Evolution

This morning I was reading a sort of devotional focusing on evolution. It was talking about the population of the earth. If the population increased at the same rate as has been observed and recorded back to one million years ago, when the first ape man had supposedly evolved, the population of the earth would exceed the stars in the sky, even the atoms in the entire universe.

Anyway, it got me thinking about how atheists sometimes ask where the first Biblical descendants got their wives. I know they married their sisters, aunts, nieces, whatever, but then I thought, "What an ironic question!" I mean, wouldn't the same question apply to evolution? Where did the first ape get his wife? Why would an atheist who doesn't believe in God or His rules bring up the morality of incest into the equation? No longer is it that one paramecium in a pond evolved into such a complex animal as an ape, but TWO did. At the same time and the same rate to be able to procreate! I had a hard enough time believing only one evolved, but now to understand there had to have been two at the same time! That is just insane! Incomprehensible and highly unbelievable!



PS-I don't mind comments, but keep it civil. Anytime I mention something contrary to popular belief people get mean-evolve claws or something. (not usually any of my lovely "regulars")

Where I've been

Just dropping in to let you all know I'm still alive. I've been re-evaluating a lot of things in my life and really want to focus more on school. The Lord is pushing me to do my best to bring up little ones that can take on the world for Him...(sounds big, doesn't it?)

Also, I have another cyst -this time in my left hand- and am scheduled for surgery on Friday. So, I've had to do a lot to make sure I don't get too far behind because of that as well.

My right hand has still been giving me grief and all I can say is that it doesn't work right . At least not yet. Lord willing, it will, again, someday. I was taking a pizza out of the oven, had it on the cardboard and I dropped it. I mean, my hand dropped it. It's weird but I just couldn't hold it. I wanted to cry...My hubby saw my...my...umm...disappointment? in myself and was so sweet. He helped me pick it up and now I don't even remember what he said, but I know it was sweet and I was touched by his compassion.

I don't want to whine about all my little aches and pain, but I really hope they will go away. I know when I die, I will have a new body, one that doesn't hurt and I SO look forward to that day. Until then, please pray that I have the right attitude toward these little struggles of mine.

I say little because there are people in other places in the world today that are having real struggles. Being jailed and beaten for their faith. When I read the Voices of the Martyrs letter, showing the persecutions going on today I am filled with shame. Here I am in the good ol' USA, whining about my little booboos....I want to keep my perspective right.

I read an article in the VOM letter about how a boy who was 17 walked miles to share his faith while guerrilla fire was going on around him. He could be killed accidentally by the gunfire around him or he could be killed just because he is sharing Christ when the main religion is Moslem, if I remember correctly. He walks miles in mud and gunfire...Then I think of the people who come up to me on the streets or at the airport when we are witnessing, handing out tracts, who say "you are so brave!" Makes me want to scream, "You can't be serious! This is America!"

Wow, now that was a serious rabbit trail, eh?

Lazy

Lazy.
No, I'm not completely lazy, but there is definitly some laziness in me.
I spent an hour or so last night writing out all the verses I could find in regards to laziness. I thought that it was a good place for me to start.
Seems from what I read the lazy person is wasteful and makes tons of excuses not to do work and then complains when they don't have the fruit of their labor (that they didn't do). Yes, in ways that sounds like me. I'd rather not go into details of how it's like me, but it is. Not big issues, like getting up int he morning, but just not having my priorities in order, takes me away from the work God has set before me and I choose to spend my time doing other things. Then I tend to find myself complaining that other things are quite the way they should be, because I am choosing to do other things-not sinful things- just other things so the things I want to have done don't get done. Know what I mean?
For example, if I know I need to be spending more time in my schooling, but then decide the I need to clean up the copper legs of my living room table, I really am choosing to clean the table because I am tired of school work. Is this good? No, I don't think so. Of course, it all falls into I know what my attitude is when I choose to do the other things. I need to be diligent in the other things and then leave the non-important things for later.

Prov. 13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing but the soul of the diligent is made fat.

Prov. 20:4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn so he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

Prov. 19:15 Laziness casts into a deep sleep and an idle man suffers harm.

Prov. 22:13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!"

I need to stop making excuses for my lack of desire to do the things I know I should. There's no lion out there, except myself and my fleshly desires.

I want joy, peace and contentment in all areas of my life. My heart feels heavy and I'm not sure why. But this seems like a good place to start.

My thoughts for the day

So, where is my thoughts today?
I went to bible study last night and as usual, had a great time. After leaving, I told my hubby if my pastor keeps using my name during study, people are going to think I'm the teacher's pet! lol

I don't think that's a bad thing, though. We have memory verses every week--two of them. It was mine and Craig's turn to say them, and after I said mine, I made a couple comments in regards to what I thought they meant and the Pastor, two weeks in a row, said the comments I made were good! Then Craig said his verse, and they waited for someone else to comment, but no one else raised their hand so I raised my hand and commented on his verse as well (this comment wasn't quite as good--I got corrected on something I said--I'm ok with that, though). No one else commented after me, other than the pastor.

Seems that rarely does anyone else say anything. Seems I am the only one who asks questions too. I mean, others do here and there, but it seems I am the one who asks the most. I can see people as looking down on me for it-- kind of like the kid in school who gets the most attention. I don't like it. It feels uncomfortable. I wish others would ask and maybe be more interested that they would comment or ask more questions...

I want to know things. I want to understand things. I want to grow. That's why God gave me leaders. So that they can help me do that. I'm not the smartest book on the shelf, lot of times I get rather dusty and I have to blow off my dust, shake it off a bit and pick myself up again. I feel lately that the cobwebs in my spiritual life need to be cleaned out. I need to get myself all ready for if Christ comes back today or tomorrow or whenever. I don't want to feel dirty (any more tan I have to) when He comes back.

I got some bible studies to help me, and I've been waking up earlier to get in some extra time during the day to do what I need to do. That's all I can do right now. *sigh* I just want to do better. I can always do better. His mercies are renewed every morning...

Why I don't do Christmas...

It's that time of year...
Last year, I didn't make mention of Christmas to you'all. I just hid away, letting you do your thing without me raining on anyone's parade. I know in my saying this, I'm not really stomping on toes, but some people I'm sure will see it that way. Everyone is entitled to do as they wish, I am not personally condemning anyone by what follows. I just saw on a couple blogs people saying why they do Christmas and so I thought I would share why I don't.

Feel free to leave comments, but please be nice to me. Last time I spoke up, I got 50 or more comments bashing me as a person without them even really knowing me. And like I said before, this is what I choose to do. We will each answer to Him for ourselves.

1. Christ never told me to. (I see the baby as the man who was only born to die...not a festive happy thing)
2. The three wise men is all messed up...(the bible never says how many and they came when He was two...If you will read Matthew 2:7-11carefully, you will see that the star led the wise men to Nazareth, not to the stable in Bethlehem where our Lord was born. Verse 9 tells us that they found Jesus in "the house" where He had lived with Mary and Joseph since He was 91 days old. (Luke 2:7, 21-39) This "house" was in Nazareth, the place where Joseph and Mary lived.
3. Christ was not born on December 25th. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."Luke 2:8.it is a well known fact that December is the rainy season in Palestine and the sheep were kept in the fold at that time of the year. The shepherds always corralled and brought their flocks from the mountain sides and fields not later than October l5th, to protect them from the cold, rainy season that followed that date. So the birth of Christ could not have taken place at the end of December. Then, in the second chapter of Luke, you will find that at the birth of Christ every woman and child was to go to be taxed at the city where they were citizens. This could not have been in winter. Augustus, the king of Rome, would certainly not call for such a taxing in the depth of winter. Therefore, Christ could not have been born in December. Actually, Christ was most likely born some time in the first part of October. This is figured from the fact that His earthly ministry lasted 3 1/2 years, and He was crucified on the l4th day of Nisan which corresponds to our April. See John 19:31; Leviticus 23:5. If we go back 3 1/2 years to the time when Jesus was 30 years old (when He began His public ministry), we come to the month of October. This was probably the month when our blessed Lord was born into the world. (Of course, the date of Jesus' birth is not too important. The important thing is that He was born and that He died for our sins. We're not worshiping a helpless infant lying in a manger, but we're worshiping a risen and exalted Christ who has all power in heaven and in earth. Matthew 28:18.)
4. Christmas is of heathen origin. Christmas started w i t h the Sun worshipers in the t i m e of Nimrod, the man who built the Tower of Babel. Any reputable encyclopedia will tell you that our modern day Christmas customs came out of paganism. Encyclopedia Britannica has this to say: "Christmas (i.e., the Mass of Christ) was not among the earliest festivals of the church." Other encyclopedias say much more, but I am sparing you the reading! :)
   
5. Christmas is a Catholic holiday. Why should I steal Christmas from the Catholics? They got it from the pagans and I'm happy to let them keep it. Sometimes you hear the slogan, "Let's Put Christ Back Into Christmas." Well, how can you put Christ back into something when He was never there? History teaches that the Catholics invented Christmas to get the pagans into the church so they mixed their pagan ideas with Christ and this is what they got. (most of the traditions have pagan roots-- misiltoe, yule logs, stockings and the lump of coal, even the tree--especially the tree)
   
6. Even the name "Christmass" is an abomination to the Lord. Christmass is a combination of two words, "Christ" and "Mass." Christ is the divine title of our Lord. "Mass" is from the Roman Catholic sacrament of the mass. Certainly born-again Christians shouldn't have anything to do with masses. The mass is a Roman Catholic invention. The mass is a prayer that is read or sung for the soul of a dead person.
7. Christmas is of the world. We are commanded in I John 2: 15, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." One fact alone proves to me that Christmas is not of God. It is this: The world which hates Christ and His blood atonement for sin makes more fuss about Christmas than any other holiday. Now , just think, if December 25th were really the birthday of Jesus, don't you know that the world would have nothing to do with it?
8. Now the tree...The Christmas tree is condemned by the Bible. "Learn not the way of the Heathen . . . For the customs of that people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not . . . But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities . . ." Jeremiah 10: 2-4, 10. Here you have a perfect description of the Christmas tree, called by God "the way of the heathen." We are commanded not to learn that way or follow it. It is also viewed in this passage as idolatry. The fifth verse says that these trees cannot speak - cannot walk - must be carried. Some people misread this to make it say there is no harm in having a Christmas tree, but that is not what it says at all. Rather, the prophet Jeremiah tells us that it is vanity and foolishness and says "learn not the way of the heathen." Some people will stay up all night to work on an old dead tree. They'll trim it all up, and stand off a little ways and admire their handiwork. Some of you will sit up all night and look at that old Christmas tree. I'd like to leave this little thought with you. Did you know that the green tree is mentioned 14 times in the Bible, and in every instance it is linked with idolatry. There isn't one place in the Bible where God commends the use of the evergreen in connection with true worship.
9. When people exchange gifts, they're not bringing them to Christ; they're giving them to one another. You have got to keep a list of the people who sent you presents last year and each year your list grows longer and longer, and before long you're in such a heavy debt buying Christmas presents that you've got to start saving money right after one Christmas in order to buy presents for the next Christmas. Beloved, I can't understand why anyone would went to be in bondage to such an expensive custom. Jesus is supposed to be the cause of Christmas, and yet people give their gifts to everybody but Jesus.

   Perhaps some of you are asking, "Didn't the Wise Men give gifts to Jesus?" They certainly did, but they didn't give them to one another. And their gifts were not birthday gifts because the Wise Men did not come to visit Jesus until he was nearly two years old.

10. The name Santa Claus is a corruption of the name Saint Nicholas who is none other than Old Nick, the Devil. And yet thousands of parents will encourage their children to write to dear old St. Nick or dear Santa. Now if you're a Christian, you should be ashamed of yourself if you lie to your children by telling them that there is a Santa Claus. Through the year you punish your children for lying, and then you turn right around and lie yourself by telling your children that there is a Santa Claus. Is it any wonder when they grow up and learn the truth that they begin to believe that God is a myth too?

    The Bible says in Colossians 3: 9, "Lie not one to another." We are commanded in Ephesians 4:25, "...to put away lying, and to speak every man truth with his neighbor

11. Finally, I don't celebrate Christmas because God's Word absolutely forbids the (spiritual ) observance of any holy days in this dispensation of grace.

    "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain." Galatians 4:10-11.

    That sounds like the observance of Christmas, doesn't it? Here the Apostle Paul absolutely forbids the ( spiritual ) observing of days, months and seasons. To the Christian there are no special holy days. Every day should be alike, holy unto the Lord. If you are a Scriptural believer you will not "esteem one day above another." Romans 14:5. If you are truly saved, you will remember the birth, the life, the death, the burial and the resurrection of your wonderful Savior 365 days a year. Yes, I am glad to serve a real and a living Christ who lives all year round. Let us as born-again Christians use our money this season of the year, not for foolish and unnecessary presents, but to spread the Gospel message to this lost and dying world.

I choose to teach my children the truth about Christmas. God's Word says ( Ephesians 6:4) to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and why should we dishonor the name of Christ in such manner under the pretense of showing the children a good time? There are 364 more days in the year during which we can give gifts to our children. Trust me, my kids aren't missing a thing!

Most of this info comes from Charles Half and the Christian Jew Foundation

Smashed...

So, my Thanksgiving was spent with friends. It was a wonderful time, excellent food, great fellowship with believers...

Wednesday night, I was in a car accident.

So, I was sore, limping like I was 80 which gave a few of my friends some good chuckles. I had a green light and a car turned left in front of me. Some weird things happened like the passenger disappeared and a witness said I floored it to make it through a yellow light which turned red. I don't get it. I was insured, they weren't... That's probably where the lies came from, but the Lord is in control. So, I am not going to worry about it. I feel like I got hit by a train, sprained my good (haha) hand so now I went from a brace on my right hand to one on my left. Go figure. House smashes into my porch last month, and now this. Thank God for insurance...Thank God for everything.

Such a blank statement, eh? Thank God for everything. What if God took away everything we've not verbally thanked Him for? What would we have left? We say Thanks for everything, but what is actually included in that "everything"? Are we really saying thank you for everything or is it really just thank you for everything that I am really thankful for? I don't think it includes the things we take for granted. I was thinking of something as simple as water. I have water. I have running water. I have water on demand. I don't have to go get it from a nasty stream or even a clean stream. I have water that is filtered with things in it to make my teeth healthier. And if I am really picky because I don't care for the taste of the water that freely comes out of my faucet, I can got to the store and buy some good water...I can buy water with vitamins, or I can get some with a nice flavor in case I don't like the water I get freely out of my faucet...That's just one small thing. What about my closet filled with clothes or my rack of shoes, or my cooshy bed with a pillow top mattress that wasn't good enough so we added some memory foam...hmmm...I am really thankful or do I just say it because I know I should? Or because it sounds good to other people when I say it?

I am so spoiled...
I usually call it being blessed.
But is it? When is what I have too much? Computers laptops, cell phones, regular phone, dial-up high speed or road-runner fast...13" or 27", soap or soap with soft lotions that feel nice... what am I giving up in this life to gain in eternity??

Thanksgiving and a good smashing always makes a person think a little, eh? Thanks for hearing my thoughts...

Psalm 98:1
O sing to the Lord a new song,
For he has done wonderful things.
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.



I often find myself singing hymns while I do, well, while I do most anything. Look around and see all that the Lord has given us. He has done wonderful things for me. I think I should always have a song in my heart for Him. When I came on here, I started my post complaining. I obviously deleted it. And then I thought, shame on me. How dare I wake up on this glorious day the Lord has made with a stinky attitude like that! Shame on me. I am so blessed and yet so unthankful. I mean, I say how thankful I am and yes, I am thankful, but deep deep down, when I look at the parts of me that only God can see, am I really all that thankful? Would I really be willing to give all I have up for Christ? Sure, I say I would, but if it really came down to it, would I? I think of all the areas I fail Him. What a wretch I am. I know, Becca, look at all the good you do...I don't want my eyes to focused on me...I want my eyes to be focused on the nails and on the foot of the cross. I want to wash His feet with my tears...*sigh*...wretch that I am...I so want to be holy as He is holy. SOmetimes I think I want to talk all smart like other people when I read what they write. And I want to pray so smart like other people and talk all spiritual like they do...I think sometimes that God wants to hear all that hoity toity big talk... and then I remember He came to sinners. He came to those that needed Him. Without Him, I am nothing. Nothing but a dumb highschool dropout who now can't teach history for the life of her...

Lord, help me to be better. To be a better teacher, a better mom, a better wife. I know it's a simple request, but it seems so huge to me...

This WAS my porch...

There never ceases to be excitement in my life!

12:30 AM Sunday I am startled awake by some sort of vibration. Craig and I both jump out of bed. "Something hit the house" I said it twice. I went to the window above the porch in my daughter's room and Craig went downstairs. I said it all looked fine. nothing on the street. The I heard Craig saying "What is going on?, What happened?" And people outside saying is everyone alright? Craig said call the cops, but I didn't even know what was going on yet. I grabbed the phone looked on the porch and saw the SUV in front of my door and some of my neighbors who heard the squealing of tires and the crash. Thank God, no one was hurt. The driver ran. The witnesses saw him running down the street, but because no one saw him in the car or actually get out of the car, it is considered a hit and run with no driver. The guy gets a ticket for "driver responsibility"; a whopping $350, and has to pay to get his car out of hock. Whoopie. What ever happened to taking responsibility for your actions? *sigh* I have a smashed house. The floor is smashed, the glass is smashed, the two cement pillars are cracked and who knows about the integrity of the house yet. We'll have to see. Oh, well. Thankfully, I didn't have an SUV in my living room, right? Or it wasn't during the day while I getting the mail or something like that! Ha, and my mailbox wasn't touched! lol
Craig usually parks where the guy went up on the lawn but wasn't parked there because he got a ticket the other day for someone else cutting the 08 sticker off his plates so he was parking in the vacant lot across the street! Thank you , Lord!

I can be poo

At my church, there is a weekly bible study held every week on Friday. Yes, I am a regular attendee. I've only missed one or two times due to illness. (I'm not patting myself on the back, just giving background.) There are two verses that the attendees are expected to memorize. Then we take turns reciting them and everyone can give their opinion as to what they think they mean. The person who says the verse gets to pick the next week's verse to memorize. Last week I was the one to recite the verse so I got to pick one of this weeks verses for everyone to memorize.

I like to hear what everyone has to say about the Proverbs because we all come from such different walks of life. Application of verses can run the gammon. I picked:

Proverbs 14:4

Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

Craig said I can't share what I thought at church so you'all are blessed with my thoughts. haha!

I think of the oxen owners as the leaders, the pastors, those who are disciplining. If their are no oxen or disciples, there is no poo and the manager is clean. If a Pastor or any Christian really chooses not to disciple and share the faith and interact within the body, they don't have any poo to deal with either. Some examples of what I mean might be that when you take someone under your wing, you may get a phone call at midnight with your sister in Christ crying about her unbelieving husband and wanting to know how to deal with it. Small poo, small shovel. Maybe some one you led to the Lord is thinking they are of no use to God and is contemplating taking their own life. Big pile of poo-You might need help with this shovel. Maybe I myself am a big ox with a pile of poo when I call the pastor whining about my kids or my unsaved family or whatever. I can be poo, too...

It's easy to keep our own mangers clean, but it's not so easy to help other people clean up the messes in their life. I could hide out in my house, reading my Bible and being faithful to God on my own, but like James says, "Faith without works is useless, being by itself." What good is my faith if I just clean up myself; I need to clean up after others, so to speak.

The second half of the verse to me just shows how if we do put ourselves out there, God will give us reward for our work. I liken the revenue to the rewards in heaven for being faithful and the strength of the ox to the gumption it takes for us to go out and do something. And if you think about it, if you as an oxen owner choose to have a lot of oxen, think of how much work can be accomplished by having those oxen and all the revenue that could be passed on to you by their faithful work in following after their owner.

I don't know if I have communicated what I wanted to, but I hope I did. Please leave your thoughts as to what I said and also your application of the verse. :)

Cross the yellow tape

Last night, 2am...

Pound

Pound

Pound, pound pound...

"Craig,

"Someone's pounding on the door."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Ok."

"Come down with me "(he's got the club in his hand, still a little paranoid from the burglary)

"Are you serious? Fine."

"It's the police, they're everywhere."

"I'm going back to bed."

He went outside and waited for the police to talk to him.

I can't help but grab my camera.

He crossed the yellow line. Shame on him.

My neighbor got shot in the rear end...seriously--his rear.

probably a drug related thing...

I have yucky neighbors...

Picture and Exercise

Sharon wanted to know what the white was in the picture of the can of paint. Well, it was the lights on the ceiling reflecting off the liquid. I think that's what made the picture more difficult to figure out.

Well, shame on me...I haven't used my elliptical yet...I'm soooo lazy... I never get up early enough and when I get in my head to exercise later in the day, something tells me not to or I get called to the shop...urg...Makes me think "Away from me Satan!" He just wants me fat. You know, my hubby loves me no matter what; he still thinks I'm wonderful, but I really don't like the weight I've put on. On the other hand, when I look in a mirror, I don't feel I look fat, at least in my clothes. It's when you strip all that away and see the rolls as they lay that you get annoyed...Boy, I feel motivated right now to exercise, but I have to go teach my lovelies their school.

Maybe tomorrow...

Ebay...

I don't know how many of you do Ebay, but I guess I am somewhat of an ebay hound- at least in comparison to my real-life pals...

I bought some *make your own grocery type books* a few months back.

Speaking of one in particular, the listing said it's page were clean and in good condition. This is the actual description from the listing:

FARM JOURNAL’S COUNTRY COOKBOOK - Revised, Enlarged Edition. Copyright 1972. 559
pgs. Edited by Nell B. Nichols. Book is in good to very good condition. Cover
shows edge wear - particularly light wear on corners and some scraping of color
along bottom of spine. Spine tight, pages intact, no rips or tears. Pages look
very good, clean. There is some light spotting on page edgings - which can be
seen when the book is closed.

I recieved the book and 6 pages had writing on them-no biggie.

So, I am not an overly picky sort of person and really didn't care, until I went to leave feedback and they have those stars now for rating the transaction more specifically. One of the new star ratings is the accuracy of the listing. I emailed the seller, because I wasn't exactly sure what to do. I mean, I wanted to leave her positive feedback, but I also didn't want to lie (before my God) in regards to the stars rating. (Probably seems odd to a "normal" person, now that I think about it)

Anyway, she said, "don't leave feedback, if it's a problem." I found out I could leave the feedback without answering the stars. So, I happily left positive feedback and just didn't fill out the one star.

A month passed and she hadn't left feedback for me, so I politely asked why she hadn't in an email. No response, so I waited another month or two and emailed her again-yesterday. I asked why she hadn't. Again. I was kind. Not rude at all. I merely asked why she hadn't left feedback and that I thought it wasn't very nice that she hadn't, seeing as I had paid immediately and left her feedback as well. My exact words:

Is there any reason you still have not left me feedback? Seeing as ebay
works around the feedback scores, it doesn't seem very nice for you not to. I
paid immediately and left your feedback as soon as I received the books.
Becca

This was the response I got:

"Feedback is a privilege not a requirement. I don't like being ordered to
leave feedback by anyone. And, feedback is not as meaningful as you may
think. Ebay is soon going to make changes to the Feedback system - that
will make it even more worthless than it is now. So, you shouldn't
place so much emphasis on it. Yes, I remember your transaction all too
well. You were the one who made such a big stink about one of the
cookbooks that had a little bit of writing in it. You stated that my
description was so very incorrect because I failed to mention that this book had
some writing in it - that I did not notice. You were so worried about how
you were going to fill out the stars. I recommended that if it was such a
problem - that you shouldn't leave me any feedback at all. Leaving feedback
was your choice to do. No one forced you to do that. On principle
alone - I decided that I did not want to leave feedback for someone who
practically accused me of lying. If I would have left feedback - it
wouldn't have been positive - because your transaction did not leave me in a
positive frame of mind. So, please do not communicate with me again.
I have nothing more to say to you. Any further communication from you -
will be treated as SPAM and reported as such. "

I am almost in shock.
I was nice.
I should've left negative for her misrepresenting her auction. But I figured it was an honest mistake--I never accused her of lying. Nor did I ever order her to leave me feedback. I was so concerned about *my* being honest. If I were to say her listing was accurate, I would be lying. That in no way says she lied!

So, here is my response, which will somehow be treated as SPAM:

I am so sorry. I did in no way accuse you of lying! Not even close. Again,
I apologize for even making you think that I thought that, because I never at
any point in time thought that. I was worried about *myself* being dishonest. I
thought the book was great, the seller was great, it was just those stupid
stars, which I did not have to fill out. As for a little writing, 6 pages is a
lot in a listing of which there is no mention of writing. It's not like it was
one little note. I don't know why you have to be so rude. I didn't order you to
give feedback, I merely asked why you hadn't. Twice. I wasn't mean or rude in
any of my communication and I never said you lied. I believe it was an honest
oversight. No big deal, except it made an accurate description inaccurate-but
not intentionally. Again, I am truly sorry for making you feel I was accusing
you of lying. Becca

I don't know what to say...
People are so crabby and mean...
Cold...
I guess maybe I did something wrong, but I'm not sure what it was yet. Any ideas?

I was reading last night...

I was reading last night in the book of Haggai and was set back by how unhappy God was with his people. Have you read it?
He said to them to Consider their ways TWICE!
And then asked them if doing something holy made everything they did holy...well, NO...and then He asked if touching something unclean made everything good unclean as well and then of course, the answer is yes.
Then He told them that's the way they are! That all their good is unclean and slimy before God... Think about that for a moment. I mean, you can be doing so well in so many different areas, but if you are living unclean in an area, in makes everything you do unclean.
Maybe like when the bathroom is completely spotless, but the mirror is dirty. You look at the bathroom and see it as so sparkly, but God looks at it through the reflection of the dirty mirror and He sees it as a big mess... Time for us to clean the mirror, I think...

Homeschool Tracker

Wow, have I missed you guys! I've been so utterly busy in real life. Between burgalaries, business taxes, and my new Homeschool Tracker--my world is in a daze! lol
While the burglary stresses one out -with all the getting prices of comparable replacements of your stuff, and, not to mention, going to the PD 3 times to get the police report and it not being ready yet, even though they told me it would be each time--and well, Lord knows about taxes....*sigh* they are overwelming enough for a person who doesn't own a business!
So, this Homeschool Tracker software is supposed to somehow make my life easier.

I know I got the free version a couple years back and thought it was way too much work to download everything and type each individual lesson in, that I just deleted it off my computer and went back to pencil and lesson plan book. But this time I paid for the Plus version and it is awesome. You can download the plans that other people already filled in that match your curriculum books, leaving you with, like, no real work except to tweak their plans a bit to fit you! And if you DO have to do some yourself, you can copy a simple lesson plan for one day 170 times and just add/change the page numbers or whatever, making it so much easier and quicker! I know this probably doesn't make too much sense if you don't have the program--in fact I KNOW it doesn't make sense because when my friend Sue was telling me about it all, I thought she was from another planet or something! :)
But now, I think it's great! And I can't wait to put it into action. It is a little nerve wracking to take the plunge of a whole new schedule or whole new way fo doing things, but I know I can...I know I can... (I'm one of those people who always order the same thing at a restraunt for fear I won't like what I order if I try something new)

Oh, and last night, I accomplished the impossible with the Lord's help. Since I bought this new printer, I didn't have it hooked up to my wireless network, because I didn't know how to do it, but because I put the Homeschool Tracker on my laptop, I had to get the printer up and running. (I could only print off the desktop before). Right now, I can't afford to have my computer guy come out and do it, so I pulled out the manual and went to it.
Ahhh, but it didn't go smoothly. My computer kept saying I needed to insert the original MicroSoft XP disk (as though, any normal human would have it) because it was missing a file...The printer would print, but becasue this file was missing the install wizard deleted the printer and said the installation failed-removing the printer...I enev tried to turn off the computer without the install wizard deleting the printer... I searched and searched for this file...but it just wasn't in my computer. All the while, I said Lord lord, can't you help? It wasn't an on my knees sort of prayer, just a subconcious sort of prayer...(what I consider as praying without ceasing-my God always talking with me inside my head--don't worry, I don't hear Him talking back!) Ok, so somehow, I found this files in the depths of my computer, not even named as the one I was looking for and when I clicked OK, the install continued. I kept looking at my computer wondering what in the world it was doing because I still have no clue what I did...I think as I sat there waiting for it to finish installing, I thought it was going to blow up or something. I may even had shed a tear. Either way, I was absolutely amazed! I have no clue how it worked, I'm still a bit in shock! What an awesome God! To think He is even helping us with those little things like that! Amazing!

Flowers in the Attic

I was looking at Dawn's profile and saw that she liked the book Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews and I thought I'd share another of my unbelievable childhood memories!

My mom loved that series, read it over and over. (that's the background)

We got snacks every night before we went to bed. I remember apples, a couple cookies, or whatever. Usually my mom made popcorn in lunch bags in the microwave. She would put on some powder saying it was popcorn salt. There was popcorn salt in the cupboard and for a while I know it was popcorn salt, but one time it tasted weird. She'd sprinkle it on. Now maybe in her drunkeness she really was thinking it was popcorn salt, but it was MSG (at the time I didn't know what MSG was but I remember the letters on the bottle). I don't know why she used it. I just remember it tasted awful and when I didn't want it, she'd insist on putting it on. I remember arguing with her that it wasn't popcorn salt. SHe kept insisting it was. Yuck! Needless to say, with her insisting on MSG as a flavoring, I chose to go without the snack.

When I heard that MSG was so bad for you, I remembered that nasty popcorn...so in my mind I still wonder if my mom was trying to poison us kids...like the arsenic the old lady sprinkled on the kids cookies in Flowers in the Attic. Really, I wonder. You may think this is crazy but my mom is something else...

Another quote

Adam was created…to have
dominion over all the life in the
air and earth and sea, but one
thing he was not to have dominion
over, and that was himself.

—Oswald Chambers

Imagine this...

You are sleeping, soundly...you hear clunk, clunk on your stairs. You suppose it's your daughter, coming up from the bathroom. Squeak....shoes on your painted floor...why would your daughter have shoes on at midnight? Clunk, clunk down the stairs....you get up, tiptoe to the top of the stairs...the waft of cigarette odor makes your stomach jump...it's NOT your daughter...the frigerator opens...chug chug chug, you hear the crink of the milk container...Your husband is snoring away in bed...and your 11 year old CAN NOT chug the milk like that...well, maybe...but she wouldn't have shoes and the cat would follow her down the stairs like a puppy dog, right? But the cat is at your feet afraid to go downstairs (so are you!)

So, I tell you what I did. I tiptoed and whispered to Craig. "Someone is in our house." He snapped awake and said "No." I whispered in seconds every thing I just said about the clunks the milk and the cigarette smell. He got up grabbbed the old stair rail and went to the stairs. He heard them and started banging the stick on the stairs and they ran out. I was on the phone to 911. WE saw three men run through the back yard. The police came and then a detective. It was like CSI in my living room! I would've taken a picture, but they stole my camera. LOL
After they left, I couldn't fall asleep. Every noise was a person (in my head)...

They stole stuff, they stole my only set of keys, the stole, they stole, they ransacked my house...had they not come upstairs, I don't think I'd have ever known they were there...They came in through a window and left out the front door...

God protected me. I put my laptop away before I went to bed in it's bag, behind the couch (not normal) I took the home phone upstairs with me...I don't know why. I've NEVER done that before when Craig was home...

I heard they steal your keys to come back later and drive down the street using the clicker to make the dome light come on. My clicker stopped working last week. Serious. Last week!

Well, don't expect any pictures any time soon. I can't afford to run out and buy a camera. Thankfully, I had an extra monitor in the basement and they didn't steal the rest of my computer. I am most thankful the man who was by my bedroom door, went back downstairs and didn't hurt my family. Colton never even woke up.

Not broken, BUT....

LOL, Well, my face is less swollen, but more painful, I suppose. I think that when it was so swollen, it was affecting the nerve maybe, making it hardly hurt at all. I had a big bruise on my jaw yesterday, but that seems to have subsided too.



As for my wrist, when they took the xrays they said they'd call if the radiologist found anything when he went over the xrays. See that was a week ago, I assumed I was good. Well, I got a call after church yesterday. Something about metacarpals and spirals and my thumb and radial flection or something--all in one title. Haha I asked for English, but she didn't reword it. All I know is I was advised to follow up with my general doctor for a splint... Oh, well...



I had a great worship service, got to sing my absolute favorite song. It's called God's Own Fool by ummm...Micheal Card? A little before my time I suppose but it's a beautiful song.

Hear the song

This song brings tears to my eyes every time I sing it...

How Mom found out...

I was at Sharon's and she was talking about waxing and piercing so I thought it would be fun to share the experience of me telling my mom about my tounge piercing many moons ago.

SO I got it pierced and a month or so later my mom took me to the mall to go shopping with her. It was a great time. She had no idea it was pierced. I was talking a little bit with a lisp because of it, but she didn't figure out why. YET!

We went to the Steak Escape for lunch. They have the BEST food in my opinion. Their fries are awesome. So we were sitting at a table across from each other and as I was eating my steak sandwich, I started gagging...

My eyes wide, I opened my mouth even wider and proceeded to pull the meat out of my throat and unwrap it from the tounge ring...I started at my mom expecting something. She didn't say anything. I mean NOTHING. I don't know who was mortified more. Either way, she knew...


Ok, so I DO NOT recommend anyone pierce their tounge. It is stupid! I think I did it to get attention or something. Maybe I wasn't happy with myself. I don't know why I did it. Maybe for my boyfriend at the time...whatever the reason, it wasn't a good one. I don't think there is a good one...hmmm...

You've got to be kidding me!

Talk about ridiculus!
I read an article last week talking about all the diseases phychiatrists have come up with...like too much coffee before you go to bed is a caffiene induced sleep disorder, not you being so foolish as to drink the coffeee before you retire and if your kids fight, they has a sibling rivalry disorder, not a sin nature-- that's only a couple of the silly labels--all of which the doctors have a pill to fix...well, I saw this and while it doesn't exactly surprise me, it does make me nauseous.

2. Thank God. We’ve been so worried since Lucky dyed his hair jet black and
started listening to the Smiths. Eli Lilly
wins FDA approval to put Prozac into chewable, beef-flavored pills to treat
separation anxiety in dogs

Prozac for dogs?? I suppose, if we humans are merely evolved
animals, why not?