for His mercy endures forever

Email: Classroom Socialism

2012-01-18T19:53:00.001-08:00

I cannot verify if this is actually true or not, but it sure sounds good :P

Classroom Socialism

When the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. Is this man truly a genius? Checked out and this is true...it DID happen!

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
It could not be any simpler than that. (Please pass this on)
Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.
These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Can you think of a reason for not sharing this? Neither could I.

The Budget Explained

2012-01-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

This is another email I recently received and wanted to share.

This is fantastic....an easy way to see the budget problems of this country so friends will be able to see that our children and grandchildren will be paying for the debts that were generated in the name of "to create jobs" which never happen...

The budget explained.

I love it when complex things are simplified so that we can all understand.

* United States Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000

* Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000

* New debt: $1,650,000,000,000

* National debt: $14,271,000,000,000

* Recent budget cut: $38,500,000,000

Now, remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget.

* Annual family income: $21,700

* Money the family spent: $38,200

* New debt on the credit card: $16,500

* Outstanding balance on credit card: $142,710

* Total budget cuts which some

politicians are proud about: $385

Thought Provoking Questions

2012-01-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

I received this email and thought it worth sharing. It raises some good points.

Subject: Thought Provoking Questions.

Who is this man? When Herman Cain, Bachmann, Palin, or any politician runs for office, you find out details that are more than you want to know. Yet in Barak Obama's case you know absolutely nothing. This is more than strange. No one is doing character assassination, but I'm sure that some would like to with the information, but no one can get anything on his dossier anywhere. It is all sequestered and sealed. Records from college are non-existent.
WHERE ARE THE OBAMA GIRLFRIENDS?

I hadn't thought about this. I knew that records were not available or were held in secret - but where are Obama's past girlfriends surely he had at least one? No past girl friends popping up anywhere? Strange - strange to the point of being downright weird!

OK, this is just plain old common sense, no political agendas for either side. Just common knowledge for citizens of a country, especially American citizens, who know every little tidbit about every other president (and their wives) that even know that Andrew Jackson's wife smoked a corn cob pipe and was accused of adultery, or that Lincoln never went to school or Kennedy wore a back brace, or Truman played the piano.

We are Americans! Our media vets these things out! We are known for our humanitarian interests and caring for our 'fellow man.' We care, but none of us know one single
humanizing fact about the history of our own president.

Honestly, and this is a personal thing... but it's bugged me for years that no one who ever dated him ever showed up. Taken his charisma, which caused the women to be drawn to him so obviously during his campaign, looks like some lady would not have missed the opportunity.

We all know about JFK's magnetism, McCain was no monk, Palin's courtship and even her athletic prowess were probed. Biden's aneurisms are no secret. Look at Cheney and Clinton-
we all know about their heart problems. How could I have left out Wild Bill before or during the White House?

Nope... not one lady has stepped up and said, "He was soooo shy," or "What a great dancer!" Now look at the rest of what we know... no classmates, not even the recorder for the Columbia class notes ever heard of him.

Who was the best man at his wedding? Start there. Check for groomsmen. Then get the footage of the graduation ceremony.

Has anyone talked to the professors? Isn't it odd that no one is bragging that they knew him or taught him or lived with him.

When did he meet Michele and how? Are there photos? Every president provides the public with all their photos, etc. for their library. What has he released? Nada - other than what was in this so-called biography. Experts who study writing styles etc. claim it was not O's own words or typical of his speech patterns, etc.

Does this make any of you wonder?

Ever wonder why no one ever came forward from Obama's past, saying they knew him, attended school with him, was his friend, etc? Not one person has ever come forward from his past.

This should really be a cause for great concern. Did you see the movie titled, "The Manchurian Candidate"?

Let's face it. As insignificant as we all are... someone whom we went to school with remembers our name or face... someone remembers we were the clown or the dork or the brain or the
quiet one or the bully or something about us.

George Stephanopoulos, ABC News said the same thing during the 2008 campaign. Even George questions why no one has acknowledged that the president was in their classroom or ate in the same cafeteria or made impromptu speeches on campus. Stephanopoulos was a classmate of Obama at Columbia-class of 1984. He says he never had a single class with him. Since he is such a great orator, why doesn't anyone in Obama's college class remember
him? And, why won't he allow Columbia to release his records? Do you like millions of others, simply assume all this is explainable - even though no one can?

NOBODY REMEMBERS OBAMA AT COLUMBIA

Looking for evidence of Obama's past, Fox News contacted 400 Columbia University students from the period when Obama claims to have been there, but not one remembers him. For example,Wayne Allyn Root was (like Obama) a political science major at Columbia , who graduated in 1983. In 2008, Root says of Obama, "I don't know a single person at Columbia that knew him, and they all know me. I don't have a single classmate who ever knew Barack Obama at Columbia ... EVER! Nobody recalls him.

Root adds that he was, "Class of '83 political science, pre-law" and says, "You don't get more exact or closer than that.. Never met him in my life, don't know anyone who ever met him."

At our 20th class reunion five years ago, who was asked to be the speaker of the class? Me. No one ever heard of Barack! And five years ago, nobody even knew who he was. The guy who writes the class notes, who's kind of the, as we say in New York , 'the macha' who knows
everybody, has yet to find a person, a human who ever met him."

Obama's photograph does not appear in the school's yearbook, and Obama consistently declines requests to talk about his years at Columbia , provide school records, or provide the name of any former classmates or friends while at Columbia. How can this be?

NOTE: Wayne Allyn Root can easily be verified. He graduated valedictorian from his high school, Thornton-Donovan School , then graduated from Columbia University in 1983 as a Political Science major in the same '83 class in which Barack Hussein Obama states he was.

Some other interesting questions.
Why was Obama's law license inactivated in 2002?
Why was Michelle's law license inactivated by court order?
According to the U.S. Census, there is only one Barack Obama - but 27 Social Security numbers and over 80 aliases.

The Social Security number he uses now originated in Connecticut where he is never reported to have lived. No wonder all his records are sealed!

Please continue sending this out to everyone. Somewhere, someone had to know him in school... before he "reorganized" Chicago and burst upon the scene at the 2004 Democratic Convention and made us swoon with his charm, poise, and speaking pizzazz.

The Room

2011-07-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

I read this story a number of years ago in I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris.
I found the video earlier today, while looking for the story, and decided to include it, although I think the text version of the story is much better than the video.

The Room by Joshua Harris

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed."

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I Have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger," "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my 20 years to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus.

I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

"No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

By Joshua Harris. Originally published in New Attitude Magazine. Copyright New Attitude, 1995. You have permission to reprint this in any form. We only ask that you include the appropriate copyright byline and do not alter the content.

I found this here, at joshharris.com

Written In

2011-07-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's been said that Yuri Gagarin, the first Soviet cosmonaut, when back on earth after orbiting in space said of his experience, "I looked and looked but I didn't see God." (It's disputed as to whether or not he actually said that.)

It's also said that C. S. Lewis said Gagarin's statement is like Hamlet going up to the attic to look for Shakespeare. They're different dimensions.

There's only one way Hamlet could meet Shakespeare...if Shakespeare had written himself into the story. In the same way, the only way we can know God is because He chose to write Himself into the story - to reveal Himself to us.

Life Contemplations

2011-07-16T23:05:00.001-07:00

I wish I would make time to post on here more often. Unfortunately, my blog is near the bottom of my day-to-day priority list.

I work anywhere from 20-70 hours a week all Summer, and I'm supposed to be doing school full-time as well (which isn't even close to happening.) So blogging, as much as I'd love to do it more often, just likely won't happen any more than it has been.

I've been contemplating my life. It's so easy to imagine living a model Christian life, but when it comes to living it, it's so much easier to stay in that comfortable hole of apathetic mediocrity.

Sometimes I get sermon podcasts on my iPod. I've especially liked Paul Washer, Breakaway Ministries (Ben Stewart), Mars Hill (Mark Driskoll). I'll go a week listening to the podcasts every chance I get. I build up a spiritual high, and I'm so excited by what I learn and feel. I just feel like I've taken in so much life-changing wisdom. I want to share it with all the Christians I know, so they can experience this life-changing wisdom as well.

...Only see, my life doesn't change. It's easy to think about how I'm going to live this model Christian life, but actually living it takes discipline and self-denial. It also takes much more than just trying to be different -better- than before. Change is short-term if you try to live on your own strength. God needs to empower you to change, and He needs to support you through your day-to-day life.

So I'm not going to try to make everyone I know go listen to those sermons. Instead, I'm going to pray that god would make the teachings I've filled my mind with come into fruition in my life. That the Holy Spirit would manifest itself in my life more and more. That I would show how well what I'm selling actually works.

I'm afraid my thoughts are pretty disconnected and my presentation of them is rough and unpolished, but it's nearly midnight and I've found I don't function very well without a reasonable amount of sleep. I suppose I could post this another day, after I've done some finishing work, but I know I'll never get around to it, so this is how I'm going to leave it.

Book: When Helping Hurts

2011-06-06T08:54:00.001-07:00

I'm reading a book titled When Helping Hurts: How To Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting The Poor...And Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

Mom is having me read it before I go on a mission trip with my youth group.

I've not gotten very far into it (still on chapter one) but it promises to be good, and I'll likely lend it to the youth pastor and his wife after the trip.

A summary of today's Biology text with a few excerpts - Crayfish and Spiders

2011-04-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Every time I read in my biology textbook I'm awed that not everyone acknowledges God. Of course, not everyone reads my biology textbook, but still!

Today I learned about crayfish (representing all crustaceans) and spiders.

Crayfish have open circulatory systems. In other words, their short blood vessels just end and let blood pour our directly onto all the cells in their body. It's the most efficient circulatory system in Creation. It's only possible if a hard outer covering exists though (i.e. an exoskeleton or shell). Sometimes they lose a leg or antenna or claw in a fight, and you'd think they'd bleed to death, but they have a double membrane in each appendage, which means a membrane seals the opening in such a case, and the appendage regenerates!

Spiders spin webs, as everyone knows. But did you know a rope weaved of spider silk would be stronger than the strongest steel pipe yet almost as flexible as a normal rope? "In physics research, scientists are trying to develop a process called 'laser-induced nuclear fusion.' If it could ever be developed, it would result in a limitless, nuclear reaction that turns hydrogen into helium. This is a violent reaction but, when done on a tiny sample, it is controllable, provided the sample is held in a very strong, very flexible container." They've found no better material to use for these containers than spider silk.

There are spiders that make sheet webs, ones that make tangle webs, ones that make orb webs, ones that make trapdoors, and ones that make long sticky threads that they launch at their prey then reel back in.

"Now think about this for a moment. Consider the fact that spider silk is a marvelous material which 3,000 years of human science cannot even come close to manufacturing... As you study more and more science, you will see these kinds of engineering marvels exist all over Creation,... Through examples such as this one, we know that life is no accident. Such incredible systems cannot develop by chance. Clearly, Creation tells us what an awesome God we have!"

Excerpts are taken from J L. Wile and Marilyn F. Durnell's Exploring Creation with Biology, Module 12

Why is history class so boring?

2011-04-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from Stephen Mansfield's More Than Dates & Dead People. He's explaining why history as taught in the classroom is so hated and monotonous, yet people like history (as shown by their interest in historical fiction, historical films, history channel, historical landmarks, etc.).

"...When you study history in a typical school today, the books you read, the lectures you hear, and the conclusions you're supposed to make are all conditioned by a certain philosophy. The people who write those books and plan your studies design what you are supposed to learn according to a certain set of principles, a certain view of the world. And that view is rooted in the philosophy of evolution...
Let's think about it. What does evolution teach? Evolution is the idea that life happened accidentally. Supposedly, the accidental mixing of some biological goo billions of years ago gave birth to the first living cell. In time, that cell grew into a critter. I won't bore you with technical language. Then, there were suddenly lots and lots of critters. In time, those critters eventually grew into man-like critters - namely, monkeys and apes - and eventually into cappuccino drinking, cell phone-toting, city-dwellers.
Ah, but lets think about what this means to our experience in the House of Historical Horrors. In other words, what does believing in evolution mean for the study of history?
First, according to evolutionary theory, all of life is an accident. There is no design or purpose. Everything just is - with no meaning, no pattern, no destination. Everything is random.
Secondly, notice that according to evolution, everything is growing from the very simple to increasingly complex - from the outdated to the new and improved. This means that what is old is not as good as what is new. Old is simple and goofy, while new is shiny and sophisticated. This means that the past is less important than today, and today will be less important than tomorrow.
Well, no wonder history class is so boring! If evolution provides the philosophy we use to understand the past (and it does, because evolution is the official public school explanation for what exists), then it only makes sense that history is going to seem like a silly thing to learn."

Happy Anniversary, Grandpa!

2011-04-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

My grandpa went to live with Jesus seven years ago yesterday.

He was a devout Catholic his whole life, but became a Christian in the weeks before he died. In those weeks, he would gather all his children and grandchildren around him and talk to us all. Basically telling of life lessons he'd learned, of things he thought important to pass on. I don't remember most of it; I was 10 and I was for the most part oblivious to the more serious things that took place.

He had cancer for (I think) around 15 years. I'd say he lost the battle 7 years ago, but did he really? Yes, cancer is a terrible, painful disease. Yes, Grandpa died of it. But I see it as his ride to Heaven. We all have to die somehow, sometime. It's inevitable. Some people go to they're eternal home painlessly and some have a long, torturous journey to make. Grandpa had an uncomfortable ride, but what does that matter? He's in Heaven!!

What would be the use of a quiet, painless death if you're on the express lane to an eternal pit of misery? I cannot imagine the hopelessness and despair I would feel if I or a loved one was staring death in the face and I didn't have Jesus to comfort me.

Romans 10:9-13 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Praise God, for He is wonderful.

April Fools!

2011-04-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite pranks from a list I found several years ago. The truth is, nearly every joke on here (at least the first 40 or so) are pretty hilarious.

#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi

1998: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist Mark Boslough.

#15: Metric Time

1975: Australia's This Day Tonight news program revealed that the country would soon be converting to "metric time." Under the new system there would be 100 seconds to the minute, 100 minutes to the hour, and 20-hour days. Furthermore, seconds would become millidays, minutes become centidays, and hours become decidays. The report included an interview with Deputy Premier Des Corcoran who praised the new time system. The Adelaide townhall was even shown sporting a new 10-hour metric clock face. The thumbnail (found at TelevisionAU.com) shows TDT Adelaide reporter Nigel Starck posing with a smaller metric clock. TDT received numerous calls from viewers who fell for the hoax. One frustrated viewer wanted to know how he could convert his newly purchased digital clock to metric time.

#29: New Zealand Wasp Swarm

In 1949 Phil Shone, a New Zealand deejay for radio station 1ZB, announced to his listeners that a mile-wide wasp swarm was headed towards Auckland. He urged them to take a variety of steps to protect themselves and their homes from the winged menace. For instance, he suggested that they wear their socks over their trousers when they left for work, and that they leave honey-smeared traps outside their doors. Hundreds of people dutifully heeded his advice, until he finally admitted that it had all been a joke. The New Zealand Broadcasting Service was not amused by Shone's prank. Its director, Professor James Shelley, denounced the hoax on the grounds that it undermined the rules of proper broadcasting. From then on, a memo was sent out each year before April Fool's Day reminding New Zealand radio stations of their obligation to report the truth, and nothing but the truth.

Hackers don't have to die after all

2011-03-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, B, my friendly Facebook hacker, mentioned that rather than go through the bother of figuring out the scanner (which I still haven't, although I did get a second printer up and running so yay for that), just take a picture with a digital camera and upload it. Brilliance!! The thought had crossed my mind momentarily but I'd dismissed and forgotten it.
See, I own a digital camera as do Mom and dad. Unfortunately both are broken. Mom's won't even turn on, and the display screen on mine doesn't show anything but green streaks on a black and white background although it technically still takes pictures. So I tried taking pictures of my license, but the flash bleached everything out, and since the screen doesn't work, I couldn't see to turn the flash off. I had an idea maybe I could take a movie of my license to eliminate flash, then select one screen once I got it onto the computer. I had a fun time figuring out how to take a screenshot of the frame I wanted, and editing it to my satisfaction. However, it's all done now. I've sent my 'picture of a government issued identification card' to facebook and am now just waiting for a response and a password reset code or some such.

Death to All Hackers!

2011-03-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

I got home at about 11 pm last night and did a routine facebook/email check before bed. Turns out my facebook had been hacked while I was in town, so I had warning emails from facebook saying someone accessed my account by correctly guessing the answer my security question ('What street did you live on when you were 8?' How much more naive could I have been? Everyone knows that!) and they'd changed my password. I freaked out and accepted facebook's idea that I could lock my account from all access until I get it cleared up and have control over it again. A few screens later they tell me to send them a picture of a government-issued ID (with personal things like ssn blacked out) and they can verify it's mine and not the hacker's.
Unfortunately my scanner isn't set up. So I have to wait 20 minutes today to install the printer/scanner driver, so I can set the printer/scanner up, so I can scan my driver's license, so I can sent it to facebook, so they can put my case in a queue with everyone else's issues, and eventually give me access to my account.

Turns out the hacker is my friend Nobody. All this hassle isn't his fault though. I was tired last night and freaked out and made much work for myself by locking the account up.

I just looked and the driver is downloaded so I can install the printer now. Guess that means this post is over.

Divorce & Remarriage: A Position Paper

2011-03-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Very long, but so good.

Divorce & Remarriage: A Position Paper

Eleven Reasons Why I Believe All Remarriage After Divorce Is Prohibited While Both Spouses Are Alive

1. Luke 16:18 calls all remarriage after divorce adultery.

Luke 16:18: Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

1.1 This verse shows that Jesus does not recognize divorce as terminating a marriage in God's sight. The reason a second marriage is called adultery is because the first one is considered to still be valid. So Jesus is taking a stand against the Jewish culture in which all divorce was considered to carry with it the right of remarriage.

1.2 The second half of the verse shows that not merely the divorcing man is guilty of adultery when he remarries, but also any man who marries a divorced woman.

1.3 Since there are no exceptions mentioned in the verse, and since Jesus is clearly rejecting the common cultural conception of divorce as including the right of remarriage, the first readers of this gospel would have been hard-put to argue for any exceptions on the basis that Jesus shared the cultural assumption that divorce for unfaithfulness or desertion freed a spouse for remarriage. (...Read more.)

Praise God

2011-03-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

God fills me with awe. I feel overwhelmingly thankful today for His love and mercy. I could be a very different person than I am, but he never let me go even when I shoved Him away. I'm thankful for the many blessings God's given me.

I have parents who both work overtime:
Mom does well juggling everything she's involved in. She always has some pressing matter or other to attend to in politics, and she has so much on her mind always. She finds time to teach her children and keep her home together though. She has such a store of wisdom and godly counsel, and she doesn't hesitate to pause in a hectic day to give it to those who seek it, or to minister in some way to someone in need of help.
Dad doesn't see his job as just money. He's always on duty, willing to get up in the middle of the night to go fix a truck that's broken down on the road. Rather than seeing how he can get out of jobs and earn more money while doing less to deserve it, he's always looking for ways to be more efficient, save money, and expand his knowledge. He's slow to get angry.
Mom and Dad recognize love is a commitment, a choice. And they've made that choice. I've never heard them yell at each other, and they're dedicated to raising their children up to be godly men and women.

My little sisters constantly surprise me with little spontaneous outbursts of generosity and thoughtfulness.

Nearly three years ago I became involved in a youth group made up of great teens who want to serve the Lord. The Youth Pastor is full of desire to minister to the kids, and time and again delivers really convicting messages.

For over a year, we've been attending a little church full of wonderful, encouraging people. The church body is like a tight-knit family. In the last few weeks, as I've mentioned my desire to start something for the youth (the men have a bible study, the women have a bible study, but the teens have nothing,) I've found that many of the other kids want to as well as do many parents.

I have faithful friends who have shown me much grace in light of my neglect of our friendships.

I have a well-paying, full-time job a few months of every year. And various babysitting, petsitting, gopher runs, etc. the rest of the year.

I have a beautiful viola and an even more beautiful violin, and I know how to play both, because of four years' teaching by a skilled lady who knows her stuff and how to teach what she knows.

I have many memories of fun times with my two older siblings, who, although they've both moved out, are still nearby.

I have a house with electricity in it, a bed with clean sheets on it, clean water to drink and wash with, an abundance of food, books for pleasure and education, technology for education and pleasure, a car to drive here and there.

Sights, smells, tastes, textures, sounds, that are so pleasing to the senses. They cry out of the wisdom of their Creator. God fashioned so much beauty out of nothing.

I have a new desire to read my Bible in the last couple weeks. Not just a desire to be able to check it off my to-do list, but a desire to read it because of it's content. Praise God! This is such a new and wonderful thing.

I'm just overflowing with praise and thanksgiving tonight. But why shouldn't I be? Actually, it seems to me this should be my usual state of mind.

Altitude Change

2011-03-09T22:24:00.001-08:00

Summer of '09, my sister and her then fiance came out to help us with yard/outside work in preparation for their wedding reception.
a bare wall on the outside of the back porch.
I was on a stepladder with a roller, and commented that if I bent down I got a headache, and if I stood up straight I got a headache. (I get headaches from bending over, I guess from the blood draining to my head. And the afternoon sun shone over the roof into my eyes when I stood up straight.)
My now brother-in-law's response:
"it's from the altitude change."
(I was 5'8" then, at age 14)

I was amused. Still am.

The Blanket

2011-02-23T12:59:00.001-08:00

I wrote the following post on November 27, 2008. That was over two years ago, and though my writing style isn't very good right now, it was much less so then. I didn't edit the post except a few of the worse grammar mistakes. I think part of the reason I didn't publish it then was because I realized I'd worded things oddly and maybe a bit extremely in places.

Every Christmas my family has a gift exchange and last Christmas my sister brought a really nice fleece blanket.
Of course, I really wanted it and when I didn't get it in the gift exchange I went about trying to trade the cheese I'd received for the blanket my cousin got.
This was very selfish of me because Ik new he would just give the cheese to someone else because he doesn't eat cheese, but I was so intent on what I wanted that I went about getting it to the disregard of others.
So he thought about it and ended up giving it to me a bit later, When we headed home I saw that mom had the cheese and found out shed traded my cousin the cheese for her hardware store gift certificate, it was then that I first saw how selfish I'd been in getting the blanket.

I rarely used the blanket because whenever I thought of it I felt awful, and so it pretty much just sat under my bed until the next time I saw my cousin, which was Easter.
But I didn't talk to him about the blanket that day, because I wanted to wash it first since I'd let the cats get on it, and because I wasn't about to do it behind Mom's back and I didn't want to admit to anyone how selfish I'd been.

I didn't see my cousin again until this Thanksgiving. So I started by getting Mom's approval of me giving the blanket back (on the grounds that I felt I had obtained it selfishly), then I washed it. I tried to give it back on to him when he was on his way out so that I'd be outside where nobody else would see us and find out about my unthoughtful deed, but he made me go back inside with him where there was light and people.
So I told him my story and told him why I wanted to offer the blanket back to him. He gave me his side of the story, which was this: He got the blanket in the gift exchange but didn't actually want it, so he traded the blanket for my cheese (also something he didn't want), then traded the cheese for mom's gift certificate (which to him had more value than the other things.)

That's the story of the blanket for you. Mom, as far as I know, was happy with the cheese; my cousin was happy with the gift certificate; and I was unhappy for eleven months because I didn't resolve my sins of selfishness and unthoughtfulness.
I see it as God's way of teaching me to be selfless and to resolve any wrong deeds I've done against another person.
I think that's pretty amazing.

Fake Humor

2011-02-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

I was washing dishes as Pinky (8) dried them. We're chatting, and after we've been working for a bit she says "I'm doing a lot of fake humor tonight." "what's fake humor?" I wanted to know. "When you pretend you're having a sense of humor but you aren't really. Like when you say things that aren't funny but you pretend they are and do a fake-y laugh. Like (insert wheezing, fake laughter here)"

Poetry

2011-02-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

Beauty is the color of grass after rain,
A kitten's soft fur on your face.
It's the smell of Spearmint gum,
The rhythm of making lace.

'Beauty's in the eye of the beholder'
People often remark;
But it's more than the eye, it's the mind,
For there's beauty even in dark.

We like to take life for granted,
And begin to complain at our ease.
Without ever realizing,
That we're ingrates for it to not please.

(dedicated to Zion Soles)
We tend to get bogged down by troubles
Which, if they were thrown in a heap
With all those of others around us,
We'd be only too eager to keep.

Why, when we have a trial,
Do we try to get through it alone,
When we've found out before that we can't;
We must lean on our Christ, Cornerstone?

I wrote this 7 months ago ...was so proud of it lol, had thought it quite good. Then I stashed it away and just rediscovered it. It's mediocre, but I enjoyed writing it; next time I dabble with poetry maybe it will be slightly better.

Thoughts About Thought

2011-02-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

This little book is full of jewels, I've highlighted my favorite parts of this passage. I was originally planning only to post those parts, but it was all so good I had to show the whole section.

There are not so many hours in a year as thoughts in an hour. Thoughts fly in flocks, like starlings, and swarm like bees. Like the leaves in autumn, there is no counting them; like links in a chain, one draws on another. What a restless being man is! His thoughts dance up and down like midges in a summer's evening. Like a clock full of wheels, with the pendulum in full swing, his mind moves as fast as time flies. This makes thinking such an important business. Many littles make much; so many light thoughts make a great weight of sin. A grain of sand is light enough, but Solomon tells us that a heap of sand is heavy. Where there are so many children the mother had need look well after them. We ought to mind our thoughts. If they turn out to be our enemies, they will be too many for us, and will drag us down to ruin. Thoughts from Heaven, like birds in spring, will fill our souls with music; but thoughts of evil will sting us like vipers.
There is a notion abroad that thought is free; but I remember reading, that although thoughts are toll-free, they are not Hell-free. That saying quite agrees with the good old Book. We cannot be summoned before an earthly court for thinking; but depend upon it we shall have to be tried for it in the Last Assizes. Evil thoughts are the marrow of sin; the malt that sin is brewed from; the tinder which catches the sparks of the devil's temptations! the churn in which the milk of imagination is churned into purpose and plan; the nest in which all evil birds lay their eggs. As sure as fire burns brushwood as well as logs, God will punish thoughts of sin as well as deeds of sin.
Let no one suppose that thoughts are not known to the Lord. He has a window into the closest closet of the soul; a window to which there are no shutters. As we watch bees in a glass hive, so does the eye of the Lord see us. The Bible says, "Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?" Man is all outside to God. With Heaven there are no secrets. That which is done in the private chamber of the heart is as public as the streets before the all-seeing eye.
Some will say they cannot help having bad thoughts; that may be, but the question is, do they hate them or not? We cannot keep thieves from looking in at our windows, but if we open our doors to them, and receive them joyfully, we are as bad as they. We cannot help the birds flying over our heads; but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door, but we must not open to them. Though sinful thoughts rise, they must not reign. He who turns a morsel over and over in his mouth, does so because he likes the flavor. He who meditates upon evil, loves it, and is ripe to commit it. Think of the Devil, and he will appear; turn your thoughts toward sin, and your hands will soon follow. Snails leave their slime behind them, and so do vain thoughts. An arrow may fly through the air, and leave no trace; but an ill thought always leaves a trail like a serpent. Where there is much traffic of bad thinking, there will be much mire and dirt. Every wave of wicked thought adds something to the corruption which rots upon the shore of life. It is dreadful to think, that a vile imagination, once indulged, gets the key of our minds, and can get in again very easily. Whether we will or no, it can so return as to bring seven other spirits with it more wicked than itself; and what may follow, no one knows. Nurse sin on the knees of thought, and it will grow into a giant. Dip tow in naphtha, and how it will blaze when fire gets to it! Lay a man asoak in depraved thought, and he is ready to flame up into open sin as soon as ever opportunity occurs. This shows us the wisdom of watching, every day, the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts. Good thoughts are blessed guests, and should be heartily welcomed, well fed, and much sought after. Like rose leaves, they give out a sweet smell if laid up in the jar of memory. They cannot be too much cultivated; they are a crop which enriches the soil. As the hen broods her chickens under her wings, so should we cherish all holy thoughts. As the poor man's ewe lamb ate of his own bread and lay in his bosom, even so should godly meditation be very dear to us. Holy thoughts breed holy words and holy actions, and are hopeful evidences of a renewed heart. Who would not have them? To keep chaff out of a bushel, one sure plan is to fill it full of wheat. To keep out vain thoughts, it is wise and prudent to have the mind stored with choice subjects for meditation; these are easy to find, and we should never be without them. May we all be able to say with David, "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul."

Taken from John Ploughman's Talk by C. H. Spurgeon

Redeemed for What?

2011-01-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

I ran across this post last Fall, and have been planning on sharing it here ever since.
I'd half forgotten about it until we started a new Bible reading plan with the new year, and I read Genesis and Exodus and began to ponder the symbolism Chris talks about in here.

Redeemed for What?
"I was reading the Exodus story in the past couple days, and was struck by a few things that I want to share here.

The story of the deliverance of Israel from Pharaoh is a type for the deliverance of the Church from sin and death. God comes to redeem His people, his chosen ones, and to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey. But as we read Exodus, we find that God early on gives a specific purpose for Israel to leave Egypt...." Continue reading

Resolutions...

2010-01-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

I never seem to follow through with any of my new year's resolutions, but there are a few I'm determined to keep this year. Basically they are: keep on track for school, keep my room clean, keep a diligent account book (and in doing so, not spend as much money as I do), do many more daily chores than I have been, and I'm sure I'll continue to think or more as the year progresses.

My biggest problem is that I love to read, and I have three and two halves books just pleading with me to read them at the moment and many more on my list. And I always pick up a bunch of new books from the library at least once a month and never stop reading until I've finished them all...to the neglect of all else.

Charlie Bit Me

2009-11-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

The original clip:

A guy played the clip into an autotune mic (not sure what that is, but it sure sounds cool):

Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences

2009-11-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

Commonly known as the 95 Theses by Dr. Martin Luther.

I just finished reading it and here are my thoughts:

"36. Any Christian whatsoever, who is truly repentant, enjoys plenary remission from penalty and guilt, and this is given him without letters of indulgence"

"37. Any true Christian whatsoever, living or dead, participates in all the benefits of Christ and the Church; and this participation is granted to him by God without letters of indulgence."

He's basically saying 'those letters of indulgence the pope gives you are worthless'

Although, there is "38. Yet the pope's remission and dispensation are in no way to be despised, for as already said, they proclaim the divine remission."

'Remission' means 'pardon' or 'forgiveness'.

So he didn't quite say they were worthless, but just about. And I can imagine the church officials were plenty mad.

"86. Again: since the pope's income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers?"

'Indigent' means 'impoverished'.

That had to hurt, he's kinda implying the pope is greedy.

"89. What the pope seeks by indulgences is not money, but rather the salvation of souls; why then does he not suspend the letters and indulgences formerly conceded, and still as efficacious as ever?"

'Conceded' means 'acknowledged'.

'Efficacious' means 'Producing or capable of producing a desired effect'.

I'm not exactly sure what this one means. But it struck me, before I knew what those two words meant, as saying the pope should do away with the letters and indulgences since they weren't achieving the means the pope wished.

"90. These questions are serious matters of conscience to the laity. To suppress them by force alone, and not to refute them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian people unhappy."

That leaves no option but for the church officials to answer the questions.

The truth is, you should just go and read the whole thing. it's only about four one-sided 8 1/2 by 11 pages. It's really good, and there's alot more in them that struck me. But there's just too much, and I have a hard time wording my thoughts, so I only gave a few.

Grace

2009-11-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

I reworded John Newton's poem 'Amazing Grace' about a year and a half ago, to see if I could make my mind see it in a new light. Although it made me really think about the words, it definitely wasn't an improvement:

Amazing Grace

John Newton

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind but now I see

It was grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils and smares
I have already overcome
It was grace that led me safe thus far
And grace will bring me home

When we've been there a thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun

There are actually more verses in the poem, but this is all they put in the hymn books, which is where I was copying it from.

Grace
Susannah B.

Oh, how beautiful that word 'grace', sounds - amazing that it saved a wretched person like me!
I was lost and alone but it found me, I was in deep darkness but now I stand in the brightest of lights. Grace taught me fear of the Lord and grace freed me from fear of men, grace was especially wonderful in that first hour after i put my trust in God. I have passed unscathed through dangers, difficulties, and snares aplenty already, it's grace that has brought me safely this far and it's grace that will bring me safely home. Now, when the earth has been around for ten thousand years, those who've found grace have just as much time to praise God as Adam and Eve did.

It served it's purpose fine, but it isn't good at all. even I see that. As hard as it was to keep from rewriting the rewrite, I succeeded (apart from fixing a few spelling mistakes). And the last word really should be 'do' not 'did'.

Works

2009-11-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

If you think what I do, you think there's no such thing as salvation by works.
We all want to think there's something we can do that controls whether we go to Heaven, but the truth is that we have zero control whatsoever.

I've always looked at it in this way:
Salvation by works is impossible because it undermines our need for Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Why would we need Christ to sacrifice himself for us if we control our own salvation by good works?

A few weeks ago at church it was put to me in this light:
God is totally just and righteous, He made Law and He judges us according to it.
If I have sinned (which I have, we all have), and I say to God on judgment day, "OK, God, I know I did all this bad stuff, and I deserve to got to Hell, but look at all these good works I've done. I did this good stuff so you should let me off the hook."
If God was to listen to me and let me into Heaven, he would be taking a bribe.
Only corrupt judges take bribes, since God is incorruptible and I've broken the law, my works don't get me any closer to getting into Heaven.

We are saved by God's grace and through our faith.
Works are just a side-affect, if you will, of our faith.
There are works in our lives because God tells us to do good works, and we have faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, and we have a desire to obey God.

3:16

2009-09-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows John 3:16 "For God so loved the world..."

I thought it'd be interesting to look up all the 3:16's in the Bible and post them here.

I'm gonna put most verses in context by giving the verse before and after it (and additional verses before if needed).

Here goes:

(ESV)

Genesis 3:16 - ¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel." ¹⁶To the woman he said,
"I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you." ¹⁷And to Adam he said,
"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
'You shall not eat of it,'
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

Exodus 3:16 - ¹⁵God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. ¹⁶Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, ¹⁷and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey."'

Leviticus 3:16 - ¹²"If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD ¹³and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹⁴Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the LORD, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ¹⁵and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. ¹⁶And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD’s. ¹⁷It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood."

Numbers 3:16 - ¹⁵"List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list." ¹⁶So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. ¹⁷ And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

Deuteronomy 3:16 - ¹⁵To Machir I gave Gilead, ¹⁶and to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok, the border of the Ammonites; ¹⁷the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

Joshua 3:16 - ¹⁵and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), ¹⁶the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Judges 3:16 - ¹⁵Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. ¹⁷And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.

Ruth 3:16 - ¹⁵And he said, "Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out." So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. ¹⁶And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did you fare, my daughter?" Then she told her all that the man had done for her, ¹⁷saying, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, 'You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'"

1 Samuel 3:16 - ¹⁵Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am." ¹⁷And Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you."

2 Samuel 3:16 - ¹⁴Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines." ¹⁵And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go, return." And he returned. ¹⁷And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, "For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you.

1 Kings 3:16 - ¹⁶Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.

2 Kings 3:16 - ¹⁴And Elisha said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. ¹⁵But now bring me a musician." And when the musician played, the hand of the LORD came upon him. ¹⁶And he said, "Thus says the LORD, 'I will make this dry streambed full of pools.' ¹⁷For thus says the LORD, 'You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.'

1 Chronicles 3:16 - ¹⁵The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. ¹⁶The descendants of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son; ¹⁷and the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son,

2 Chronicles 3:16 - ¹⁵In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. ¹⁶He made chains like a necklace and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz.

Ezra 3:16 - nonexistent

Nehemiah 3:16 - ¹⁵And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.

Esther 3:16 - nonexistent

Job 3:16 - ¹⁶Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light?
¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling,
and there the weary are at rest.

Psalms 3:16 - nonexistent

Proverbs 3:16 - ¹⁵She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:16 - ¹⁶Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. ¹⁷I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

Song of Solomon 3:16 - nonexistent

Isaiah 3:16 - ¹⁵What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?" declares the Lord GOD of hosts. ¹⁶The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
tinkling with their feet,
¹⁷therefore the Lord will strike with a scab
the heads of the daughters of Zion,
and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.

Jeremiah 3:16 - ¹⁵"'And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, declares the LORD, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD." It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. ¹⁷At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.

Lamentations 3:16 - ¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness;
he has sated me with wormwood. ¹⁶ He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes;
¹⁷my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;

Ezekiel 3:16 - ¹⁵ And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. ¹⁶ And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁷ "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.

Daniel 3:16 - ¹⁵Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. An who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?" ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

Hosea 3:16 - nonexistent

Joel 3:16 - ¹⁵ The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine. ¹⁶ The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.¹⁷ "Then you will know that I, the LORD your God,
dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
never again will foreigners invade her.

Amos 3:16 - nonexistent

Obadiah 3:16 - nonexistent

Jonah 3:16 - nonexistent

Micah 3:16 - nonexistent

Nahum 3:16 - ¹⁵There will the fire devour you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will devour you like the locust.
Multiply yourselves like the locust;
multiply like the grasshopper!¹⁶You increased your merchants
more than the stars of the heavens.
The locust spreads its wings and flies away. ¹⁷Your princes are like grasshoppers,
your scribes like clouds of locusts
settling on the fences
in a day of cold—
when the sun rises, they fly away;
no one knows where they are.

Habakkuk 3:16 - ¹⁵ You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.¹⁶ I hear, and my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us. ¹⁷Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,

Zephaniah 3:16 - ¹⁵The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.¹⁶ On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:"Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
¹⁷ The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Haggai 3:16 - nonexistent

Zechariah 3:16 - nonexistent

Malachi 3:16 - ¹⁵And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.'"
¹⁶Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.¹⁷"They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Matthew 3:16 - ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Mark 3:16 - ¹⁵ and have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); ¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);

Luke 3:16 - ¹⁵As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, ¹⁶ John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

John 3:16 - ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.¹⁶"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Acts 3:16 - ¹⁵and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.¹⁷"And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

Romans 3:16 - ¹⁰as it is written: .... ¹⁵ "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶in their paths are ruin and misery,
¹⁷and the way of peace they have not known."

1 Corinthians 3:16 - ¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. ¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

2 Corinthians 3:16 - ¹⁵Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. ¹⁶But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Galatians 3:16 - ¹⁵ To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. ¹⁷This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

Ephesians 3:16 - ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Philippians 3:16 - ¹⁵Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. ¹⁶Only let us hold true to what we have attained.¹⁷Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

Colossians 3:16 - ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Thessalonians 3:16 - nonexistent

2 Thessalonians 3:16 - ¹⁵ Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.

1 Timothy 3:16 - ¹⁵if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. ¹⁶Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.

2 Timothy 3:16 - ¹⁵and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Titus 3:16 - nonexistent

Philemon 3:16 - nonexistent

Hebrews 3:16 - ¹⁵As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice,do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." ¹⁶For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

James 3:16 - ¹⁵This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

1 Peter 3:16 - ¹⁵but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

2 Peter 3:16 - ¹⁵And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. ¹⁷You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

1 John 3:16 - ¹⁵ Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.¹⁶By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

2 John 3:16 - nonexistent

3 John 3:16 - nonexistent

Jude 3:16 - nonexistent

Revelation 3:16 - ¹⁵"'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Peace Child

2009-07-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

I literally just finished a book called Peace Child by Don Richardson.

Never before had I read a book that made my cry with joy, it is such a beautiful story. It's so graceful and wonderful and I could not imagine a better story. (except for the original story, the bible, that this one is fashioned from.)

If you pick up the book and begin reading you'll probably put it down object strongly to the horrible treachery in the stories laid out for you, but those stories show all the better how beautiful the sharing of the gospel and the acceptance of Jesus is when you finally get to that part.

The book....I don't even know what else to say. It just gives me so much joy to think now about what took place halfway across the world forty plus years ago.

I would most definitely recommend this book to any and all. It is so....ok, I'm just gonna stop right here and come back and revise it or something tomorrow when I'm able to communicate a little better.

The bottom line is: read this book.

Butt-Air Lung Disease

2009-07-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

Buggie is my mom's little sister.
She has some sort of lung problem, but I don't think she's got a diagnosis.
She was laying on the couch today and her dog, Abigail, was laying on the floor in front of it with her butt right below Buggie's head.
Abigail gassed and Buggie was disgusted - not by the smell, but by the idea that when someone flatulates, the air that was just in their butt is now in your lungs.

So she diagnosed herself with Butt-Air Lung Disease.

This probably wasn't nearly as funny when you just read it as it was when it happened, we were almost rolling with laughter.

The Joke and the Fulfillment

2009-07-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

Intro: I started this post on July 7, 2009, but I never finished it on that day. I didn't finish it until today, November 11, 2009. (Sadly my blog will insist on saying I posted it on July 7.) I'd forgotten all about it until today. I finished the post the best I could, but it wasn't easy since those emotions and events were foremost in my mind when I started it and it was all but forgotten when I finished it.

The Joke

Background: This is definitely the best joke and one of very very few good jokes that I've made

Cast:

Pinky - the youngest of the family

Mom - mother and teacher of five

Somebody - a.k.a. me

Setting: Pinky trying to put toast into toaster but not able to reach.

Mom: May I assist you with that?

Pinky: Yeah, I can't get it in....what does assist mean?

Mom: Assist means help.

Somebody: that's why I'm called a sister - because I assist you.

The Fulfillment

I got my chance to assist Pinky at a lake in Minnesota, it came about like this.

Yesterday I, Grandma, two aunts (Mary and Buggie), Mom, two cousins, and five siblings (Married One, Jangles, J, Gracie, and Pinky) went to the lake.
There's a sandy place on the shore that could be considered a beach by some.
Everyone else was back on the grass behind the water, but Buggie and I were thigh-deep in water chatting and Pinky was playing in the lake with her kickboard. I thank God that we were facing in her direction when she swam too deep and lost her kickboard. I didn't notice at all, but Buggie was just about to call out to her that she was too deep and needed to come back when she lost the board. Buggie, kind of causually to me, said 'Pinky lost her board', I looked and sure enough she had, and she can't swim. I started walking and after a few steps started running. I got in above my waist and realized I was gonna have to swim, so I started swimming, looked up to see how close I was, and then it came to me that it's not just the people on the news who drown, it can be anyone. So I swam faster, got there, grabbed her, - and a wave of relief washed over me.......then I put my feet down. There was over six inches of weeds embraced by goopy mud on the bottom....it was disgusting. I turned around and there was Buggie, right behind me - that kinda surprised me, because in all the excitement I hadn't heard her behind me. She told me on our way back that she had yelled to me when I started swimming, 'You get her! You can swim faster than me, you'll get to her sooner!'
Mom and I and Buggie had a talk with Pinky about staying by the shore and not going more than chest deep without someone right beside her watching her.

Boy, was I thankful the rest of the dayfor the dear little sister God had given me.

The End

Ghosts of Books

2009-06-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

I love reading, when I pick up a good book I can't put it down until it's finished. (Well I can, but if I do, that's all I think about)
Now, this isn't very conducive to getting on with my life, especially during the school year.

So, when I'm able, I check out audio books from the library. I listen to those, literally, the entire waking portion of my day. In this way I can get my chores done (still no school) and I don't have to put my book down.

There's a lady down the road who pays me to go clean her house every couple weeks, several months ago I listened to a book while cleaning.

Every time I clean now, I'll get to a specific place (e.g. the ledge in the shower, the corner of the floor where the scale is, the pots and pans shelf), and somehow my mind will abandon what I was previously thinking, which, believe me or ask my friends, is something my mind does constantly. But this was different, I would just get this image in my mind of a man almost drowning (Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens), or of some other scene from my book.

I'd say a whole lot more about it, but I can't seem to put my thoughts into words.
I'm afraid this post doesn't convey the same....something-ness I'd like it to.

Another interesting thing that's kind of in the same category happened last night while I was on facebook.
I was looking at my list of online friends and every time I inhaled I got this feeling of the taste of tootsie roll. It was only for the first split second of each breath in. My mouth was closed and the taste was on my tongue, so I really wasn't smelling or tasting it, I just kept getting the sensation of tasting it. It was very, very odd, especially seeing as how there hasn't been any tootsie rolls in this house for weeks.

Ok, so you probably didn't need to hear about the tootsie roll thing.
But I've been wanting to post about the book for several weeks, it's just that I forgot what it was I wanted to post about. Actually, truth be told, it probably wasn't what I had originally thought of, it's just that when I was trying to rethink what I thought of first, this came to mind.
Again, it didn't come out in this post the same way it sits in my mind.

Home-church

2009-05-31T09:13:00.001-07:00

We decided last week to look for a new church.

We have friends that go to a very small church and we were going to visit there today, but were unable.
The church gets together and eats breakfast, prays for 20 minutes, and then studies the bible. (I don't know whether or not they sing. If they don't, it may be that my family can get that started.)
There isn't an actual sermon, but I like the idea of reading a passage and then chewing on it as a group; of just examining God's unaltered word together.

It has this kind of home-church feeling, which Mom and me find really appealing. (I just made a rhyme by accident.) It makes me think of what the home-churches first century disciples led would have been like.

Shoes for Life

2009-05-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

The Palouse 9-12 Project had a potluck today, and there was a hiking trail to the top of the butte we were at.
Me, my brother and my cousin went up it.
I was wearing slip-on (and off) shoes, and I'm in such awful shape that I was having a hard time with the climb even without having to worry about keeping my shoes on, so I did the sensible thing and went barefoot.

My cousin and I were talking about it hurting to walk with bare feet, and he pointed out that life tends to make our feet hurt because we won't wear shoes. The pain is self-imposed because we have a choice to put our shoes on.

I liked this analogy about shoes for life and it struck me that it'd be neat if the analogy worked out with Ephesians 6:15, which says 'and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.' (talking about the armor of God)

It doesn't workout perfectly, but this is what I found.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of peace. We should always have that gospel (God) foremost in our minds, the closer you are to God, the easier life will be. That doesn't mean that you'll be given less obstacles, it means the obstacles you're given will be easier to deal with.

If you don't have that readiness, you'll be stumbling over the jagged rocks you have to walk on.

How do you get that readiness?
You get it by seeking out God's wisdom that is stored in His word, by praying to God earnestly and humbly, and by striving to live in a way that pleases God (which means being a doer of the word and not a hearer only).

I do need to add that I don't think this is necessarily what that verse is saying.
I've always understood the verse to be admonishing us to always be ready to share the gospel, in any circumstance.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

Ephesians 6:10-17 (ESV)

Off -Season Humor

2009-05-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

I know it's not Easter, but...whatever.

Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design

2009-04-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday the pastor started a sermon series on the evidence of Christianity.
The first sermon was on evolution.
Sunday night I went to a friend's youth group and saw a poster advertising a lecture (actually more of a FAQ or Q and A session) by Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box.
It was on evolution, creationism, and intelligent design.
I think that was definitely God's timing.

So, anyways, Behe is doing a lecture tonight in the university of a neighboring town and another one tomorrow night in the university in my town.
Sadly I can't go to either one because the community play I'm in keeps me busy in the evenings, which is why I was ecstatic when I heard there was another one early this afternoon.
I went, and I thought it was really interesting just hearing what he had to say.

I've put Darwin's Black Box on my list of books to read, because I'd like to hear what else he has to say. The QA session was only an hour long, so he was only able to answer about four questions.

Edit: Tea Anyone?

2009-04-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

I need to apologize for reporting incorrectly.

Moscow Pullman Daily News stated correctly the number of people attending.
You can see their report here: http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/17/66933.aspx

Inside Joke

2009-04-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

I recently went with my brother (J), my friend (M), and her brother (B) to Seattle, WA. While we were there B decided to name himself Nobody, and then we all decided that M would henceforth be dubbed Everybody. And of course, we had to finish what we started, so J became Anybody and I became Somebody.

That's the end of my inside joke.

It's actually really amusing, because someone, quite unaware of our game, will say something like 'Everybody's afraid of the dark!' and M will reply 'No I'm not!'. Or someone will say 'Somebody hates pickles', to which I would declare that I did too like them.

It's actually not the end of the joke because we gave another of my friends (T) the name Who, which made me sad since I wanted to give her another -body name (there aren't any more so I wanted to do a play on words using the word body). But, alas, B would always reply to my suggestion with 'There are no more bodies! I buried them all!'

OK, now the joke is over.

Tea anyone?

2009-04-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

I was at the Moscow Tea Party (hosted by the Palouse 9.12 Project) yesterday. There were over 300 people there, despite the Daily News's false report of 'almost a hundred people'.
I wore chains (as you can see if you click on the link to the article) to symbolize how the government has turned every citizen of the United States into a debt-slave, by the money they've borrowed. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." The government has put me, you, and every US citizen over $35,000 in debt. Every baby born now, is automatically born with 35K of debt, and none of us have any say in this debt, we didn't borrow the money, and we didn't use the money, but somehow we're the one's stuck with the debt.

I was quoted in an article about it in the Lewiston Tribune. I would give you the actual article on the newspaper's site, but you have to subscribe to the newspaper in order to read the article. So, I'll have to give you this link instead (although, this may be the whole article here):
http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/16/66913.aspx

I think it was great to have such a good turn-out, and now that it's over we have to keep going and take it the next step by doing things like calling our congressmen to either give our support or express our disappointment in them. (It's true that I've never yet called mine, so I'm not gonna be pestering people incessantly about them doing it, but I still think it's an important thing to do and I plan to start.)

Lots more pictures off Dale Courtney's blog:
http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2009/04/15/66902.aspx

This is the local 9.12 project's site:
http://palouse912project.com/forums/

This is the national 9.12 projects site:
http://the912project.com/

More engrishfunny.com

2009-04-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Definitely a one-of-a-kind valentine.

Sound advice....if you can decipher it.

What in the world???

I wonder if you'd receive different things from a $1 bill and a $100 bill?

Somehow this doesn't feel quite right...

Wiwichu a Meri Crismas an a japi nu Yir!!!

It's certainly true enough, it's just worded a little bit oddly.

While the site does have a lot of funny mis-spellings on it, I think there's also a lot of off-color humor on it (it's way worse than it was a few months ago), so the farther back pages are better.

Bad translating?

2009-04-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is a poem on a plate. Apparently the translator in China messed up a little.

A thought went up my mind to-day

2009-04-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

This poem describes exactly the way I often feel.
I was so pleased with it that I decided to post it here - on Easter.
I think it's neat, because it was only the fourth poem in a whole book of her first 3 volumes published. I know this is probably more than you want to hear as far as why I decided to post it, so I'll let you read the poem now.

A thought went up my mind to-day

That I have had before,
But did not finish, - some way back,
I could not fix the year,

Nor where it went, nor why it came
The second time to me,
Nor definitely what it was,
Have I the art to say.

But somewhere in my soul, I know
I've met the thing before;
It just reminded me - 't was all -
And came my way no more.

~Emily Dickinson

See? Wasn't that good?

Once apon a morni- No wait, I mean midnight

2009-02-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, when my big sister was about twelve, she woke up in the middle of the night and thought to herself 'Oh, it's morning, I should go take a shower' and she did just that. The End

-My personalized version-

At 1:00 am Saturday morning my alarm rang and I shut it off without looking at it, knowing that it was 6:00 (I'm still wondering why I got up at what I thought was that time anyways, I was planning on get up around 8:00 since it was Saturday) I pulled on some clothes, went downstairs, used the restroom, washed my face, went into the kitchen....and then I saw the time. I mentally slapped myself then went back upstairs, got back into my pajamas and went to bed.

I have evidence that it was just a dream: I looked at my phone the next day (which doesn't have service so I just use it as an alarm clock) and it had alarms set for every half hour from 6 am to 5:30 pm but none at 1 am.

I also have evidence that it wasn't a dream: First, I could easily have dreamed I heard my alarm and then gotten up for real.
Second, when I woke up this morning my jeans were half draped on the bed under my covers (and I know they weren't like that when I went to bed last night).

I'm sure you want to know why a have alarms set for every half-hour on a service-less cellphone, the reason is this: since I didn't have a school bell that rings at the end of each class I decided to make my own, and phones are pocketable and you can set more than two alarms at once on it.

Thoughts on Psalm 23

2008-11-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

These are my own reflections, they are not necessarily biblically sound thoughts or ideas. Written on 11/23/08

Psalm 23:

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

My thoughts:

2 God's making David take a break and drink in the beauty of nature.

3 For Jesus' sake, that His sacrifice wouldn't be in vain.

4 (a)It's a valley, meaning it has hills on all sides, so it would be hard to flee from it because it's difficult to run uphill. But he's still not afraid. (b)Maybe meaning the rod used for discipline and the staff of Moses, or just a walking staff?

5 (a)Eating tends to make people more mellow and good natured. (b)Meaning David is His anointed - His precious one? The cup of the heart overflows with feelings.