The Hiding Place

Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read.  It's sometimes required reading in middle/high school but somehow it escaped my grasp.  I picked it up at work the other day and began reading between sessions.  Of course, I finished it within a week, it was so gripping.  

If you haven't read it, The Hiding Place is about a Dutch family who has a secret room built in the top of their house to hide Jews during the German occupation of Holland.  I won't spoil it for you (it really is a must-read) but the "hiding place" is also Corrie and her family's refuge in their Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is so interwoven into every decision and heartache that they go through.  I don't know how I never read this book, but I'll definitely read it again.

Schwinn Tango!!

My precious brother, Matt, got us a tandem bicycle for my birthday!  It is so unbelievably fun and it's getting Jim and me up off our ham hocks.  It has a classic, swoopy design with white wall tires.  We LOVE it!  We took our first ride today even though it was chilly and rainy - I think I giggled the entire time because it felt so strange to just pedal and not have direction control.  We had such a blast!

    

Ain't she a beauty?!

One Sweet Day

I have Crohn's disease.  Not a really bad case compared to some, but enough that I have to alter my diet a good bit.  When Jesus comes to rescue us from this world, He will create a new heavens and a new earth.  Not only will my surroundings be redeemed, but I will get a new body - one without blemish or Crohn's!  When I am particularly bored with my current menu, I often dream of the bounty that I will enjoy at my Father's table.  I think it will look something like this....

• bacon cheeseburgers with everything except onions 
  
• pasta with as much tomato sauce that I could hold 
  
• tortilla chips and Ortega medium salsa (that's right - not even mild!)
  
• potato wedges fried in that orange season salt stuff
  
• big, fat, juicy steaks
  
• macaroni and cheese
  
• that nasty 3-inch-thick pizza pie from St. Louis that I could only lust after with my eyes

But now that I think about it... it's going to be so much more satisfying to just feast my affections, heart, and soul on my Redeemer and King.  The Bread that will cause me to never hunger again.  The Living Water that quenches my deepest thirst.

That feast given by the Bridegroom will be incomparable and everlasting.  I can't wait.

(That's a Five Guys burger, by the way... one of the best... I've heard.)     

Maiden Voyage of the Fireplace!

Tonight, Jim and I built our first fire in our house since we moved in.  Between the advice of both sets of parents, and my Oomah, we managed to not burn the house down.  Oomah taught me how to "warm the chimney" with a lit twisted torch of paper, held up the chimney, so that it will draw the heat and smoke up instead of out.  And our parents kindly reminded us to OPEN THE FLUE!!

When you buy an older home that has a fireplace, there is always a chance that it isn't, in fact, a working fireplace, so we're so pleased that ours doesn't fill our house with smoke.  I can't wait for the next cold, rainy (or dare I say it), snowy day so that we can build another nice, cozy fire!

Just So You Know...

Color me stupid, but also remember that this is the first election that I've ever voted in.  I tried to vote in the local election but had moved and failed to update my info... arrived at the booths and was turned away.  But don't worry, my information is all up to date now.  

I only realized in the past 6 months that I would see more candidates than just Obama or McCain on my ballot.  I know, this is most likely common knowledge but, again, first-timer here.  Now I realize that no matter what, unfortunately, our next president will in fact be one of these men.  There are 4 other candidates though!  And you've probably only heard their names in passing... MAYBE.  Did you realize that there is an African American woman running for president in this election??  And have we heard anything significant about her in the media??  

Granted, these are all Independent/Green Party/no affiliation candidates but it just seems so wrong that thousands of "everyday" voting citizens are will look at their ballots on Nov. 4 and see these other names that they probably will know nothing about and say to themselves "Okay, McCain or Obama?"  

My cousin, Gabe, opened my eyes to this injustice.  Forgive my naive, ill-educated political self, but it just doesn't seem fair.  These other candidates are doing all the same work that Obama and McCain are doing but because their campaigns aren't as wealthy and they choose to not affiliate with the "powers that be", they are pushed to the wayside will most likely never be represented in the Oval Office.  Maybe they never should be, but how would I know?  So here's my part... just so you know:

From L to R:  Ralph Nader, Robert L. Barr, Jr., Cynthia Ann McKinney, and Charles O. Baldwin

Go here to read more about each candidate.

All Fish Go To Heaven...

As I left the house this morning, I stopped to say goodbye to Dishrag.  There was no response.  Here is what I saw:

Of course I tapped, I knocked, I swished, I poked, I even cried out to him ... to no avail.  

As you may remember, Dishrag has had his close calls in the past.  A few weeks ago, he suffered a tragic, almost fatal, fall onto the kitchen counter during his bowl cleaning.  I think he just never fully recovered.

I had noticed his color fading and I've been putting the medicine from the previous illness in his water, but I it was just too late.  He's gone to that Great Fishbowl in the Sky.

I called Jim to break the news.  After the initial shock had abated he sighed and said, "Well, leave him there, I want to flush him together."  What a sweet, sweet man.

He gave Dishrag to me in February of 2007 - actually not as long as most Betas typically live, but he had a full life.  He moved with us, spent holidays together, even went to camp for a week with us.  

So long, Dishrag.  You've been a faithful friend.   

"So the sun stood still..." Joshua 10:13

I've posted about this blog before, but these photos of the sun were just too amazing to not share.  Go take a look - you won't be disappointed.  They were taken with some amaze-o camera that could zoom in really close.  Here is a photo of the surface of the sun:

 

And here are some fun sun facts for your reading pleasure:

• While approximately 1 million Earths could fit inside the Sun, it is actually a medium sized star.  
  
• The dark blotches on the Sun are called sunspots which are cooler areas..... relatively speaking.
  
• The Sun loses about 4 million tons every second in the form of hydrogen gas that it turns into energy.  This means that about 4.5 "pounds" of sunlight hit the Earth every second.
  
• The Sun takes up 99.8% of our solar system's mass.  That's a lot.
  
• Lightning is 3x hotter than the Sun.
  
• The light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach Earth.
  
• You should never stare directly at the Sun... hope that wasn't news to you.

Daniel Tammet, Pi >20,000 decimal places

You've GOTTA see this guy.  One of God's incredible creations.

Good Bye

Did you know that "Good bye" comes from the Middle English parting phrase, "God be with ye"?  It's funny to think that Microsoft PC's and cell phones wish you the blessing of the presence of Almighty God as you log off of their systems... suck-ahs!!

I also love the greeting "Peace be with you" and when the Apostle Paul says "May the peace of God reign in your hearts...".  And, too, when people say, "God bless you", even if it's just after a sneeze.  Although meaningful, these are only the hopes and prayers of fallen people (yes, even the Apostle Paul).  It's not necessarily a sure thing that peace will be with you or that God will in fact bless you.       

However......

In John 14:27, Jesus Christ himself says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."  It's a sure thing!!  When the Holy Spirit is imparted to us, he teaches us and brings to remembrance all that Jesus taught, which in turn, gives us that peace that passes all understanding!  What a comforting thing, that Jesus doesn't just hope that we'll have His peace - He leaves it here - He gives it abundantly through the ministering of the Holy Spirit!  Yahoo!!

May the peace that comes straight from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you today. 

Oh ... my ... goodness.

Compliments of my creative father...

What The Heck Is a PORK BARREL??

I'm really, REALLY uneducated about politics, economy, and the like.  Beyond the branches of government and the fact that the president lives in the White House, I'm a fish out of water.  Well, maybe not that bad but I really don't want to be an uneducated voter.  I've been frequenting Wikipedia and Google and talking to family and friends as I try to piece together this political puzzle.  

I heard on the news that the "Bailout" was approved and is now on it's way to the House of Reps. today.  Now, I know what a bailout is but not necessarily pertaining to Wall Street.  In my research, I ran across this article.  

If you're interested in a bottom-shelf, unbiased explanation of what has happened and future options and ramifications, it's a good read (although sort of lengthy).  

By the way, the term "pork barrel politics" usually refers to spending that is intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support.  It is suggested that it is derived from and early practice of giving slaves a barrel of salt pork as a reward and requiring them to compete among themselves to get their share.  Gracias, Wikipedia