back atcha'

this was inspired by Emily and I would like to see where it goes... :)


If you read this,(yes this means YOU)
even if I don't speak to you often,
please post a memory of me.
It can be anything you want, it can be good or bad,
just so long as it happened.
Then post this in your journal. See what people remember about you.

Brand New Day

So I took down yesterday's post as it was just bumming me out... but thanks to Emily, Amanda G, and Bennett - you guys made me smile...

Still not sure what was up with yesterday, I think most of it stemmed from me wondering if I was wasting away my life.... mostly just sitting in front of a computer - mind you I was bored out of my mind yesterday as I had done all my work (even a few other people's) and the internet was down...

I do realize how lucky I am though... seriously, I dont know of anyone more fortunate than I am.... get ready to be jealous - you may even just want to skip this whole post for today...

1. I am married to the most wonderful person I know, I do not think there is a bad thing about him... he is a morning person, he loves the baby - even offers to change diapers, he tells me all the good things I am and does all the housework (although he is usually the one messing it up - ha ha), and he is our church's youth director... in short, he's my best friend

2. I have the most beautiful well-tempered baby I have ever known, and though he is sick alot, he isnt plagued with something major that so many other people have to go through... he only cries when he is hungry or tired - and he is always so smiley... he has been saying "mamamamama" for quite awhile now (although its not really connected to me yet), no sign of "da-da" though, he is learning sign language well, and he recently started pulling up to standing... so smart

3. Im saved - hallelujah... and I have a great church with people that love us

4. I have a good job, all I do is sit at a computer all day... free internet, free copying (which I use for the youth group alot), great people to work with, flexible schedule, wonderful insurance and benefits, and I get paid for it... although boring at times, I cant complain too much

5. Im healthy - yay... much better than riches

6. I have some great friends out there, old and new... :)

and thats just the tip of the iceberg... I hate to be in this human body that only wants to complain all the time - I want to be the "second man" that Paul talks about...

oh, and I did one of those internet aging things, and here is what I will look like when Im 36...


so yeah, yay for me... ;)

Here's to you Jason

I am sad today... I just found out this weekend that one of my high school friends will be going home soon - he is dying. He has 1-3 weeks left here on this earth, in that body.

Jason was always the typical "nerd" of our class. He was very preppy and super-smart. But beyond the exterior was a wonderful person. I want to say I didnt know him that well, but then I want to say I did... We didnt hang out alot on the weekends or anything, but we were in the same inner circle of friends. We often sat next too each other, usually talking about silliness or homework. Or we would fill each other in on what we did over the weekend... he usually was out in a field somewhere playing paintball or getting into something with Austin; I, on the other hand, usually had spent time with my boyfriend of the moment. I think Jason had a crush on me for alot of our high school time together, although I never felt the same way about him. I was always more into the bad boys - never having any sense to go for the guys who would actually treat me like a lady. Jason and I did go on an unofficial date at one time though. We were both out of high school, him in the military (no surprise there), and I in college... I came home that weekend just to accompany him to his military ball. I felt awkward as I really didnt know anyone and being so tiny. But Jason was just as proud as ever to have me as his date. He showed me the proper way of doing things - all the little customs that I had no idea even existed, let alone knew that they must be followed with precise execution. We had a great time as always - laughing and cutting up. After that weekend, I went back to college and things proceeded as usual... we lost touch and last year, I found out that Jason had cancer. Somehow, I didnt know it could touch so close to home... in high school, you feel invincible. I guess when high school is over, the memories just stay there - untouched... and you think they will continue that way until you meet for your 50 year reunion or so - everyone will come back older but better - the "nerds" in the class will now look great and be rich, the "pretty girls" will look worse than you, and the "jocks" are now all bald and fat - making you thank God that you didnt end up with one of them like you prayed for all those years ago.... or at least thats how I always imagined it going - maybe I watch too much tv... and now that image is being shattered as one of our own wont be there...

Easter nonsense

ok, since today is my last day at work before Easter, and therefore my last day to post on here before Easter, I wanted to post on Maundy Thursday (today), Good Friday (tomorrow) and Easter (Sunday)... I wanted to do a little research, check out my facts and then post... what I found was this nonsense... (all of the following, unless otherwise specified is found here)

nonsense -> We cannot find Easter in the Bible. This is a major problem for us, because we are Bible Christians. We only worship the Lord Jesus Christ according to what is written in the Holy Scriptures. The great and dreadful God of the Bible demands worship exactly as He has commanded. He will not tolerate additions or deletions, no matter how innocent, noble, popular, or sincere. If you doubt this, ask Cain about his offering, Nadab and Abihu about contemporary worship, Moses about striking a rock, or David about moving the Ark of the Covenant on a new ox cart. All four were judged severely for altering the worship of God. If we cannot find a doctrine or practice clearly taught in the Bible, we hate it and oppose it with all our might; therefore, we hate Easter and anything to do with it, for it is not in the Bible."

Addie -> Funny how all of those examples are in the OT - before Jesus and before Easter... not to mention Romans 7:4 (NLT) "So this is the point: The law no longer holds you in its power, because you died to its power when you died with Christ on the cross. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, you can produce good fruit, that is, good deeds for God." Makes the above paragraph seem like nonsense to me.

nonsense -> Sunrise services are pagan. Have you ever been to a sunrise service? The darkest tribes of the darkest nations on the darkest continents have not shown more ignorance, superstition, or idolatry. But when so-called Christians gather in the chilly dawn to sing hymns while facing the rising sun, there is a new standard set for pagan perversion of God’s religion, regardless of the modern clothes they might be wearing and the modern automobiles they drove to the event. Where in the world did this obvious custom of sun worship originate? Did the apostles face the rising sun and sing hymns? There is no record of it in the Bible. There are three strong Bible reasons against sunrise services. First, the great and terrible God has already very plainly condemned sunrise services connected to His religion (Ezek 8:15-18). Second, He also condemned any other form of worship of the heavenly bodies (II Kgs 23:5). Third, Jesus did not rise on Easter Sunday morning; He rose the night before at the end of His prophesied three days and three nights. When the women arrived at His tomb in the dark of the morning, He was already long gone.

Addie ->Now since when does a sunrise service constitute worship of the sun - not to be confused with worship of the Son (which we do)... I cannot even tell you how dumb this is... the reason for a sunrise service is to be like the believers and go first thing in the morning at dawn (read John 20:1(NLT) Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance) and yeah, Jesus had already risen but it was still after midnight and therefore Sunday, but right around sunrise is when the followers came (which is what we are), and Christ didn't rebuke Mary for being there at that hour, in fact, He shared a very intimate moment with her

nonsense -> Good Friday is a joke. How in the world could Jesus have died on Good Friday afternoon, risen from the dead on Easter Sunday morning, and still been in the ground the three days and three nights that He prophesied and promised (Matt 12:38-40)? This common tradition only allows one day and two nights. If you count parts of Friday and Sunday as whole days, you still only have three days and two nights. The math does not work! There are only two nights! Of course, once Constantine and the religious compromisers at the council of Nicea in AD325 had subscribed to sun and moon worship for setting the date, it was not difficult to further reject the words of Jesus Christ and create their Good Friday - Easter Sunday combination. Simple saints that believe the Bible can rejoice over their arrogant persecutors with seminary degrees and worldly education, just as Jesus had promised (Matt 11:25-27; I Cor 1:19-20; 3:19-20). They know Jesus was buried Wednesday night and rose Saturday night, just as He had declared would be the proof of His identity.

Addie -> Now this is just absurdity... I will let Mr.Ken Collins (whom I do not personally know, but enjoy his writing) explain all of this.... (just for reference, the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, which would make Sunday the first day of the week)
1.Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all inform us that the Last Supper and the Crucifixion took place on Preparation Day.

2.Mark and John inform us that the next day, the day after the Crucifixion, was the Sabbath.

3.Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John inform us that the Resurrection took place on the first day of the week.

4.Matthew, Mark, and Luke inform us that the day before the Resurrection was the Sabbath, and John heavily implies it.

-Ancient Christian writers confirm these conclusions. In The Apostolic Constitutions, Book V, Section III, it says that the Last Supper occurred on the fifth day of the week (Thursday), that Jesus was crucified on the next day (Friday), and rose on the first day (Sunday), and it explicitly states that this constitutes three days and three nights. The Apostolic Constitutions uses Roman-style midnight-to-midnight days, so this squares with the New Testament’s use of sundown-to-sundown days(note from Addie: if you notice in Genesis 1, it says and the evening and the morning were a day, not morning and eveing - this is how the Jews count days)... Therefore, it is obvious that the Crucifixion took place on a Friday, that Jesus rested in the tomb on Saturday, and rose from the grave on Sunday. So, you might ask, why didn’t the gospel writers just come right out and say that it was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday? The answer is that they did, for the circumstances under which they wrote. They were writing for an audience beyond Palestine, and in the Roman Empire of the first century, there was no general consensus about the names of the days of the week, the number of the current year, the names and lengths of the months, the date of the new year, or the time at which the day began. On that last point, the day began at midnight in Egypt, at sunrise in Greece, and at sunset in Palestine. So even though it is not what we are used to, the gospels are really worded in such a way as to make the dates and times comprehensible to anyone in the Roman Empire who was familiar with the Jewish Scriptures. When you count days you get a different answer than when you subtract dates. If you go to a three-day seminar that begins on Friday, you expect it to end on Sunday, because Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are three days. However, if you subtract the date of Friday from the date of Sunday, the answer is two elapsed days. The ancients counted days instead of calculating elapsed time—in fact, Jesus Himself counted days this way in Luke 13:31-32. This is why the tradition is universal that Jesus spent three days in the tomb when He was buried on Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday. All intervals in the Jewish and Christian calendars are calculated the same way, which is why Pentecost falls on a Sunday and not on a Monday. Roughly speaking, the western Church consists of Protestants, Catholics, and Anglicans. The eastern Church consists of the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and the eastern-rite churches affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.

----------------------- end of nonsense ---------------------

so today is Maundy Thursday, what does that mean? Maundy Thursday is the Thursday of Holy Week (the Thursday before Easter). It was the day on which Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples, sharing a meal with them which we call the Last Supper. The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin for 'command' (mandatum). It refers to the command given by Jesus at the Last Supper, that his disciples should love one another.

Tomorrow is Good Friday... why is it called "good"? Never really understood that as such a terrible thing happened that day... the good part didn't get here until Sunday... weird... as I said earlier, I am off tomorrow, so Im posting about everything today... I think Im going to fast tomorrow, as most of you know I am already fasting from sugar and sweets, but I think tomorrow I will fast completely from food to try to keep the day as holy as possible - I encourage you all to do the same (try to keep the day holy, not fast - that is up to you)... we have a good Friday service tomorrow night where we will take communion, Im looking forward to that....

Saturday - in all actuality, this was just another day to most people, the followers were probably still grieving, but I dont know, this day doesnt really do anything for me besides fulfill the prophecy... maybe its b/c I know whats going to happen next

Sunday is Easter... yay... this year will take on a whole new meaning... I now know what it means to have a first-born son... so I can have the tiniest glimpse of how the Father has been agonizing over the past week or so and also how much He really does love me, and maybe even just a tiniest bit of His joy and pride for what happened today... often we focus on what the Son was going through and totally miss out on what the Father was going through as well, I often wonder if the Father's sacrifice was greater than the Son's although they are one and the same, so I guess the sacrifice is one and the same too - hard for the human mind to comprehend (mine at least)

--------------------- one final thought ----------------------

Does anyone else find chocolate crosses a weird thing to want to eat? On one hand, that just seems sacriligious to eat something that our faith is half-hinged on... but on the other hand, it was just a cross and it in itself didn't have any power... On the other hand, at least they are commercializing the right part of Easter - the important part, but then on the other hand, doesnt commercialization of Easter kind of go against what Christ preached... I dont know, it just seems like a weird thing to eat - like you wouldnt go around eating a chocolate electric chair.... (Daniel made the comment "they should make a chocolate rock instead to signify the rock in front of the tomb" - I joke not, he actually said that and was serious - he is so funny) but if eating a chocolate cross is your thing, then do it all to the glory of God, that's all I have to say... as for me though, I will be eating the ears off a bunny... :)

------------------- HAPPY EASTER! -------------------

The Woman with the Alabaster Box

There are 3 different instances of a woman annointing Jesus with oil and wiping it with her hair - all 3 are usually confused into one story, but it was not so...
#1 is found in John 11:2 and 12:3 - this is Mary - the sister of Lazarus and Martha
#2 is found in Matthew 26:1-13 and Mark 14:1-9 - this woman was at Simon the leper's house, she annointed Jesus' head(not his feet as in the other 2) and didn't use her hair - so its similar, but not altogether the same... some think this is Mary again from #1 although in a different instance....

What I am going to talk about today is #3 found in Luke 7:36-50 (NLT)

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come to his home for a meal, so Jesus accepted the invitation and sat down to eat. 37 A certain immoral woman heard he was there and brought a beautiful jar (alabaster box in KJV) filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind Him at His feet, weeping. Her tears fell on His feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing His feet and putting perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who was the host saw what was happening and who the woman was, he said to himself, "This proves that Jesus is no prophet. If God had really sent Him, He would know what kind of woman is touching Him. She's a sinner!" 40 Then Jesus spoke up and answered his thoughts. "Simon," He said to the Pharisee, "I have something to say to you." "All right, Teacher," Simon replied, "go ahead." 41 Then Jesus told him this story: "A man loaned money to two people – five hundred pieces of silver to one and fifty pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt." "That's right," Jesus said. 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer Me water to wash the dust from My feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn't give Me a kiss of greeting, but she has kissed My feet again and again from the time I first came in. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint My head, but she has anointed My feet with rare perfume. 47 I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have been forgiven, so she has shown Me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love." 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 The men at the table said among themselves, "Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins?" 50 And Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Wow, what a story, and so often it's overlooked or combined with the other 2 so it loses some of its meaning...

We are looking at this story and it's about 6 days before the passover, so it's relevant to Holy Week and also a small character that tends to be overlooked, but contains a wonderful message...

Let's start with the woman - this is not Mary Magdalene as often is thought... Mary Magdalene is often portrayed as a prostitute - the Bible never refers to her this way, only that she was possessed by several demons of whom Jesus delivered her from.... the reason she is portrayed this way and why its relevant to this story is that Pope Gregory the Great decided that Mary Magdalene, the woman caught in adultery and the woman with the alabaster box that we are about to talk about was all one and the same - not true and with no Biblical basis... so now that that is cleared up, lets move on.... this woman was however an "immoral" woman and later thought of by Simon (the pharisee, not the leper as in story #1) as a sinner - this meant she was probably a fornicator or prostitue (not an adulterer b/c she still had the alabaster box which we will talk about later)... even Jesus said her sins were many...

So why not an adulterer? Whatss the deal with this alabaster box you keep talking about? Each Jewish girl was given an alabaster box of expensive perfume (the box was to keep it pure) right around the time she came of age or so, maybe a little younger... Jewish girls were then "engaged/betrothed" to a Jewish guy (arranged marriage type deal)... when the Jewish girl decided she was ready to be married, she would go to her betrothed with her box and drop it in front of him, then she would get ready and be watchful, for her groom could come at any time from that point on (remember the story in Matthew 25:1-13 about the wise and foolish virgins - they were waiting on the bridegroom)... dropping the box signified that the girl was ready - she was ready for marriage, ready to follow, ready to submit, and ready to be loved... so this woman still had her box - she had never dropped it in front of someone before - she had never been married, she had never been ready to submit - until now... what a great honor she was bestowing on Jesus - she was ready to be joined to Him forever (not in marriage, of course), she was ready to follow, ready to submit, ready to be loved...

What a beautiful portrait of our salvation displayed in this woman though... we come to Jesus as dreadful, ugly people, and it doesn't matter who sees us when we come... we come when we are ready not because anyone makes us... and we drop our life in front of Him - when we are ready for marriage (ever notice that Jesus refers to Himself as the bridegroom and us the bride), ready to follow, ready to submit, and ready to be loved...

who are you?

so far we have the following Biblical characters...
Peter: 1
Paul: 2
Thomas: 1
John the Baptist: 1

who are you? I would love to hear...

Im a Peter

So a common Sunday School question is: who is your favorite Bible character? I never did really know until a few years ago... Peter... and maybe thats because Im so much like him. And since Im so much like him, Im very protective of him - I wont let anyone say anything bad about Peter (although on the surface he seems not that great of a character).

Why Peter? The biggest characteristic I share with Peter is that we are both very passionate... Doesnt matter what we do, we do it whole-heartedly - whether its good or bad... If we say something, its whole-heartedly - even if it comes out of our mouth before we know what we are saying... This oftentimes got Peter in trouble and is the reason why he is seen in such a bad light so often...

As we are now in the Holy Week, Peter plays quite a few key roles and has a quite a few memorable performances in the last week of Jesus... too often, we look at the surface value of these roles/actions and write Peter off... lets see if we can dispel some of the darkness on Peter and look at what was really going on... (this is probably going to be a lengthy post, so read at your leisure)

Well, first Peter was one of the three that was praying with Jesus in the garden... one of the three that fell asleep... too many people say 'if they loved Jesus so much, why did they fall asleep?' lets look at Luke 22:45 (all are in KJV unless indicated otherwise) "And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow," - they hadnt just fallen asleep, they had cried themselves to sleep - they may not have known everything that was about to unfold, but they did know Jesus was upset and something bad was about to come - maybe they weren't dumb as everyone makes them out to be, Jesus had been telling them for some time now that He was about to die (I think they missed the whole resurrection part though)

Lets move ahead... Peter next cuts the guy's ear off and Jesus rebukes him... this is the passionate Peter I mentioned before - he was ready to protect his Savior and to go to jail for Him, although not quite what Jesus had in mind...

After that happened, Mark 14:50 says "And they all forsook him, and fled." So yeah, all the disciples left him after the mob came and Jesus healed the guy's ear (his name was Malchus, btw)... but... Peter came back and followed, besides John, he was the only one... mind you this is after all the other disciples swore like Peter did that they would die for Him and wouldn't deny Him (no, Peter was not the only one to make that promise - check out Matthew 26:35 and Mark 14:31)

Speaking of denial... lets back up to the last supper and see what Jesus told him about doing this, Luke 22:31-35 says "31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 33 And he said unto Him, Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And He said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest Me." ... so Jesus tells Peter he is going to do this beforehand, and Peter (as passionate as always) says that he won't... now that's usually all that people see in that Scripture... but look at the part that Ive made bold (vs 31) - Satan asked to sift Peter - kind of like Job (in fact, I believe that Peter and Job are the only ones the devil ever asks to test - correct me if Im wrong)... so even Satan could see that Peter was worth something... Jesus says that He prays for Peter not to fail, but Jesus already knows that he is going to... so He says 'when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren' - or in other words, when you mess up, come back to Me with everything you have and strengthen your brothers - remember all the disciples but John and Peter had deserted Him... so no, there isn't a real excuse for Peter's denial, but there is a reason it had to happen... (sometimes we have to be broken before God can use us)

It was also Peter that went immediately to the empty tomb when the women came and told them about it, while the other disciples didnt even believe them... Luke 24:10-12 "10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." or in John 20:1-8, John is also mentioned, but again it is Peter who runs passionately into the tomb "1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre(tomb), and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved(John), and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple(John), and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. " Jesus later shows himself to all the 11 and scolds them for their lack of faith...

The last chapter of John is a great story to end this on... and also a little bit of a complexity - its not mentioned in the other 3 Gospels... John 21: 1-19 (NLT, since its so long, I thought it might be easier to understand in this version) "1 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there – Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. 3 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who He was. 5 He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. 6 Then He said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved(John) said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three hundred feet. 9 When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread. 10 "Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn. 12 "Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said. And no one dared ask Him if He really was the Lord because they were sure of it. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. 15 After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love You." "Then feed My lambs," Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: "Simon son of John, do you love Me?" "Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know I love You." "Then take care of my sheep," Jesus said. 17 Once more He asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know I love You." Jesus said, "Then feed my sheep. 18 The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don't want to go." 19 Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, "Follow me." - I love this story... does it sound familiar? it should... this is the way Peter first met Jesus... personally, I believe Jesus did it this way just for Peter to let him know that Jesus still loved him even though he had failed... Peter passionate as ever to see the Lord jumped out of the boat to go to him - the others brought the fish in... incidently, it numbers the fish as 153, at this time, there were believed to be only 153 different types of fish - so thats pretty neat that john would use that number... anyway... Jesus then proceeds to ask Peter if he loves Him three times - the same number that Peter had denied him... I think Jesus did this on purpose - a second chance for each denial, and then again, He asks Peter to follow Him - this time for good... for this time, Jesus will build His church on him....

so... what did we learn? ha ha... another typical Sunday School question... well, thats up to you what you learned, if anything at all... you dont have to take my word for it, in fact, I encourage you not too... go look it up for yourselves and make up your own mind whether Peter was a good guy or not - whether he is fairly portrayed so often...

as we end our lenten journey and walk through this Holy Week, think about these things... think about the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made, and also the sacrifice of the Father (I come to a new realization of what that is this first year with Gabriel)... and also what the disciples and followers went through - their world is on the brink of being ripped apart... and then think about your own life, if you are a Christian, are you meditating on this week - what your whole faith is based on - does it affect you in any way at all or have you grown desensitized by it all? if you arent a Christian, then make up your own mind, but know that Christ still died for you whether you choose to accept it or not - He loves you whether you want Him to or not, who else can you say that about...

Random Thoughts

so here are some random thoughts Ive had lately...

- I think I should cut my hair (literally - I think I should cut it, not go have it done)

- If I ever go on a boat trip, Im going to take ivory soap b/c it floats, so if the boat sinks, at least I can be clean

- Sometimes I think everyone in the blogging world but Maggie, Amanda G, Melissa and PA dont really like me

- I wish people would do their job so I didnt have to

- To be a Diary of a "Gwenabee", there isnt much Gwen or No Doubt related stuff on this site

- I wonder if Gwen has gone to her New York LAMB headquarters since she has been in New York this week (doing SNL, Letterman, Good Morning America, TRL)

- I wonder if anyone would give me money to get some more LAMB stuff

- I love Daniel

- I hope dinner is good tonight (weve been trying new recipes and sometimes they are good and sometimes not)

- I wonder if anyone notices that I wore this same pair of jeans yesterday

blah

thank you amanda for my new banner...

blah - I am absolutely bored today! but its my last monday with no sweets/sugar... yay - I cant believe Im actually going to make it... :)

dixie or yankee quiz

take this quiz and see where you score...

I think I got the highest dixie score ever -> 95% - beat that sucka's... amusing b/c I really dont even consider myself a good southerner, go figure

Have a good weekend and a good Palm Sunday!

No Regrets

I heard this thought yesterday and thought it was really cool...
(Bennett are we on the same wavelength or what?)


Regrets... if you are thinking about doing something, go ahead and do it... when we look back, we dont regret the things we did, we regret the things we didnt do...


Happy St. Patricks Day!
(thanks maggie)

*just as a sidenote to the whole st patricks day thing... some, like my husband, wear orange and some wear green, the reason for this is that in ireland (btw: patrick was british) the catholics wear green and the protestants wear orange, I dont care either way... I wear green b/c I dont have any orange as most blondes dont look good in that color... but as I was looking it up, I came across this and find that its odd that they would choose orange for that particular occasion - why not purple or yellow - I dont know... just thought it was funny that they would pick the protestant color when the protestants are against their lifestyle too... just found that amusing... :)

joke of the day

What do an elephant and a tomato have in common?

Neither one can ride a bike

To whom it may concern

Amanda H. - Im at a loss on what to say... glad I could help? since your email got erased - did you get the pics I sent?

Austin - you really need to do a new post... saw you on tv the other week

Big Dan - how's it going? when are you going to update your non-obvious blogs... dont give up

P.A. - you are truly one of the sweetest people I really dont know (ha ha) - we should get together sometime... love the new pics on your blog... you and zach look so cute

Maggie - had a really good time on saturday... sorry you had to drive so far, but you did get some cool stuff for your trouble, right?

Deresa - you need to read your comments more often... I love you anyway

Emily - sorry about brinkley... wish there was something I could do

Grant - hola amigo - how cool was that chance meeting?

Joey - had a really good time on saturday - and I know gabe had one too

Kevin - sorry we didnt really get to talk on thursday, I wanted to, but things just didnt work out in our favor... but it was nice to put a name with the face

Kimberly - yay for spring break... good luck on your group project

Amy - you seriously need to update your journal - its been a month!

Melissa - hope you guys are doing well... when do we get to see more pics of that pretty girl of yours

Bennett - you are in trouble mister for not telling me you had a blog, or commenting on mine... watch your back... :)

Amanda M. - I still consider you such a good friend, even though we havent seen each other in quite awhile... you know you can call me if you ever need anything

Melly - thanks for reading my blog - its nice to get some sweet comments... and youve got me hooked on yours now

To anyone else reading: you really should comment or else Im going to assume you arent reading...


ok... sorry to anyone who wanted to meet me at luncheon - gabe got sick thursday morning, so we had to go by the dr's office and be there for 2 hours in the waiting room - ugh!... but we came up there later, and just about everyone there thought I was contagious or something as they stayed 10 feet away at all times (except for a few sweet people - you know who you are)... well, me, daniel, gabe, carolyn, ed and bro wayne all went to eat at mi toro which was good... bro wayne gave helpful parenting tips and all had a good time - especially gabe who carolyn walked all over the restaurant - he is so spoiled now... then we spent a few hours wandering aimlessly around tupelo, then friday, gabe still had a fever so I stayed home with him... so if you are wondering why I havent emailed you, thats why... saturday, I cleaned up the house and we went to eat with Maggie & Joey and then they drove forever back to our house where we talked and played with the baby and bored them with Napoleon Dynamite... sunday, we went to church and I came home and took a nap - yay... and that was my weekend!

* thanks for everyone who prayed for a Joseph - God did provide... very excited... will talk more about it later on...

Big Announcement

So tomorrow I will be headed off to the NEBSU with Daniel and Gabe to surprise Bro Wayne and Ed at luncheon... if its possible, then you should come... but dont tell, its a surprise, remember?! or if you just want to meet Gabe thats fine too... Carolyn (ed's wife) is in on it... so should be fun... :)

love you guys!

Cupid lives at my house

dont believe me? well heres the proof



ok, so gabes nickname is 'bug' b/c when we were in the hospital and he was wrapped up as 'snug as a bug' so daniel started calling him "shnuggy bug" which most of the time is shortened to Bug... tell me he doesnt look like a little bug (like a cute little caterpillar) in this pic


and here is our new family pic (thats a genuine LAMB vest for anyone who cared) - dont you love Gabes suit!


check out the rest of the pics here and here

vices

no, not the miami kind... ha ha

So here is a bit of personal info that Im about to share... one of my biggest vices for as long I can remember is "trying to play Holy Spirit" with other people

yes, that probably makes no sense at all, so I will explain...
I always would tell people what they were doing wrong and what they needed to be doing... all under the premise of love and holding each other accountable... trouble is no one asked me to hold them accountable... (if this sounds familiar, it is, I read an argument on another blog that I know a couple of you frequent)

this has been the hardest thing for me to get over, but slowly but steadily, God is changing my heart... I need to worry about me and thats it - I am only accountable for my actions, not anyone else's

so you can do whatever you want when you are around me, and I wont look down my nose at you or tell you you are doing anything wrong... although there are a few exceptions...
If you want to get drunk, thats fine, but Im not going to be around you...
If you smoke, thats fine, but Im not going to be around you as I cant stand the smell, and neither is Gabe
If you want to curse like a sailor to me - then I probably will ask you nicely not to, b/c I think it makes you look dumb if thats the best word you can find to use in your vocabulary

do whatever you want, I dont care - if you feel guilty or convicted, then you have to answer for that... you are adult enough to live the way you want...

and I know this is going to make some people look at me badly, but honestly, I dont believe in door to door witnessing... there isnt any way I can convince someone to become a Christian, that is all Holy Spirit, so I dont really see the need in "witnessing" in the typical meaning of the word... I believe in living a Christ-centered life, and letting my actions do the talking/witnessing... and if anyone has questions, then by all means, I would sit down and talk about whatever is on thier mind... but God will put me in the path of whoever I need to talk to - I dont have to go door to door... hmmm... now maybe God will put someone in my path that does believe in door to door and I will have to re-evaluate my whole system...

but honestly, the Christ (thats not a typo, I did type "the" Christ)didnt do the whole door to door thing... He just went and hung out at the local bar... he he, thats me paraphrasing... but thats about right...

not sure where Im going with this, guess I just needed to write it down somewhere and this seemed like a good place... feel free to agree or disagree

I dont know why I think this is funny, but I guess it kind-of has to do with the post (mostly I just found it on google images and thought it was funny, it was done by skot olsen - you can find more of his works here and no, I dont know him personally)

fishing for comments

just wanted to let everyone know that I will be out of the office tomorrow - so no new entry or responses to email...

feel free to comment on the new look too!

Have a good weekend!

Rummage Sale

Saturday - need a good road trip? like rummage sales? then have I got a plan for you...

our church Shaeffers Chapel, is having a rummage sale (that Im in charge of) this Saturday from 6-12... everything is priced to sell and we have alot of good stuff... :)

and I am 95% sure that gabe will be there if you just want to come see him... :)

Shaeffers Chapel directions... get on bypass - take Macon Meridian exit (45 south), drive about 2-3 miles and you will see Burkhalter Cranes/Rigging on the left... go about another mile and on the left you will see sign for the church and rummage sale

look forward to seeing you all there... well, I will think about you anyway... love you guys!

blog-lag

is anyone else's blog not working right? mine is not republishing harldy at all... but in order to see this, I guess it had to republish at least once... :)

new look

so I guess you can tell I redid the layout of my blog - its all kind of stripped down, which is how Ive been feeling lately... maybe that has to do with lent or something...

if you were a fan of the pink, I saved the code, so I can go back and change it back to that when Im feeling all girly-girl again... so no worries, mate

blah

just testing some new stuff and trying to work on a new layout - I might change my mind and keep this one - you never know... happy tuesday everyone