Bias, Malfeasance, and Sins of Omission

Geoff Metcalf -- Bias, Malfeasance, and Sins of Omission has one interesting post.

Here's another one on the media bias during this election campaign by Fred Barnes, They'll Do Anything.

Reading the "Paper"

Why is it when I refer to reading the Jackson Sun online that I still say "I'm reading the paper?".



There is no paper involved here.

Day of Fire

Go listen to this testimony. Go buy the CD.



..::Day of Fire::..



Josh Brown, Jackson, TN native and former member of Full Devil Jacket, shares his story of how Jesus came into his life and touched him in a profound, deep way. The lyrics from Day of Fire are from Brown's own heart and pen, and the music rocks! Cornerstone is the first release off of this debut CD that is sure to be very successful.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! It's FIXED!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! My Cowbox has been fixed! Restored! I didn't lose anything...except maybe some corrupted files! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!



I sure was dreading starting from scratch again. A BIG thank-you to Mitch with On|Site Computer Guys!



Woohooo! Now, I can surf stress free once again!



I can play BF1942 again!



I can lisen to WAYFM again!



Thanks so much Mitch!

Liked This Quote

Katie just shared something she heard a man at work say today and I like it!

Ignorance is curable. Stupidity is forever.

Superblessed Christian Blog Awards

The Sisters' Weblog was nominated once again for a Superblessed Christian Blog Award. Always an honor, thanks Ganns!



Go celebrate the winners!



Superblessed Christian Blog Award winners 2004

Birthdays and Blogdays

I am one of those people who is really bad with birthdays. Oh, I remember them, like the fact that my Gram's birthday was last week, I'm just bad about doing something about them...like sending cards on time. I'm getting one in the mail Ma! Really, I am!



I'm so bad about this that I actually did forget to remember a special day: The Sisters' Weblog 2nd Blogday on September 9! Happy Blogday to us!



To commemorate here is a link to my very first post WORSHIP, and Katie's first post titled, well actually there is no title but it's HERE.



Last year we celebrated Blogday with THIS.



This year we we remember our Blogday by, well, by forgetting it. Oops. LOL Hey, we are only a month and a half late! Even Gram won't wait that long for her birthday card...I hope! LOL

OnSite Computer Guys

Mitch from OnSite Computer Guys came onsite to fix my computer. He took it with him when the diagnosis wasn't good. There is still hope, but that flickering light is dwindling.



So far two techies have told me that there is a physical problem with the hard drive, and of course this comes only a month after the warranty on my year old cowbox computer expired. Boo.



Well, I'm beginning to think that I should take some computer classes and learn about hardware. So far I am able to install modems, soundcards, RAM...next is the hard drive replacement.



As I pine for the irreplaceable stuff on the cowbox pc, things like pictures and special emails, I find myself more upset with having to redo all the special settings for the different sites I visit. You know, the cookie settings, the Norton settings, ad-block settings. Wah! I hate this!



Oh, and I'll need to redo all the configurations of my Battlefield 1942 game! ARGH! Oh well, after I prayed for my computer I realized that Jesus did not teach us to ever pray for inanimate objects...I quickly focused my prayer for Mitch the techie!



So, for now I am stuck using my old Compaq with little memory, a slow processor and dying hard drive. Hopefully it will hold out until Cowbox recovers from his extreme makeover! At least I can get online to check email, blog and stay up on current events. I just miss playing my games!

BibleGateway.com

There's a new beta version of a new an improved BibleGateway.com. Check it out!

Bless Her Heart

Eleven year old Tiffany is learning Powerpoint. If you are able to view .ppt files, you'll have to check out her first presentation. It brought tears.



May I present Tif's first powerpoint project My Framily.

Whew! Yay! I Made It Through Last Week

It was a looooooooooong week. Whew! I'm tired.



It started out good with my day off on Sunday. I love Sunday off, it's my Sabbath.



Monday was a short day at work, but then a long drive to Louisville for District meetings to help us get ready for the upcoming holidays. I never look forward to the meetings because they are usually boring, and they were. Give me the big news and let me go home is what I want! But, it's not what I get.



The drive to Louisville was entertaining. I carpooled with my ex-assistant manager who is now running her own store. I laughed so much on the way there I actually wondered why do things like Taebo and Pilate's exist when all one really needs is to have a friend like Mary to make you laugh so hard that you really give your abs a workout! I was hurtin'! LOL



We made it to the hotel after a detour at exit 15. It turns out that there are two exit 15s! We took the wrong exit 15! It probably wouldn't have been so bad without the downpour that had me pull to the side and wait it out. Or the deadly cloud to ground lightning we envisioned was frying the cows in the pasture! Whoa! It was a BAD storm we were lost in! We finally made our way to the hotel we were staying in. We checked in and then decided to "hit the town". Actually, Mary decided to "hit the town and see the sights", I would have been happy to watch tv, which is sometimes a treat for someone who doesn't have tv.



So, we headed out and we enjoyed seeing the skyline of Louisville. We drove to the city and on our way back we got stuck in traffic due to an accident. Being unfamiliar with the area, I opted to stay in my lane and work my way up to the front as we could. The traffic was buzzing by at a steady pace in the other lanes, but I didn't want to get out for fear of taking an exit to somewhere I didn't want to be. After 30 minutes of sitting there, we finally started to move. We crawled to the front of the line where the police officer directed us over into the left lane, the one I was avoiding, because there was no way to get by the wreck. So, there was no reason for me to even sit in that lane because it was impassable and I could have gone around 30 minutes ago! I hate when that happens! LOL So, I followed the highway in that lane all the way to Indiana. I sure didn't expect to visit Indiana, but there we were! In Indiana! LOL We turned around and eventually made our way back to the hotel, but opted for a late dinner at Perkins before settling in for the night. We shared some good conversation and laughs over pancakes. Yes, I had pancakes for dinner...nothing beats a Perkins pancake!



The next morning we got up for the meeting and then suffered through boredom for about 8 hours. Ugh.



The ride home was just as entertaining, and for me the most important part of the adventure. We shared a lot of deep conversation and I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to talk with my friend and learn even more about her. It was quite a learning experience for me and it has given me much to ponder and celebrate.



God is good.



The last part of my week ended with a press conference announcement by the mall. Yay! A Youth Escort Policy (YEP) is going into effect Nov. 5. This policy requires all youth under the age of 18 to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian from 6-9pm on Friday and Saturday nights. I think this is a great idea! I'm ecstatic about it! I think it is a good move for the mall because many of the "incidents" occur because youth are running around, hanging out, and getting into trouble because they are unsupervised. I am a merchant and I am in business to sell things...not to babysit loiterers! Yay! I can't wait until the 5th!



To top it off, my Cowbox Computer got sick! It's at the "doctor" (a friend who is a techie). I got a weird error downloading Norton updates, all my icons disappeared from the desktop and BAM! Everything froze! CAD didn't work...nothing. Couldn't reboot into safe mode...nothing. nada. Not good. I'm hoping my techie friend can do something to save my stuff. I have some things not backed up and I would hate to lose them.



So, I made it through the week...just a few more days until my next day off. Whew! This is a long stretch. That's all for now!

Prayer

This morning as I was going to work, I asked God to help me to focus less on my flesh and more on Him. I asked Him to give me opportunities to shine for him. I prayed this as I was on my way to the hospital to assist in marketing through a membership drive for the Y.



A woman was sitting across from me who needed some encouragement and the Spirit in me just poured forth as He did the night I had to speak at the domestic violence awareness vigil. I didn't know that she needed to hear what I was saying...I just shared like I do...I love to share about the wonderful things God does in my life.

I'm so tired right now that I can't recall much of the conversation. It's funny how when the Spirit moves and uses me, lots of times I can't even remember what I said...only the impact that it made. But, I do remember talking to her about divine appointment. I think I had been sharing a bit of my testimony with her. She told me that she believed that our meeting was divine because she has needed to hear what I said to her this morning. I told her that indeed it was because I had prayed for Him to shine through me today...and He did. We were both bathed in blessing this morning.



I want my light to shine so that others can see Him better.



Thank you my precious beloved Redeemer.

Framily Day

Went on a framily picnic today. It was a beautiful day!



I managed to get some good shots with my $25 digital camera. Here is Katie and her kids on the bridge railing.



This next pic is while she was reading the crucifixion story to the kids out of Matthew. We planned this to set up the viewing of the Passion of the Christ that we are going to watch together tonight as a framily.



We hiked to a beautiful scenic overlook and stopped to read God's Word. Katie read and we stopped to explain different questions the kids had about what they were hearing. It was wonderful time spent together. God is so amazingly creative and we enjoyed His Creation today.





I wonder if I have it in me to make photography a hobby?



We first stopped off and had a cookout. What made that interesting were all of the bees. We kepy swatting and screaming at those things to get away! Wow! What a nuisance! It was pretty funny when one bee got into the hamburger bun bag! LOL



After that we went for a short walk across the lake via a bridge. We stopped to swing on the swings and then we hiked the short distance back. We got back into the jeep and found a hiking trail through the woods. We did get out and hike that by the lake and had fun just enjoying the fall foliage, the crackling of the fallen leaves under our feet and the scent of autumn in the air. The air was cool and the lake was beautiful.



Thank you Father for providing such an awesome day for us to plunder!

I Can Do All Things through Christ!

Okay Sue, I'm blogging!



Sue is right! God is opening doors and I think last night may very well have kicked off a major turning point in my life.



It was about 5:00 p.m. when I left home to attend the annual WRAP (Wo/Men's Resource and Rape Assistance Program)candelight vigil in downtown Jackson. Last year at the vigil, it was publically proclaimed that October will be destined as Domestic Violence Awareness month in Madison County. This year, I attended as an observer only but God had other plans in store that I was most assuredly unaware of.



Before I get into details I want to explain that I began volunteering with WRAP about a year ago when I discovered the group called "Survivors" which is a support group (part of WRAP) of victims who have escaped the bondage of abuse and are continually determined to survive. I have been so blessed by being involved with this group even though at times it can be very painful to hear and see the struggles these women go through.



While I stood there deeply touched and feeling overwhelmed with love in my heart for these ladies, I was approached by one of the organizers of the group and told that one of the speakers cancelled. Then the unexpected happened. She asked me if I would speak in her place. I said when? She said in a few minutes as soon as "Jane" gets finished speaking. I said, "Ummmmmmmmm oooookkaaayyy but I HAVE NO SPEECH PREPARED! WHAT WILL I SAY??????" Then she so truthfully said, "I have never known you to be at a loss for words and I don't think you will be now." So I said that I needed a moment to pray and looked for a Bible. God led me to share my most favorite chapter in His word, Isaiah 61.



When the time came, I just told the supporters that I just found out 5 minutes ago that I was going to speak and asked that they don't hold it against me if it doesn't go so well! LOL. They chuckled and I began telling them my favorite chapter in God's Word. At this point I encourage you to stop and read Isaiah 61: 1-4.



I believe it was at this point that God began to use me as His vessel and gave me His words to say to those who so desperately needed to hear them. The end of Isaiah 61:4 reads, "...they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." At the moment the word generations left my lips I knew where I needed to go next and began sharing how domestic violence isn't just something that appears out of nowhere. In most, if not all cases, it is something that is passed down generation after generation until somebody finally says, "Enough! It stops here, with me!"



There is no way that I can possibly share everything in this blog. It would go on for days so maybe over the next few days I'll share a little more information here, that I shared with the supporters at the vigil last night. I can't believe how comfortable I felt standing before those people. It seemed as natural as talking to a friend at home. I had a peace that surpassed anything I can imagine or explain. I felt like I was right where God put me and I was happy to be there!



When I finished, I felt compelled to go and hug everyone in the group. But, before I could approach them, I found myself surrounded! They came to ME! They were blessed by what I said and began saying such wonderful things to me. During this time, one of the speakers, Dr. Theresa Blakely of Union University came to me and hugged me so hard and long. She said so many encouraging words then looked at me in the eye as she said, "I want you in my class!" Next, the professor over the social work department at Union University approached me and said, "It has been too long since I saw you last. I want you to come talk to me and get enrolled at Union." I told her that I couldn't go back to school right now because I have to work to pay for my kids to attend private school. She said, "We are working on an easier program and I really want to see if we can work something out." If that wasn't enough, the next person who I talked to was the juvenile judge for Madison County who also spoke at the Republican Women's luncheon the day before. She hugged and encouraged me also and then asked me if I WOULD SPEAK AT THE NEXT REPUBLICAN WOMEN'S LUNCHEON!!!! MEE! I'M NOBODY AND SHE WANTS MEEEEEEE TO SPEAK???? I told her I would LOVE that. I then told her that I'm on a mission and someday I hoped to get into some position of office where I can work to change policy in order to help improve the situation for victims trying to get free from DV. She told me that there were two republican positions open for county commissioner and that I should run. I was dumbfounded. Then, I said, "I have no experience, no degree." She basically told me that those things weren't necessary and that she thought I would be good for it. Then we arranged it so that I could call her and talk some more. Then I told her that I didn't live in her county and she said, "That's okay, maybe you can do the same in your county."



So, I am going to call her tonight. I don't know everything I said last night, but, as I occasionally flash back, I remember bits and peices and I am surprised. I truly know that it was the God of the universe speaking through me! He used MY VOICE to speak to others! I am truuullly humbled and in awe! I am amazed! I am blown away at how HE CONTINUALLY ANSWERS PRAYER! I felt like David!



Some other people came up to me and told me that they were told that I had inspired others to become volunteers with WRAP. This was one of my goals. I just can't put into words the victory that I am feeling right now!



Later that night I went out with some of the girls for dinner. At one point everybody was clapping. I began clapping and looked to the girl that I had been talking to (she was the other one who spoke before me from the group) and said, "Why are we clapping?" She just shrugged and said, " I don't know." Then somebody laughed and said.."WE'RE CLAPPING FOR YOU TWO AND WHAT YOU SAID TONIGHT!" LOL. That was pretty funny. Dinner was so much fun.



My job and life have prevented me from attending the weekly meetings at WRAP like I used to. I have missed it and missed the girls so much. They are sisters to me. I've watched so many of them come out of their coccoons to spread their beautiful butterfly wings...just like me! It does something to me that I cannot put into words!



I know my passion. God gave it to me. He confirmed it last night! AMEN!

I Hope Katie Posts Today!

Last evening Katie attended a candlelight vigil to raise awareness about domestic violence. Today she is pictured on the front page of the Jackson Sun! I know the front page will change, so here's the pic:



Some amazing things happened at the events last night and I am so excited! I think God may have opened some doors for my sister in Christ and I hope she comes home from work today and posts all about it! Wooohooooooo! It just wouldn't be right for me to share, 'cause it's all her gig! Wow! God is amazing! AWESOME!



So, I am once again proud of Katie. She is becoming quite the activist and she has dreams someday of making a difference. She will too, because she let's God lead!



I hope Katie posts today! I really hope she does! She's got some great exciting news to share! Some wonderful, God-ordained things to share! So, do I have your curiosity piqued? It should be! I think my post should help inspire and motivate her to spend a few minutes at the keyboard..if not, send her some email and encourage her!

I Just Can't Not Say It

This is from a conversation an 11 year old (Wah00Sue, she was under my AOL IM name) was having with a friend of mine/hers (DolphinNT9) shortly after the RNC:

[09:23 PM] WAH00SUE: this is tiffany

[09:23 PM] DolphinNT9: hey

[09:24 PM] WAH00SUE: did u see that man who said "what karey going to fight with spit balls?"

[09:25 PM] WAH00SUE: lol

[09:25 PM] DolphinNT9: no i didn't see that

[09:25 PM] WAH00SUE: it was funny

[09:25 PM] WAH00SUE: hes a democatic to

[09:25 PM] WAH00SUE: he wsa going for bush

[09:25 PM] WAH00SUE: that's weird

[09:25 PM] DolphinNT9: i don't know anything about politics

[09:26 PM] WAH00SUE: o

[09:26 PM] WAH00SUE: i have to know a lot

[09:26 PM] WAH00SUE: i live with sue

[09:26 PM] DolphinNT9: is this still tiff

[09:26 PM] WAH00SUE: that's all she ever talks about

I had to laugh when Tif said "That's all she ever talks about". I didn't think it was all I talk about because usually I avoid political talk because of the emotions and passions it has a tendency to stir in people. I guess Tif was hearing me talk a lot about it during the conventions though.



I also never really brought it up on the Sisters' Weblog, that's usually Katie's department. She loves to stir things up! LOL After the debates last night I just had to say something, I just can't not say it!

"I was taught -- I went to a church school and I was taught that the two greatest commandments are: Love the Lord, your God, with all your mind, your body and your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. And frankly, I think we have a lot more loving of our neighbor to do in this country and on this planet."

John Kerry said "I was an altar boy" and "I am a Catholic" and made sure to point these facts out during the debate(s). Hey, that's great, I respect that.



He was taught the two greatest commandments, but his "quote" from scripture has me thinking he must have skipped class that day. (He must have started that missing votes thing early!) The actual scripture he attempted to quote was:



Matthew 22:37

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.',



or Mark 12:30

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.,



and most likely Luke 10:27

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'



These were the teachings of Jesus and based on the Old Testament scripture Deuteronomy 6 "5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."



Now, many people are going to be impressed that he is able to "quote" scripture without even checking to see if what he says is real. That is the danger of this whole election. He says so many wrong things and He even misquotes the Bible! And people aren't even noticing! I'm scared because I wonder if people even care!? I find it interesting that in his misquote of the scripture, John Kerry left out the word "heart". You see, God looks into the heart of man. He judges the heart. Man looks at the outside and makes judgements, but God knows the heart. It is very interesting to me that John Kerry replaced the word "heart" with "body" in his misquote. I wonder where is John Kerry's heart?



Some would argue that we are to love God with our bodies, which I agree...loving God means taking care of our bodies, it means honoring God with how we treat our body, a temple. Unfortunately, some believe that loving God with our bodies implies using our bodies in ways that feel good to us. This is not so. There are many things that feel good to the body, but they aren't necessarily things that honor God. Drugs can make the body feel good for awhile, but drugs destroy. Alcohol destroys. Sex outside of marriage destroys, and not necessarily the physical body only. If our hearts are where they should be, we would take care of our body, and in fact, love God with how we take care of our body.



I do agree that we do need to "have a lot more loving of our neighbors in this country and on this planet", but even his Catholic upbringing should have taught him to hate sin. Sin is evil. Terrorism and terrorists are evil. Terrorists and those that harbor/enable them are NOT "neighbors"!



Later on in the debates Kerry said:

"My faith affects everything that I do, in truth. There's a great passage of the Bible that says, 'What does it mean, my brother, to say you have faith if there are no deeds? Faith without works is dead.'



And I think that everything you do in public life has to be guided by your faith, affected by your faith, but without transferring it in any official way to other people.



That's why I fight against poverty. That's why I fight to clean up the environment and protect this earth.



That's why I fight for equality and justice. All of those things come out of that fundamental teaching and belief of faith.



But I know this, that President Kennedy in his inaugural address told all of us that here on Earth, God's work must truly be our own. And that's what we have to -- I think that's the test of public service."

This scripture reference was taken slightly out of context so Kerry could say that the reason he does his good deeds, "fight against poverty, clean up the environment, protect the earth, fight for equality and justice" is because the Bible says that we should. The scripture reference though is explaining that deeds will happen, or be an outgrowth of; a showing of true faith, not that deeds prove faith and/or warrant salvation.



James 2:14-24 "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.



But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."



Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.



You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.



You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone."



I find it so incredible that John Kerry uses this scripture in the debate last night shortly after he gave his position on abortion. Amazing, he can't respect a human life enough to save it from abortion, but he fights to "protect the earth". He can't claim to live biblically on one hand, and then spit in the face of it the next. There is no either/or!



I'm struck by the way he explains "transferring it in any official way to other people" part of his little speech, because actually the Bible, if practiced, promotes transferring your faith! It teaches to:



Mark 16:15

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.



1 Peter 3:15

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,



I am a Christian and I love America. I feel very blessed to live in a country that does allow freedom to worship, or not to worship. I totally agree with President Bush when he said last night "But I'm mindful in a free society that people can worship if they want to or not. You're equally an American if you choose to worship an almighty and if you choose not to. If you're a Christian, Jew or Muslim, you're equally an American. That's the great thing about America, is the right to worship the way you see fit."



Who knows who or what John Kerry worships. His belief/deeds do not even reflect consistency in that department either. I just felt I had to comment on how easy it is for John Kerry to go unchallenged on a lot of what he says throughout this campaign. I don't know what bothers me more, that John Kerry is even allowed to run for president, given his lying and treasonous history, or the fact that there are so many people that I share this country with that will actually vote without really looking into all of the available information. Most seem to look into the misinformation that's swirling all around day in and day out. It's one thing to look at both sides of an issue, all of the facts, going beyond the rhetoric and choosing a side to come down on, it's quite another to blindly follow! It is so disturbing to me! It is spiritual warfare!



Please pray for these candidates and our country!

Heart Condition Update

I made a return visit to the doctor today to get my results of the blood work and holter monitor from the condition I posted about HERE.



The 24 hour monitoring of my heart revealed nothing major. There were a couple of incidents of tachycardia which I don't understand because from the definition it means that the heart rate increases. I never feel my heart rate increase, it just skips beats. Hmmmmm? So I diagnose myself with Ectopic beats, when the heart skips a beat or adds a beat. The heart rate is "normal".



Either way, the doc didn't seem to concerned. I also have noticed a decrease in "cardiac episodes" so I asked "Do you think I'll live past Thursday?" and she nodded and responded "yes, you should live past Thursday." She also explained that I could opt for medication (beta-blockers) or wait. I said "I'll wait. I hate drugs. It seems to be improving so we'll just wait and see." She agreed that this was a wise decision.



The blood work came back very normal as well except for one thing, triglycerides. My blood pressure is on the low side of normal, my sugar level is good. Thyroid checks out (and that was the one that the doc was looking for to make sure all was ok there). I was curious about my cholestoral levels since I've never had those checked. I was expecting rather bad news there...and not that it was great, because this was the area of concern but here are the results:

Test Name	Result	Expected Range	Abnormality
Cholesterol	181	107-200	Normal
Triglycerides	554	35-160	HIGH
HDL Cholesterol	24	45-65	LOW
LDL Cholesterol	46	50-140	LOW

The doc says that the Triglycerides are high but that it could be a skewed reading if I had eaten that day before the blood work was done. I had eaten, so what we are going to do now is do the blood work again on Monday, and I am not to eat anything until after the blood work is done. Then we can get a more accurate reading and go from there.



Turns out the bad cholesterol (LDL) is pretty low, but the "good" cholesterol (HDL) is also low which is a red flag. Triglycerides are pretty high, but the doc says will wait until we get the results back from the blood work next week before we decide the next course of action. She said this is nothing that medication/diet couldn't fix.



So, all in all, it's a good report! I will live past Thursday! YAY!

The Object of My Affection

I went on an annual retreat with the women from church this weekend. God did wonderful things for me there and I just wanted to post an excerpt from my journal.



We were given an hour to go and have quiet time alone with God. I asked God to help me find a place that was perfect. I was looking for a place in the woods but close to the river. I found the perfect place. I took a walk down a path through the woods that led me to the most perfect spot on the river.



------



10/02/04 11:05 AM



Father,



I just finished singing "This is the Air I breathe"...well, sorta, because You interrupted me as you breathed life into my soul. I began to pray and you moved me to write.



You've taken me to a quiet place by the river. I can hear creation praising you. The bugs, birds, fish jumping, the rustle of the water and its lapping on the shore. I am wading my feet in it as I write this. (It was so cool and refreshing and cleansing inside out).



I feel tears forming as I am totally taking in the pleasure of this much needed time with You. You know how I have been spoken to through Your servants who have told me to "delight [myself] in You" and to "Seek [Your] kingdom and righteousness". In this You will give me the desires of my heart end everything will just fall naturally into place behind that. Lord, You know it has been my prayer for quite some time and it has been my greatest desire to Love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. But Lord, this is not something that I can try to do. It's impossible. You have to do it through me because it is with You that all things are possible. It's through You, through Christ's shed blood from where my strength comes.



When You gave me your Word to delight myself in You...I tried. I have been trying so hard for so long. But when You said it just recently, today especially, I knew..it hit me...I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!!!! I cried out to You because I was there once before and I wasn't even trying to be. My life was horrible but I could always turn to You. You were my delight, my joy, my hope, my strength. You breathed life into my spirit every day and kept me going through it all.



There was a time when delighting in You was as natural to me as "the air I breathe" and that is where I want to be again. Through all that I have mentioned and prayed, Lord, You have brought me to that place again. Lord, I can't delight in You by "trying" anything. It's been through prayer and Your Word that YOU have brought me to a place where I can delight in You. I know now that delighting in You is not something that I can do but it's something that You and only You can do in and through me and Father, I can truly say in this moment, You are my delight.



Thank You.



In Jesus Name,

Amen



Scripture References:



Delight Yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:4



...For God delights in You Isaiah 62:4 (HEEEE delights in MEEEEEEEEE!!!)



Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Mk. 12:30



I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phil. 4:13



Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Matt. 6:33



I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him will bear

much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5



If You abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire (the desire will be put there by God) and it shall be done for you. John 15:7



Note: I pray that I will glorify You through the fruit I produce. I pray that I will be a good disciple for Your kindom's sake.



Final Note: Whe delighting in Him has become as natural as the air I breathe...then HE will truly give me the desires of my heart becuse those desires will match up with His desires for me.



end of journal entry



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I am amazed that the God who created the Universe and is in control of all things...desires time with me...He even delights in ME! There is no way to explain this to somebody who doesn't believe. But, I was once an unbeliever until God showed Himself to me. I now have a very personal relationship with Him. If you doubt...just cry out to Him. Ask Him to show Himself to You. Ask Him to make a believer out of you. He is sure to answer.

Shoutfest

SHOUTFEST RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKED!



We arrived about 3 hours into the festival and missed the early bands.



Oh, my throat is sooooooooo raw from SHOUTING TO THE LORD!



Rachael Lampa was the first performer we saw. She played a lot of her new stuff which I don't think is her best. She did do "Blessed" off her first CD, but I wish she would have done more. I find her first CD to be her best because it was aimed at an adult listener and it was solid. Her last two have been more pop with a hint of R&B sylings, kind of like Stacie Orrico and I just don't think it's Lampa's niche. Her performance was good, but I really didn't know the songs which can take away.



Seventh Day Slumber put on a great show and the testimony shared was a tear jerker. It had to move a few hearts and I can tell that God is using those young men to glorify Himself. The most worshipful song was "Candy" and it was so cool to see the "rockers" in the audience worshipping God together with such energy!



Jump 5 came out next and I wasn't looking to forward to that because I just don't do pop music, but I have to say that these young kids put on a very entertaining show. I was exhausted just watching them. THEY CAN DANCE! Whoo! Their show was non-stop moving and action and jumps and flips and dance and cartwheels and, well, I was impressed! With the dancing...there is no way the singing was going on during all that...it had to be synched, except for the many times the one kid would "Whoo". His "Whooing" was annoying he did it so much. All in all, I have to admit I was quite entertained by their energy and upbeat songs.



Tait took the stage next and they were my favorite. This is where I lost my voice. Oh wow! They ROCKED THE HOUSE! They opened with "Lose this Life" and I even got to hear "Numb" off the latest disc. Got to hear a snippet of "Jesus Freak" and "I Want To Be In the Light" from some old DC Talk stuff. Wow! It was so much fun! I was shouting and screaming and doing a lot of "woohoooing"! I WAS HAVING A BLAST!



The bad part about it was that it was so cold. While the bands were playing it was easier to forget that my nose was frozen, but in between bands, I froze!



Petra ended the festival...we stuck around for some of their set, but we are pretty unfamiliar with their stuff and finally left. It was too cold!



I think that Jackson supported this festival pretty well so I hope to see some more roll through.



Oh my aching throat...off to get a lozenge, and then some rest.



Below you will see some of "updates" from Shoutfest, courtesty of Audioblogger.

TAIT getting ready for there show. By this time my "woohooo" was running out of steam because I had spent a lot of time shouting and screaming and singing and worshipping!



Katie was wrapped up in a wool blanket lying on the ground attempting to get warm. It was a very cold evening and by the time TAIT took the stage our noses were numb, our feet were numb and we were ready to start jumping around with the energy of the band's music. When Tait had us practice the "are we numb? are we numb? are we numb?" part of the song "Numb"...we shouted out "YES!" we were very numb from the cold! LOL

Sue with a Shoutfest update...Seventh Day Slumber was great and we heard a powerful testimony from the lead singer.



Oh, and Mandy says "hi"!

What's that smell? Katie announces that she smells something not so pleasant while we were on the hill awaiting Rachael Lampa's performance.

Audioblog on our way to Shoutfest...it's bad to drive while audioblogging!

R.I.P

This was Pig:







He died overnight.



*sniff*