of the world, i am a truly rich person. I eat three meals a day, i have electricity and running water; the list goes on and one. But i also know that most of the people who live i my country would probably classify our meager (in comparison to some) income and our tiny little house in the country, as "humble circumstances."

I can tell you that i am starting to wrap my brain/heart around the idea of a lively triumphant joy. We have a little that is given to us by God, and the little that we have is such a great joy. Anyway, after contemplating the scripture, i went outside with my camera so that i could "boast" to you about the Lord's blessings on me - some of the things that are giving me joy every day.



Dogwood Blossoms












Teeny Tiny Baby Peaches












May Apples



















Magnolias - SO Many Magnolias!
























Gardening - Participating in God's Creation!













Ferns! Fiddle Ferns!!















Poison Ivy!!!!!!















And Plenty of It!!!! And God has blessed us both with not being allergic to it!












Beautiful Wild Flowers!

Great Monday!

Great Monday!

got up early, straitened up, talked to insurance guy on the phone, fed dogs, fixed lunch, cleaned up, planted garden, punished very bad garden-invading dogs, made peace with dogs, burned trash, had bonding time with dogs, improved lizard habitat, identified poison ivy, burned poison ivy, rejoiced over better lizard color, greeted homecoming husband, kicked out odorous cat to tune of "smelly cat" song, gathered laundry, took laundry to laundromat, finished laundry, cooked fried chicken for dinner, watched wonderful movie, encouraged lizard, thought about recleaning kitchen after husband's spontaneous creativity, wrote blogs.

i love industrious days!

Update on Sanford

I was unable to catch any bugs for him. Apparently that's not my talent, but i have my eyes open for adventurous spiders. I put water on a giant cabbage leaf and put that in the window - he seems to get really scared and run away whenever i spritz water on the window sill. Then i read that sometimes lizards will eat soft sweet fruit. So i mashed up some strawberry jelly, and put it on the back of a spoon, and put the jellied spoon in the window. I think he might've eaten a little of it, because his color was a LOT better later. But then i thought that i'll leave it there because maybe it will attract bugs for Sanford to eat. He's pretty fast as long as he doesn't have to climb. Speaking of which, (this is so sad), i kept noticing that he was more active today, and that i kept seeing him in different positions near the window pane. And then i witnessed it....he was trying to climb on the glass. Front foot, other front foot, back foot, and then apparently he's not compensating well for the missing foot because he just fell off the window. Poor guy. Courageous though, i'm telling you. He just keeps trying! A lesson could be learned here.

That's all. It's crazy late. I need to go to bed.

Super Human Fish Cow Potatoes

I would like to share with you an article written by a friend of mine, concerning genetically modified organisms and crops. I have heard very little on this subject but found it very interesting. I would love to hear your thoughts and if you have other resources on this subject. If i had heard of some of this stuff, i would've thought it was a joke.

Say No To GMOs!!!
by Laura Hoyt

Monday, November 10, 2008


Playing God with the Environment

Christians must realize that protecting the environment from genetically modified crops or GMOs is essential for today and future generations. First, genetically modified crops increase genetic pollution. Next, it is unknown how GMO crops will affect our health and our environment. Last, whoever is in control of the food will control the world. Christians must take a stand against this evil tactic.

Many Christians are unaware of genetically modified organisms. "A genetically modified organism is a plant, animal or microorganism whose genetic code has been altered (What is a GMO?)." This allows plants and animals that can not mate the ability to transfer genes (What is a GMO?). Scientists are making changes to God's creation by mixing and matching genes. The Center of Food Safety states, "…biotechnologist have engineered novel creations, such as potatoes with bacteria genes, "super" pigs with human growth genes, fish with cattle growth genes, and tomatoes with flounders genes…"

Genetically modified crops cause genetic pollution. More GM crops are being produced that are able to resist viruses and insects. They are also more tolerant to herbicides (Economist 63). This may sound wonderful but there are two problems. When plants with herbicide resistant traits from the engineered crops transfer these traits to other related plants it can cause super weeds (Shiva72). The article "Genetically Engineered Foods Should Not Be Produced" states, "Superweeds could lead to "bio-invasions," displacing local diversity and taking over the entire ecosystems (Shiva73)." The second problem is that farmers will have to use more chemicals to kill these weeds. Hightower offers this fact, "More than 100 pesticides are now in the ground water in 40 different states… (Taylor)."

There is no certainty how GM crops will effect our health or the environment. Farmers are growing these crops all across America and we do not know the affects on humans or the environment. In the article "Genetically Engineered Food" it says that up to 45 percent of U.S. corn and 85 percent of soybeans are genetically modified. It says that around 70 percent of processed foods at the grocery stores have genetically modified ingredients (The Center for Food Safety). It is not even known if there will be risk in eating these foods. The Center for Food Safety states, "…the use of genetic engineering in agriculture could lead to uncontrolled biological pollution, threatening numerous microbial, plant and animal species with extinction…" This is very dangerous because it could damage many cycles. In the article "Genetically Engineered Foods Should Not Be Produced" Shiva explains that Superpests are another problem with GM foods. She tells how Monsanto and other corporations are inserting a toxic Bt bacteria gene in plants (Shiva74). Shiva states, "This particular Bt gene produces a toxin that disables insects, and the genetically engineered Bt plants are thus able to produce their own pesticide (74)." This has been going on since 1996 (Shiva 74). Monsanto has made many believe that farmers will not have to use as much pesticides because of this Bt; however, the truth is they will need to continue using non-Bt cotton and pesticide sprays on these resistant plants. This just increases the use of chemicals. This will cause further extinction of many valuable insects used for pollination. Eight species of insects now have a resistance to Bt toxins (Shiva 75). Oleary states, "Playing God with creation of food may have dangerous ramifications for the environment." The Center for Food Safety says that congress has not passed any law to manage GMOs.

Many Christians do not even know about genetically modified crops. I was also, unaware of it until my baby began breaking out with sever eczema and constipation. The doctors claimed it was from detergents and soaps, but I discovered this was not the problem. His problem continued on for a year. Soon I started looking into my child's nutrition because of a Christian health speaker named Doug Kaufman at www.knowthecause.com . We began to eliminate all the foods and add them back one at a time. Our discovery was amazing. We found out that our child breaks out anytime he eats a product with soy or peanuts. Almost all processed foods and even baby formula contain soy. This puzzled me, so I started to research about soy. That is when I found out that all soy is genetically modified. I learned that sometimes people are not allergic to soy but it may be the other genes that scientist are injecting them with. When scientist put genes into different species it can cause health risk (Economist 63). The Economist even goes as far as saying that soybeans that have been given brazil nut genes my produce an allergic reaction. Soybeans are in thousands of food products and if it is not spotted can cause life threatening situations (Economist 63). This is possibly why my son is unable to eat soy without an allergic reaction. This is dangerous because people who are allergic to certain foods will not know if there food has been altered are not. Imagine not knowing if an apple is really an apple or an apple with shrimp genes.

Lastly, whoever controls the crops will control the world. Seeds have already been patented and modified in America. In the article "Monsanto's Harvest of Fear" it explains how farmers have saved seeds for thousands of years. The United States Patent and Trademark Office would not patent seeds for many years because they considered them life forms. That all has changed since the 1980s. Monsanto has become the world leader in genetically modified seeds and has over 674 biotechnology patents (Bartlett and Steele). Unfortunately it does not stop there. Monsanto is still trying to access more patents and take more control. The article "Monsanto's Harvest of Fear" shows how powerful this company really is. Farmers who by the patented seeds from Monsanto are required to sign an agreement that they will not save the seed produced after the harvest. They are not allowed to replant or sell the seed to other farmers. This means that farmers must now buy seeds every year. Monsanto has produced modified seeds for soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton. They are working on sugar beets and alfalfa (Bartlett and Steele). Bartlett and Steele state, "This company is also seeking to extend its reach into milk production by marketing an artificial growth hormone that increases their output, and it is taking aggressive steps to put those who don't want to use growth hormone at a commercial disadvantage." This is very scary. The article also states that the company, Monsanto is buying up seed companies. They have paid big money for these large seed companies. As of today, Monsanto is the largest seed company in the world (Bartlett and Steele). Bartlett and Steele state, "Whoever provides the world's seeds controls the world's food supply."

In conclusion, it is clear that there is a need to protect the environment from GMO crops. Christians should not sweep this under the rug any more. In Genesis 1:28 God said, "…Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth…(New American Standard Bible)." God has given us the authority to subdue and dominate his creation. We have the responsibility as overseers of God's creation to protect it. We must speak out and let others know about the secrets that are hidden in our food here in America. It is also important to write representatives about GMO issues. We must be aware of future modifications that will continue to go through congress on a daily basis. We also need to pray for our representatives to make wise choices. We may not be able to go back to the way things once were but each family can start taking action in their own homes. Start growing gardens with non-GM seeds, and learn how to save the seeds to pass down to future generations.
***************************************************************************

Works Cited

Bartlett, Donald L. and James B. Steele. "Monsanto's Harvest of Fear." Vanity Fair

May 2008.

Economist. "Genetically Engineered Foods Should Be Produced." 2001.Cothran 63.

Cothran, Helen, ed. Global Resources: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003.

New American Standard Bible, La Habra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.

Oleary, Denyse. "Genetically Engineered Foods – Unholy Harvest?" all-creatures.org.

3 Nov. 2008. .

Shiva,Vandan. "Genetically Engineered Foods Should Not Be Produced." 2000.

Cothran 72-75.

Taylor, Monette. "Jim Hightower Attacks 'Monasanto's Intimidation' of Farmers

and Their Crops." Say No to GMOs. 18 Oct. 2001. 3 Nov. 2008 .

The Center for Food Safety. "Genetically Engineered Food." 3 Nov. 2008 .

What is a GMO? 6 Nov. 2008 .

churching

Today, i went to church #2 that i told you about. I think i've decided that that's where i'm going to stay. The church is called City of God Worship Center. Next Sunday, they celebrate their 3rd year in existence.

It's a smallish congregation, but they're close to my home, and they're obviously desiring the move of God in their church and in this community. And they're working hard to make it happen and going out on limbs in faith to allow God to use them.

It's easy for me to go in to a place like that and start critiquing, so i asked God to help me find what area He wants me to be used in....and to keep my critiques to myself.

That's all today.

Freecycle(TM) Funnies

In today's economy, more and more Americans are or should be turning to organization such as Freecycle(TM) or Craigslist to find free or cheap used items from others in their communities. I've been a member of Freecycle(TM) for about a year now. I've acquired perfectly good used appliances, kitchen items, and a very unusual cat, who i have come to love dearly - all for free. I've also gotten to give away gardening items, siding, scrap appliances, and household items to very grateful receivers.

The point of Freecycle(TM), in particular, is to keep usable items out of the landfill by giving them to others who might benefit from them. Sometimes when the person offering is describing the item being offered, the advertisement is kind of funny, and it's a good thing they're not asking money for this stuff.

I've collected a few funny or entertaining ads that i've read, for your entertainment.

Here's a fun one: the free haircut

Im a licenced cosmetologist working for (named company) and looking for ppl interested in getting a free haircut Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10am-1pm ONLY. I would be cutting your hair shoulder length adding some layers. Serious inquiries only.

I love it! I'll give you a free haircut, and here's the style you're getting.
***

This person should get into marketing.

From Dillards and very old. This was my sister's and it is in bad shape. She had dogs, it is dirty, and it has some worn areas and a few tears. A super cleaning and some sewing, it will be a nice sectional for someone having nothing otherwise.

I repeat. This sectional is not in good shape at all. But free is free.

Must pick up tonight. No smoking, if that matters.

I love brutal honesty!
***

This guy, as they say, could sell a freezer to an eskimo.

Free hot tub shell only, no pumps,heaters,etc. It is approximately 11 ft. x 7 ft. Has some scratches and needs cleaning. Refurbish it, use it for a koi fish pond? The possibilities are endless.
The fact is that you NEED it.

I was just thinking that this morning: i really do NEED a dirty, scratched up piece of a hot tub to landscape my yard!
***


This one's unusual...

Mecca brand reversible coat, one side camo and the other black. Medium size. Would like for it to go to a cute hip-hop guy who can pull off the intended look.

That's a lot of pressure. Can you imagine having to audition for a free coat?
"Sorry, sir, you're not cute enough. Next!"
***

Here's an enticing offer:

Please read the whole thing... First needs to be picked up between 6-
6:30 today. you do not have to take all. these are bags of girl
clothes from newborn and up to bigger size no i do not know did not
look. also bags of stuffed animals and toys. okay now the catch these
were in a container that has take in water no not all got wet but most
did. you are welcome to what you want the rest will go to the burn
pile. the wet clothes just need to be wash with bleach to get the
smell out. toys also bleached from dirt.

Ew.
***


And now, the pièce de ré·sis·tance of funny free ads.

FREE: horrible, uncomfortable twin mattress
Yes, that's right, I am giving away the worst mattress known to man for the unbeatable price of FREE. "This sounds like a horrible offer," you say. Au contraire, sir. Allow me to explain:

Do you have relatives coming to visit soon? Do you hate these relatives? Perhaps your mother-in-law is on her way in to town or your sister who tried to steal your boyfriend back in high school is coming. What better way to passive-aggressively torture these unwanted guests than to outfit the guest bed with a sheet of granite cleverly disguised as a mattress? They will never want to visit you again after spending a weekend in your torture chamber of a guest room.

Perhaps you like a firm sleeping surface, but are frowned upon for sleeping on the floor. Think you can't find anything harder than hardwood? Try this mattress! Don't waste your money on a "sleep number bed" with the firmness turned all the way up. In time, the air in the mattress will start to leak and the mattress will go soft. This mattress will NEVER go soft!

This is a very high quality mattress. It was purchased at Gallery Furniture, so you know you're getting something good. There are no stains on it ..., but if you want me to make up a really gross backstory for the mattress to make you feel even more evil for taking it, I can do that. I have a very good imagination and will go all out.

All you have to do to acquire this mattress is drive out here and get it. I understand there is probably a very high demand for a mattress of this quality, so please be patient if I do not reply right away. Please include a story of why you need a horrible mattress if you like. We can share our sadness together.

Pick up only. I think this mattress would melt my car with all the evil it contains if I were to try to deliver it to you anyways.

*****

As to the evil mattress, i wrote and asked the writer of that ad if she had gotten any interest. She told me that the woman most likely to get the mattress at the time was someone who had a good story about her "dirtbag, deadbeat, brother-inlaw." Yikes!

The 912 Project

Yesterday was the We Surround Them event i told you about.

I watched it, and i was pleased with how it turned out.

The pictures that were sent in to the show were thousands. They didn't say how many came in. What they did say is that onslaught of pictures being submitted shut down the FoxNews server FIVE TIMES and that the mosaic you can see here is made up of about ONE TENTH of the pictures that came in.

The show was simple, not dramatic. But it was touching and impactful to me. First, i have great respect Glenn Beck. It seems to me that it takes great courage to be someone who works for a news network (Fox or not) to stand up on national television and do something honest and forthwright and transparent. To say, "i love this country, and i fear for it," and to make the appeal to the nation to pull together and talk about what's happening and what can be done.

Basically, that's what he did. He said that when it comes down to it, faith in God is the most important thing to survival, and that family is next, and that those of us who think alike are bigger than those who don't, and we need to stand up and be heard.

Glenn also announced the opening of a new website, www.the912project.com. The numbers 912 refer to the day after 9-11, the day when Americans said they would never forget. The website is meant to be an online community where you can connect with conservative Americans and where you can be educated about the day's events.

I hope you'll check it out and find a venue to speak truth.

Green Courage

On Wednesday, the last time i wrote, i told you about Sanford, the friendly neighborhood anole lizard.

And i told you that i might try to get pictures of the herd for my next post.

Well, on Thursday, as it was pouring down more and more icy cold drenching rain, and my hyper dogs were losing their minds on my porch, i decided to get some pictures.


Here's Barney. Isn't he sweet! Such a darling...




Here's Charlie. You can't tell it so much from the pictures, but they're very very different. Charlie is more friendly than Barney, but Barney has depth. =)




Here's Charlie trying to bite the camera.



Here's the two of them trying to look sweet. They're very photogenic.





Here's where they forget about the camera and start fighting with each other.




And here's where they decide to attack the cat. Poor Stanley!





Anyway, after i took all those pictures, i came back inside and thought, "hey, i could add another picture of Sanford!" It was 1 - something in the afternoon. I had glanced in the bathroom several times during the morning to see if Sanford was up on the glass, but i hadn't seen him. So i thought i would go do a more diligent search. It was then that i realized that the window was closed. And then i remembered that James had been in the shower early this morning - and that i hadn't told him that the reason why i had left the bathroom window ajar was so that i wouldn't catch Sanford in the rubber stripping. And then i found him (reader discretion is advised). Sanford was pinned at the bottom of the window, holding perfectly still.

Big breath! The window is loose enough that i was able to pull on the section that moves to let my lizard friend out. I wasn't sure if he was going to move, but he did. He pulled himself out of the window and onto the window sill. And i started crying. Poor Sanford was still moving, but he was breathing awfully hard, and while it looked like his torso was in tact, Sanford was having to support one lifeless injured leg, and his tail was now just a bloody nub. Oh Sanford!

I was surprised by my own very emotional reaction. Who knew i was so attached to this little vagrant lizard! But apparently i was. I kept thinking that he must be in horrible pain. First i got online, looking for someone to tell me if i could give him a tiny piece of aspirin or something - but there was nothing. Then i started calling veterinarians. I called four veterinarians, finally being referred to Texas Parks and Wildlife, who took a message. By then, i couldn't even find Sanford; he had found some hiding place in the cavity beneath the window, and i feared i he had just gone away to die. Oh sadness.

Friday morning, i found a chair to stand on - and a pair of tweezers - and set about to discover Sanford's tiny body in my window. He was in the cavity beneath where i thought he was, and when i poked him a little, he didn't move. So i took another deep breath and started to pull his leathery body out of the cavity by the neck - to which Sanford greatly resisted! Woohoo! He's alive. I had prayed for Sanford the day before, and i had begged him to live. I didn't have a lot of confidence that Sanford heard me, and i knew God heard me, but i wasn't sure that the life of this little guy was in God's agenda.

By the end of the day yesterday, Sanford had moved to the other side of the window (where it's easier to see him), and he was sometimes poking his little nose up like he was getting some fresh air. Before i went to bed, i put a lamp on the window sill, hoping it would make the window a little warmer, several times i sprinkled the window with water, hoping Sanford would drink some.

This morning (very late morning) when i woke up, Sanford was out of the cavity and on the window sill, soaking up some sun. And when i took a picture of him, he ran very fast for a lizard with a gimp leg. And i was delighted.

Well, i can't very well put Sanford out into the wild now. I've crippled the poor guy, and i'm not even sure whether he can climb anymore. I think he might need some rehab.

So i'm making plans to make him a little habitat. He's a courageous little guy as lizards go and as far as my knowledge extends, and i want him to have a happy life, as happiness goes for lizards. Maybe we'll even find him a Mrs. Sanford.

Oh, here's the picture. It's a happy picture now because he's getting better. Viewer discretion is advised.

Comic Relief

If only, to have been in the room when some very out of his/her mind courageous advertising person said to a very well-paid business executive, "let's get a llama!"



What?!

Mr. and Mrs. Sanford

O.k. i didn't get pictures of the herd today. There was this crazy cold front slash icy cold rain phenomenon that did not encourage my outdoor pet photo shoot creativity. However, i did get a picture of Sanford. Sanford has taken residence in my bathroom window. He earns his keep by entertaining my curiosity during bathroom visits, and i try to do my best to ensure that his stay in my home does not result in his death. Actually, i guess i don't know if Sanford is a girl or a guy. I just assume that all tiny animals are boys.

Anyway, i've been watching Sanford, being careful not to open or close the window too quickly for fear of smashing his tiny little lizard body, making sure that the blinds are turned just right so that he can safely lie on them on sunny days to get a little sun. He has been in the window for several weeks, and i started to get worried. His color was getting duller and duller (is that a word?), and the other day i actually saw his ribs. So i started doing some reading to find out what might be wrong with him.

One thing i read is that he could catch food in the window screen - tiny little bugs, you know. And then i realized, i had left the window closed for a long time, and he hadn't been able to get to the screen. I was starving him out! So yesterday, i opened the window - carefully! And Sanford livened up a couple hours later. And by this morning, his color had returned to the traditional bright lizard green. Whew!

I was thinking about making a little environment for Sanford on the window sill. You know, a little plant, maybe a basking rock, something to spritz water on the window for him so he wouldn't get dehydrated....when apparently Sanford decided to start the trek toward the great outdoors. About the third time i had nearly missed stepping squarely on Sanford, i realized....it's spring time! Sanford must want to go and find Mrs. Sanford!

Well, Sanford had given up on Mrs. Sanford after the fourth-ish brush with death and was headed back up the wall toward the window just as the cold winter air blew back into town. And now, as you can sort of see in the picture up above, Sanford is hiding in between the panes of glass for shelter from the mean cold air. And i can't close the window because i don't want to smash him with the rubber stripping. And poor Sanford's color has returned to a dull brown. I think he's sad.

I wish i could get him a heating lamp and install an itsy bitsy pet door in the screen so that he could have Mrs. Sanford in for visits, but i probably can't do that. Wouldn't that be nice? The whole little Sanford family living on my window sill...basking on the slats of the blinds. That would be fun.

Pray Today

This evening, at 9 - something i think, a shuttle lift off scheduled.

Ever since i heard about it, i have had a serious feeling of warning about the lift-off. Please pray with me for the protection of the shuttle and the astronauts and our nation.

Thanks

The Picture You Asked For

Here he is: my three dollar potato pantyhose.

In other news, i re-acquired my digital camera today, and that is a delight i cannot easily put into words.

Maybe tomorrow you will get to see pictures of my herd of hungry pets. I tried to take pictures in the dark, but one of the pets was missing, perhaps asleep somewhere, and solid black dogs don't take particularly good pictures in the daylight, much less the dead of night.

Example:

That large black smudge is Charlie. He made a good effort, but i woke him up mid-night-ish, and he couldn't quite get his eyes open for the picture.

Stanley, on the other hand, was ready for anything.

Ways to Get Involved

One of the reasons i started publishing this blog is that it has become obvious to me that people like me, Christians, conservatives, people who value virtue and a free society, really need to start doing something besides grumbling about how our government is run. I am convinced, and no i can't back this up with any data, that if all American citizens got involved in standing up for what they really believe, people like me are in the majority.

Therefore, true to my realization and determination to act on my values, i would like to present to you several tools, actions that you can be involved in, to help make your voice and the collective voice of people who believe the way you do - heard.

I know that many of you have received forwarded emails on several of these things, but sometimes emails are circulated without the background information, so they seem like some dreamy scheme that someone concocted late at night and wrote an email about. So i've done a little bit of research for you to take a look at. There's no point in complaining if we refuse to do something, right?

1. RED ENVELOPE DAY
I think everyone i know has received this email, but it wasn't until i did a little simple research that i discovered the originating story. And now, if i can get my hands on a red envelope, i think i will participate. Participants in this project are instructed to buy a red envelope and mail it, sealed and empty, to the whitehouse with the message printed on the back of the envelope, on March 31, 2009. Here's a link to the blog of a fellow named Christ Otto, who is one of the promoters of this project. His name, by the way, is not meant to be pronounced like our Lord. It rhymes with "mist," and it's German. And here's the link to a specific FAQ about the Red Envelope Project. According to this blog and several other sites, this was started by Christians who felt directed by God to do this. They have convinced me that this is not some kind of politic stunt or in any way a money-raising opportunity as i had suspected. Therefore, i have peace to endorse this project, provided those who send envelopes follow the action with prayer for God to turn the heart of our president toward Him and to save our nation.

2. The New American Tea Party or the Great American Tea Party is the name being given to a host of different gatherings and projects in protest of government spending, the stimulus bill, and of course, higher taxes. Sadly, the information on this movement is pretty disorganized and difficult to track down. Most of the information i have found is organization for different protest stations around the country to meet on Tax Day, April 15. To learn about a location near you, click here. Other Tea Party information can be found at the following sites: http://www.pjtv.com/, http://www.tcotreport.com/,http://www.reteaparty.com/, and michellemalkin.com.

The email i received about this particular movement was encouraging participants to mail an envelope with a single tea bag in it to the whitehouse, on April 1. I have been unable to find any information on the websites about this particular movement, so i'm unconvinced about its possible impact. If i could find some level of organization on the tea-bag-in-the-envelope bit, i would possibly endorse it on conditions. I would not endorse it in lieu of taxes or with an included i.o.u. for taxes, which has been a suggestion made by some.

I am not against the "Tea Party," but i do advise that if you want to be involved, proceed with caution and prayer. Many people are very angry, with reason, and i do have some concern that these protests may result in a type of rebellion that my readers would not necessarily want to be part of.

3. In an effort to honor the president, i want to be very careful how i portrait this opportunity, but i still want to let you in on it. This past week, the nation of Great Britain, who has been this country's very strong ally, took great insult at the actions of our president and his staff. I hesitate to speak to the president's intentions, so i will not. This article sums up the biggest part of the situation quite well. It also gives you, an American citizen, the opportunity to send an apology to the British Embassy, in Washington DC, by mail or by Facebook. (Who knew an embassy would have a Facebook page?!) I for one, intend to send an apology to the British Embassy, but i'm going to make sure to prepare my heart and hold it before God before i do it.

4. This is the last one, and i've already told you about it. It's the WE SURROUND THEM movement. This one is really just a tool to help ourselves to be aware that we are not the minority, and we are not alone, no matter how strongly the liberal media tries to make us feel like we're the lonely weirdo's of the country if we believe in God and a free society and a free economy. The "reveal" is scheduled for this Friday. The only thing to do right now, if you want to be involved, is to send your digital picture to Glenn Beck, with the understanding that it may be "revealed" on national television as part of Friday's special show on the Fox News channel. If you want, you can also host or participate in an area viewing party.

Overall, today was a successful day, i succeeded in completing or finding a substitute for all of my to-do's. I saw an inchworm that looked exactly like a miniature of the ones on sesame street. He was actually more like a centimeter worm, and he was really fast! I mean this little guy could really move! I watched him for a while and helped him get over a crack once. It was fun. Later i read that he's larva from something, but i stopped reading before it could make me like him less.

I thought i'd share a goodness with you tonight. It's kind of personal, and it's a story to thank God with.

I've been a member at CTK since '01 or '02. That was the beginning of a renewal of my relationship with God - in a really big way. Between that time and now, my husband has been far away and close and far away and close and not quite as far away in regard to the church and usually his relationship with God. Through all that time, i have been very thankful for the encouragement of the women and men in the church to press on and grow in my relationship with God. I became more and more involved and led a small women's group for a long time.

Over time, i longed more and more for my husband to follow God with me, for us to serve together, and i became disappointed a lot. And after a while, my attitude about serving became one that was in spite of my husband. In fact i kind of decided that i would cover my disappointment by burying myself in church work - and if that led to my husband leaving me, well, that wasn't my fault. I don't know that i thought those words consciously, but my attitude was really that wrong. And because of my attitude, my marriage really began to suffer. Part of me was involved in church as a silent protest against my husband and his failure to cooperate with my unspoken plan.

Then one day, maybe a couple of years ago, i don't remember what i was thinking or even exactly where i had been. I remember walking down the street toward our apartment and realizing, as though God were speaking to me almost audibly, that i had turned my back on my husband. That my husband's actions in regard to church and God were a result of deep heart injuries that i had chosen to ignore. And i realized that i was the only Christian in my husband's life that he would talk to, and i was showing him the love of God least of all.

That realization broke my heart and led to a lot more realizations about my motivations for "serving," about my desire to appear to be a good Christian and not let anyone see where i was weak. It hadn't started out that way in the beginning, but it had certainly developed into something that was certainly NOT motivated by the love of God. It was motivated by the love of my own reputation.

The responsibility of leadership is heavy, and i realized that my stagnant life was resulting in stagnation in the lives of those who i proposed to "lead." I was leading them, truthfully; i was leading them backward, and i didn't know it. Upon this realization, i eventually came to the excruciating conclusion that i needed to give up those things i was using as a facade of holiness, and that included being a home group leader.

I let my overseer know that i could no longer lead, and she recruited the help of those above her to try to convince me otherwise. I know it looked like i was withdrawing from the church and from God. But i knew deep inside me that i was taking a step that i needed to take in order to get real with myself before God.

As part of my getting real, i purposed myself to be a minister to the heart of my husband. I started loving him - really loving him.

I've gone through a lot of changes and things i never really planned for. And i told you all that to say that God is truly faithful. His mercies are unfailing. And my marriage is better than it has ever been. I didn't forsake God to avoid conflict. I clung to God and loved my husband and trusted God - and still do. I can take no credit. The credit is all God's.

There are some things and moments in my life....things that i know and cannot be convinced otherwise.....were God's will. One of those things is my marriage to James. I didn't screw up by marrying him and then God salvaged our marriage. I know for sure that God meant for me to marry James, and was in His will to do so. I know that. And i am so thankful that He knew the end from the beginning, and He has great plans. My husband's heart is soft toward me, and mine is soft toward him, and together we really are growing toward God. It doesn't exactly look like traditional "growing toward God" all the time, but there is a transparency and genuiness that was not there before....toward God and each other.

All credit to God.

You Might Be A Redneck...or something better

Yesterday afternoon, i was multi-tasking with Glenn Beck on the t.v. while i was cleaning the kitchen. And i had just kind of stopped paying attention when Glenn said his next guest was Jeff Foxworthy. No offense to Jeff Foxworthy, but i didn't think he would have anything beneficial to say about politics; i figured he was there for comic relief.

Anyway, the room got quiet at one point, and i heard a few words in Jeff Foxworthy's voice that made me think i had fallen into the twilight zone. The show went off just then, or something else required my attention, so i went online later to see if i could find out what he said.

Here are some snippets from Jeff Foxworthy in a radio interview with Glenn Beck:

Well, and we weren't intended to live that way. You know, I say to people, you know, if you look at a microwave oven, well, somebody created that, and when they created it and planned it and designed it, they had a purpose in mind for it. And the same thing with a coffee mug. Somebody created it and planned it and designed it. Well, we're infinitely more complex than that and so it just seems foolish to me to think that we are just happenstance, you know, and so if we were created, then somebody created us with a purpose and a design in mind, and I think we've so gotten away from what that purpose is.

I don't believe in denominations because the word denominate means to divide. And again I don't think that's what we were created for, you know. I think we were -- we're not supposed to be divided. And, you know, and if you believe in God and you believe he's infinitely created, then we don't all have to look and act and sound the same.

Anyway, the interview is pretty long. You can read a transcript of the whole interview here. I was pleasantly surprised to be witnessing two big names discussing their faith in God, the same God i serve, in a positive light. They discussed the importance of family and how Jeff Foxworthy has become the most prosperous man in comedy, even though he has turned down movies and other offers if they interfered with the time he wanted to be spending with his children. They also discussed ... well they said things in a way that portrays them as believing that God speaks to us now. And i agree.

And i think i'll think of Jeff Foxworthy differently the next time i see him also.

whew!

Weekend schedule

Saturday: slept until late hour of 9:30 ish
12:30 - husband leaves for important family matter
12:30 - wife pads around house aimlessly and peacefully, leaving dishes for another time - sings songs very very loudly - explores interesting but not particularly purposeful stuff on internet - ignores politics entirely
5:00 - realize tonight is daylight savings
8:00 - husband returns home
8:30 ish - husband finally comes in the house after talking with brother forever
8:30 - 10:00 - sort of plan tomorrow, learn about husband's family situation solved - continue to ignore kitchen along with politics - hear about genius brilliance for husband's next invention - change a few random clocks to reflect tomorrow's time - let husband guess which one is correct
10:45 - go to bed while husband sinks into brilliance induced genius trance while staring at potential invention
12:30 something - finally have last look at clock and realize only 5 more hours to sleep
5:30 - awake or at least walking around - can't find remote to shut off weird program on t.v. - ignore t.v. and take shower and make pretty for church, eat breakfast, iron shirt
6:30 - talk to sleeping husband who refuses to awake
6:50 - husband finally awakes upon announcement of hair drying requirement
7:00 - put on ironed shirt - realize iron didn't take - pick different shirt
7:30 - leave with husband to go to Conroe
8:00 - shop at Wal-Mart - very quickly and efficiently - finally a new brita filter
8:30 - shop at Lowe's - buy gardening tools and blackberry bushes
10:00 - go to church at CTK while husband goes to Home Depot, hear excellent sermon, greet loving friends, delight in fantastic worship/praise service (not in that order), linger after service is over because it's so nice
12:30 - go out to lunch with husband and long lost CTK friends - overstuff on CiCi's Pizza
2:00 ish - go to Home Depot - purchase vegetable seeds
3:00 ish - arrive home - greet very hungry pets - husband begins digging gardening plots and training puppies not to touch them - begin seedlings in weird little peat moss growy biscuit things that apparently are very old and don't work that well - go out and cheer on hard working man making garden - husband plants blackberry bushes - continue to ignore politics and kitchen
6:00 - dinner - not really that hungry, fantastic dinner is short-lived because of previous pizza overstuffing
6:30 - more digging, dog training, laundry sorting
8:02 - arrive at community laundromat 2 minutes late, rush to get clothes in washer as not to arouse suspicion about lateness - wash really fast and dry faster - stuff clothes into laundry bags for maximum wrinkling
9:02 - leave laundromat with clean soon-to-be very wrinkled laundry
9:05 - finally arrive home, greet forever hungry pets, fail in training cat to eat his own food, throw cat out of house
9:15 - husband is baking cake? in dirty kitchen? where did he find a place to do that? - answer lots of questions about location of baking and mixing tools while starting blog post entry
9:30 - continue blog post entry, plan to-do list for tomorrow - need to start compost heap, burn roots pulled from garden plot, burn garbage (have to shrink my carbon footprint), clean kitchen (have to shrink my filth footprint), pray before checking in on politics and remember Pastor's message that EVERYONE is your neighbor (apparently that scripture includes politicians AND the president!), plant onions and garlic in garden, start potatoes on road to making roots for planting, fold wrinkly clean clothes, and write two blog entries, whew!

I can do all things through Christ, Who gives me strength!

9:52 - decide to publish blog post as is and try to go to bed - cake smells good...
9:55 - notice heavy eyelids
9:56 - answer question about toothpick location while proofing blog and not actually publishing as is
9:57 - renew determination to post as is
9:58 - title post and publish

three dollar potato pantyhose

near Christmas, my husband bought from a vendor on the square in Coldspring, a crafty little item which consists of a knee hi stocking filled with cedar shavings and has glued on it 2 little eyeballs. it also has some red and green ribbons tied to the top where the stocking is knotted up so as not to release the shavings.

actually, he bought 2. one i placed in his shirt drawer. the other is in the corner of our bathroom counter. it has been there since he bought it, and i haven't even removed the $3.00 pricetag.

it's one of those things that has actually disappeared from my observance. i don't ever think about it unless i'm cleaning the bathroom, and i have to move it to clean up the errant cedar dust.

i have had two guests that have noticed my smelly cedar thing and asked about it. but just as i can't figure out the name for it (and i know what it is), neither can my guests.

yesterday, my friend asked me, "what's the deal with the three dollar pantyhose thing in the bathroom?"

just a few minutes ago, i remembered another friend who asked me about the "potato with eyes" in the bathroom.

and just now, i went to the bathroom, and unusually noticed the little purchase in the corner, and i simply burst into tears of laughter.

now, it's going to give me the giggles every time i think about it. what must people think when they use my bathroom and see a three dollar potato pantyhose stocking with eyes????!!!! oh! i can't stop giggling!

now i have to keep it in there just for grins and to see if i get to hear anymore innovative names for it.

heehee!

Whole Other Country

In regard to blog hits, yesterday i got quite a few hits off that cara's teeth bit from the other day. Sadly, quite a few of them were led to this blog where i talked about getting hits on the other blog, instead of the blog i actually WANT complete strangers to read. So i adjusted my settings to tell Google to stop including my personal blog in their search engine. The technical term is that you have to tell Google to stop "crawling" your blog. EW. Yes, please, stop crawling around in my blog, would ya?

A new happy development is that someone in the Phillipines (that's a whole other country) got a hit on my polar bear expose. I couldn't reproduce their search, so i don't know how far into the search they had to go to find me, but i got a hit, and that's what i want. Now i just have to make my articles/entries interesting enough that people who don't know and/or love me already will actually stick around and read them.

Subjects for articles are coming to me more and more easily, and i now have a designated legal pad in the living room where i sporadically scribble down some genius idea that just came to mind so i don't forget to blog about it. =)

I'm getting a lot of enjoyment out of writing. I've always enjoyed writing, but mostly just about myself, so it's fun and interesting to start trying to find my voice when it comes to writing about things that aren't me. I wanted to thank those of you who are reading that other blog, especially when you comment that something that i wrote moved you in some way. That is my ultimate goal - to move people positively and ultimately toward God.

Well, i was just thinking this morning, that i need a break from the news (which i've been watching quite a bit of in my attempt to keep up with things to write about), when my dear friend, Meredith called and suggested a visit, which i welcome with delight. So i'm going to post something short but most assuredly very important on my other blog and then call it a day.

One more thing, i've said this before, but i don't think anyone took the hint, so i'm going to be more direct this time. Thanks to technology, i know that there are about 5 of you who regularly read this blog and about 10 of you who sort of regularly read this blog. I really really want your opinions, thoughts, and advice. You're people who i trust, and this other blog thing is something that is deep in my heart. Don't worry; i have tougher skin than you think, and if you tell me something i just don't agree with, i just won't follow your advice. But i really really would like to have some feedback. Really really really. And if you're afraid you'll hurt my feelings, use the anonymous feature on the comments, and if you don't want everybody else to read what you wrote, email me. You can't really do that one anonymously, but i'm just trying to find a way to get you to talk to me. It occurs to me that i don't know how to link you to my email, so if someone can tell me how to do that, that would be great too. My email address is lisbeth.rogers@gmail.com.

Much love!