Management Positions Available

I am currently in the unfortunate situation of having to find a replacement for my assistant manager and I've always been looking for good part-time manager help. My assistant will NOT be easy to replace AT ALL!

Anyway, here are some questions I get from people interested in work...mind you, this is for a management postition:

1. What does management do?
2. What is retail?
3. What is a keyholder?
4. What does "prior experience" mean?

*rolls eyes* If one has to ask these questions, why are they applying for this position?

Today I answered one young man's question "what does management do?" by listing things like "inventory management, loss prevention, human resources, training, merchandising, etc." He looked at me like I was speaking an entirely different language and then said "oh, I don't think I'm ready for that." I said "probably not".

UGH!

Update on Holly 01/31/06 Midday

Holly's head trauma has officially been updated to an 11! That is good news!

Jeanie reports that Holly opened her eyes for a "significant" amount of time this morning, a few moments, and that Jeanie asked "are you in pain" and Jeanie says Holly weakly "nodded" a "yes" with a strained expression on her beaten and bruised and stitched up face. It was only a moment, but it was a moment that offered some hope.

The pain meds she is on is probably keeping her pretty sedated too. It was encouraging news that Holly apparantly heard and responded to verbal stimuli. They are going to try to sit her up later today.

Katie did get in to see Holly today. She said Holly is pretty cut up and stitched up on one side of her face, but nothing that will make her look disfigured or anything. Katie said even in the shape she is in, she looks so beautiful.

Praise the Lord for this report!

Update on Holly 01/31/06 AM

There really isn't much to report. Holly's condition has not changed, it is just a waiting game now. The family is exhausted and Dave and Jeanie did go home last night and are now forcing their energies on getting life into some type of normalcy again, a "new normalcy". There are two siblings at home to consider here as well, and Marie (13) and David (14) need mom and dad. Madeleine, the eldest daughter is married and currently residing in Florida.

I thought I'd post a picture of Holly so you can put a face to the name you are praying for. Also, you can visit Holly's Xanga or her Myspace and learn a bit more about who you are praying for. Holly is a very special young woman, and I can't help but think God has a plan for her even through this. This all has been shocking to those of us who know the Gushee's, but none of this is a surprise to God.

It seems David (14) is dealing ok, although he has always kept to himself, so it is hard to tell how he is coping. Marie is having a difficult time because of the attention given to her. She is experiencing the phenomenon of everyone now wanting to be her friend and her true friends are having to be "crowd control" at school. Marie keeps trying to "rest" her mind by thinking about things other than her sister, but with everyone meaning well and coming to her to offer "support", they just keep reminding her of the situation and her mind doesn't have a chance to rest. At school yesterday, apparently Marie got to the breaking point, plugged her ears and screamed for people to get away.

This kind of reminds me of Miss JoAnn Roe a woman in our church experienced the sudden death of her adult son in a car accident late last summer/early fall. JoAnn was in SaLT group a few days later and when we asked what we could do she responded "I want everyone to ignore me." We told her we would, and we did, but that we were praying for her. I think Marie needs people to just ignore her and pray for her and her family right now.

Tiffany and Marie are like sisters. They have basically been growing up together since the Gushee's entered Katie's life five years ago. The Gushee's are amazing people and this is one of those situations where you can't help wonder "Why, God, why? Why them?"

Five years ago the Gushee's committed to taking Katie's kids every other weekend to give the kids an opportunity to experience healthy family living. They remained committed to that until recently when lives in both families just got too busy, but as a result, Katie and her kids are like family with the Gushee's. Dave Gushee has been Katie's counselor through her divorce and that family has just been an amazing support system for Katie.

Marie and Tiffany have always been the best of friends, you know the kind of friend that you are so close with, yet can fight with like a sister!

Marie and Tiffany have always been the best of friends, you know the kind of friend that you are so close with, yet can fight with like a sister! LOL They are like sisters, so this situation with Holly is affecting Tiffany pretty hard, all the while she is trying to help Marie cope. Holly is Marie's hero, and Holly is just the kind of sister to admire. Katie is trying hard to gauge if Tiffany is around too much. Katie and Jeanie are close friends and meet for tea often, maybe twice a month to just chat about life and enjoy their friendship. This whole thing is hurting Katie because she knows it is hurting one of her best friends so much. I have to say, Dave and Jeanie are coping and are dealing with the situation at hand very well, although they are exhausted. It is just so hard to know what to do to help the ones you love sometimes.

There will probably be nothing new to report until Holly wakes up, and from all indications, it might be awhile yet.

Keep on praying please.

Update on Holly 01/30/06 PM

I'm providing updates on a young woman, Holly Gushee,18, who was involved in a car accident last Saturday. For details on that you can read the original post here. She has suffered severe head trauma and has not been awake since the accident which was 51 hours ago.

Apparantly there is/was some bleeding on the brain, involving the sheathing. The family has been told that in most cases like these, the people who awaken from this are not the same as you remember them. Recovery will most likely be six months or so.

It seems the news is getting worse each day. Prayer is needed and requested by the family...they've got it too!

Update on Holly 01/29/06 PM

Scratch that upgrade to an 11, that was misinformation that was given to me. From her mom this evening we heard that the last time the doctor upgraded Holly, he said between a 9 and a 10 probably.

Holly is still not awake. It has been over 26 hours.

Let's Go Out For Some Coffee

Katie just asked "do you want to do something?"

I said "yes".

"What?" she asked.

"Let's go out for some coffee."

Then I was reminded that coffee doesn't do well in Katie's digestive system when she winced and looked at me with this pathetic, sick look on her face, while "holding" her stomach and replied "I'll go out for some Sprite!"

LOL

Who goes out for Sprite???

Evil

We had a great message delivered at Northbrook Church today. It was all about evil. Evil is here. Like it or not, evil is here.

The passage was from Daniel 7:1-28 and packed a powerful punch. David dreamed of evil. Evil took the form of beasts in his dream, beasts that were like a lion, a bear, and a leopard. All of these are beasts of prey that roam around waiting to attack and kill.

Listening to the message today really had me pondering some things that bloggled my mind.

Evil is here and always roaming, waiting to attack and kill. The attacking and killing take place in the spiritual realm, in the unseen world, not our physical one.

Many times we don't even see the evil until we are attacked by it and then we have to react. Reacting puts us on the defensive immediately.

Christians should always have on their spiritual armor as Ephesians 6 states:

13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Christians "fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" should never be caught off-guard. We should not ever need to react to an attack of the evil one, we should be ready and armed for battle at all times!

We know evil lurks waiting to devour. We should not be surprised when the attack occurs!

This is where I got to thinking...what do you do when evil confronts you face to face? When you are standing there with evil staring you in the face? Looking you in the eye? At that moment when evil attacks, what do you do?

YOU STARE EVIL IN THE FACE, LOOK IT IN THE EYE, AND SAY GET BEHIND ME SATAN!

Evil is here, yes, but we already have the victory. The war has already been won. There are battles raging, those are the "attacks" I speak of, but the war is won. What makes evil that much more frightening is that the evil one knows that the war for him is already lost, so why not pull out all the stops? It's a game for him. A taunting game, with the goal to keep people from knowing God. If he can ruin the testimony of one, it can effect the souls of many.

If he can ruin the testimony of one, it can effect the souls of many.

But, the war is already won. God is in control. Jesus Christ looked evil in the eye, even as He hung dying on a tree. He died and was buried, but then took his life back up again, and in essence said, "GET BEHIND ME SATAN!" as he emerged from his tomb. Death, evil, has no power over Christ. God is the winner! God rules!

Jesus never turns his back on us, sometimes he may look away from our sin, but never, NEVER, has his back turned toward us. That means we stand, bow, lay prostrate before Him, we are IN FRONT of Him. He stands and looks at us.

If we are in front of Him, where is satan? Satan is BEHIND HIM! Satan has no authority over Jesus Christ, over the Son of Man, over the Ancient of Days!

God wins and God rules the world!

Update on Holly 01/29/06 Midday

It was announced at church this morning that Holly's head trauma condition was again upgraded to an 11 (on a 15 point scale). In talking to her dad a few minutes ago though, he indicated that he doesn't understand why the doctor changed the level because he doesn't see a change in her responsiveness at all.

Also, in addition to the minor fracture in her pelvis, it was discovered that she has a broken tailbone and most likely use a walker for a month or so in recovery.

Northbrook Church is praying as a family united. We've prayed together for a long time, and we have seen miracle healings, and have also shared in a lot of suffering and heartache. We will continue to shoulder one another's burdens and love each other through it all. God is in control. To Him be all praise, honor and glory!

Update on Holly (AKA Phone Call You Never Want to Receive) 01/29/06 AM

Holly, the daughter of one of Katie's best friends, was involved in a car accident last evening. Driving in a Pontiac Sunfire, she pulled into traffic on the bypass and was hit broadside by an SUV. She was knocked unconscious at around 7:00 PM last night, thirteen hours ago, and still has not awakened, although doctors have upgraded her condition.

She has head trauma, rated at a level 9, a moderate coma, which was upgraded from a level 7 last last night. She has minor fractures on her pelvis, which should heal naturally with no problem. She has facial lacerations and swelling.

There is much optimism for recovery, but I can't help be concerned that she hasn't regained consciousness yet.

A young, beautiful, 18 year old woman, who could be out doing most anything on a Saturday night, was leaving church last night when tragedy struck.

Hug your kids. Hug them again.

The Phone Call You Never Want to Receive

Katie and I were finishing dinner at a restaurant in a nearby town this evening when her cell phone rang. She answered and immediately all eyes and ears in the restaurant turned to her when she loudly and intently exclaimed "WHAAAAAAT?".

You know, that dreaded "WHAAAAT?" in disbelief with a tone that says this is serious.

I was only hearing one side of the conversation and then she started asking all the "wrong" questions to put me at ease..."is she ok? where is she?" while she was starting to reach for her things and stood to leave.

Katie's eyes reflected grave concern.

I grabbed my coat and started to leave and follow Katie, but remembered to turn back, pick up the check and head to the counter to pay for dinner. Standing in that short line felt like hours!

We finally headed out the door to the car and started the drive home.

Katie's daughter, Tiffany, had called from her semi-formal dance to tell us that her best friend's sister was in a car accident. Tiffany was bawling and very upset and Katie calmed her down a bit, but at this point details were sketchy.

Tiffany told us that the ER had called Marie's mom who was chaperoning the dance and she immediately grabbed Marie and left for the hospital. That's all we knew.

Once Katie and I were headed home, Katie contacted the brother of the girl in the wreck on a cell phone. We learned from him that Holly, 18 years old, had been involved in a car accident and was still unconscious. That's all he knew to tell us. He mentioned that his parents were in with Holly but that's all the information he had.

The accident was serious enough to render Holly unconscious, and by the time we learned of the accident, she had probably been in this condition at least twenty to thirty minutes. Not good.

I am now home...praying...and Katie is heading to the hospital to be with her other best friend whose daughter is injured and lying in a hospital.

I HATE NOT KNOWING WHAT IS GOING ON!

* * * UPDATE 8:37PM CST * * *

I just received an update:

This evening around 7pm Holly was hit broadside by an SUV...She was taken to Jackson General ER. ..The most recent update is that she had head trauma and on a scale from 3-15 with three being the worse, she is a 7. She is not in a coma, a three would be a coma. The Doctor's have guarded optimism. Please keep her in your prayers.

* * * UPDATE 8:56 PM CST * * *

Katie just called from the hospital. Holly's face is pretty cut up, and her mom (RN) thinks she may possibly need plastic surgery. She is still unconscious. Katie basically validated the information I recieved a few minutes ago and stated that it is a very serious situation, but doctors are being optimistic.

Half the church body is at the hospital with the family, which is good news.

* * * UPDATE 9:28 PM CST * * *

There are no broken bones or bleeding on the brain. There are facial lacerations and the head trauma. She does have a concussion.

C'mon people....IS SHE CONSCIOUS YET??????????? The waiting is indeed the hardest part!

* * * UPDATE 9:40 PM CST * * *

Katie just called, she took Tif and Marie back to the dance which is a good distraction. The other girls at the dance enthusiastically welcomed the two back to the dance and that all seems like a good idea.

Meanwhile, the doctors just informed those at the hospital that there were some fractures detected in Holly's pelvis, which contradicts the above update. I guess this was just now made known to the family. Holly is still unconscious, and has been for almost three hours now. I'm concerned, but the nurse at the hospital said that this is not unusual for this kind of injury.

* * * UPDATE 11:25 PM CST * * *

No real news. Marie said she thought she heard her sister moan when she went in to see her earlier, but Holly is still not awake. Reports from relatives who have been in to see her are that her face is swollen and bruised with multiple lacerations which make her virtually unrecognizable. Doctors say her pelvis should heal on it's own in three weeks or so. I would just feel a lot better knowing she was conscious!

Holly has the lead role in the musical (Grease) at her school which is supposed to open in March. Not good.

* * * UPDATE 12:51 AM CST the next morning 01/29/06 * * *

PRAISE THE LORD! Holly's condition has been upgraded and the head trauma number is now raised to 9. The higher it goes the better.

Her dad says she is not driving for a year! LOL (She's had a few accidents already as a young driver, fender-benders, but this one is too scary!)

Looks like all the praying tonight is paying off, and Holly will most likely recover, although, I'm sure she won't feel well for awhile.

With this news of improvement, I'm going to bed.

Hug your kids.

"But I Forgot"

The boy "forgot" to take the trash out last night.

...and again this morning.

Even after having been reminded.

Yes, that is a picture of the garbage container in the boy's room. That's a pretty big trash receptable and almost didn't fit through the front door as I wheeled it into his room. I'm curious to see if he'll "forget" to take the trash out of his room!

A Winter Dandelion

This is a picture of the dandelion we found growing in our yard today. It is the middle of winter here in Tennessee. I guess you can say it has been a pretty mild winter for us so far, and the dandelions agree!

I like dandelions! Aren't they a happy flower?

What? You say, they are weeds? How can such a happy little flower be a weed? Who determines what is a weed and what is a flower? God created it all!

Dandelions always mean warmth to me. They remind me of when I was a kid growing up in Ohio. Dandelions meant warm weather and summertime, and they still mean that to me now.

When we were leaving the house, Katie was all excited, bent down, and then rose holding this dandelion with a big smile on her face. There was another one there too, but it was all seeds and blew away before I was able to get the camera. She said "smell the air" and said "it smells like flowers!" and then held the dandelion to my nose and said "I smelled THIS!" The weirdo.

We then determined who liked butter! NOT! ;-)

Reviewed: Jennifer Knapp "Live"

Read my review of the new "Live" CD from Jennifer Knapp at CrimsonLight.com. Click the link below:

CrimsonLight.com .no frills .no gimmicks .just reviews

It's raw, gritty, and real!

When Jennifer Knapp walked off the stage at her last performance years ago, she left a gaping hole in the hearts of her fans and in Christian Music in general. Fortunately, her music is her legacy and for now, we are all still able to enjoy it. I can’t deny that this “Live” album has stirred up more curiousity in me as to where she is, and what is she doing. Fans have been praying for her, praying she is living in God’s Grace, because “His Grace is Sufficient” with the hope that someday we will hear a new melody, a new verse from this talented “rocker chick”. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see her perform live in 2001 and got to meet her face to face to tell her “you rock!”.

Currently Knapp is still signed with Gotee Records and is officially on sabbatical.

A Most Embarrassing Moment

I don't know why I just remembered this, but I thought I'd share a moment from my life that was most embarrassing.

Katie and I spent the night at a hotel one night as we traveled to Iowa. We entered the elevator to make our way to the lobby to check out and on the way down, the elevator stopped to pick up more people.

A family of four joined us for the decent and with this young couple were two young and very rambunctious little boys. These parents obviously had their hands full with these two boys running all around and exploring everything around them.

Katie made mention of the fact that they are probably never bored chasing their sons around and I, noticing that the women was pregnant with #3 said, "Wow! You must love this since you are having more!"

The embarrassing part comes when the woman replied, "oh no, we will NOT be having more!"

* I felt myself start to turn red and feel very warm and uncomfortable.

She wasn't pregnant! I might have well said "Wow! You sure are fat, you look like you are 8 months along!"

We were stuck in the elevator, I couldn't escape! Talk about awkward silences!

This is why I am an introvert...staying away from people helps me avoid the whole foot in mouth thing!

Episode II

Episode II - Terminology and Brushes with Fame is now available at Sisters' Podcast: It Bloggles the Mind!

Do you have a special "language" with your friends? Certain terminology that only you and your friend know? We do too, and we share about those terms on this podcast! Not too many "f-words"!

We also brag about our encounters with the famous, including Richard Simmons, Al Gore, and Jennifer Knapp. Hmmmmmm, what an eclectic collection of famous people!

Click to listen.

It is NOT 30 minutes! (But close!)

Tag, I'm It

Tagged by Barbara at Tidbits and Treasures, so here you go!

Four Jobs You’ve Had:

• Delivering Newspapers (The Akron Beacon Journal, quit after the Great Blizzard of 1978, you would too!)
• Pharmacy Technician (Discount Drug Mart, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 1988-91)
  
• Band Director (Keystone Middle School, LaGrange, OH 1991-95)
  
• Music Retail Manager (1995 - present)
  

Four Places You’ve Lived:

• Hinckley, OH - raised here
• Beulah, MI - it's beautiful in northern MI! Check out Crystal Lake Resort!
  
• Marshalltown, IA - nice place, still go back to visit
• Humboldt, TN - where I am now, and why I leave to visit IA and OH! LOL
  

Four Vacations You've Taken

• Badlands, South Dakota
  
• Marshalltown, returned in 2005 for a visit
  
• Medina, OH, I return home to visit, most of my vacation is spent at home or away visiting family.
  
• Washington, DC - This probably doesn't qualify as vacation, since I was traveling with the band, but I don't get out much! It was a good trip!
  

Four Vehicles You’ve Owned

• Dodge Omni 024 - "Francie" my first car!
  
• Yugo - "Sonny" and "Bud", they were great cars! I loved those Yugos!
• Mazda Pick-up truck B2300 - "Chuck", I LOVED my truck. "Chuck was the first vehicle I bought and paid off. That was an exciting day! In the picture, I am celebrating having received the title in the mail.
• Jeep Grand Cherokee - "Jeepers", inherited from my Aunt Pat when she passed away in 2001. I can't believe it's been almost five years. She is missed.
  

NOW -

Four Blogs You Visit

• Ron at Shanktified! - Always spreading the Gospel!
  
• Tony at I Am Always Right - Always has an opinion, always right
  
• Paul's Ponderings - Paul is always pondering something!
  
• Christopher at What in Tarnation - The WIT of an elementary school teacher, boy does he have some stories to tell! And now you can hear him on the Crainium Leakage Podcast too!
  

Your Necklace

What's that "charm" on your necklace?

What are you wearing around your neck?

Is it something grotesque?

a guillotine? gallows? noose? an electric chair? or cells on death row?

So why that cross?


While reading Scot McKnight's Jesus Creed book today, I came across something that gave me something to think about and I just thought I'd pass it along.

Flooble

Thanks to flooble :: scripts for allowing me to use the Expandable Content Generator to clean up my sidebar and hide a lot of the blogrolls over there. I've been wanting to do that and tried a few different scripts from a few different places, but many were too complicated for me or they just didn't work.

This worked and I was able to set it up in minimal time. I recommend Flooble!

Reviewed: Rebecca St. James “If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something”

Read my review of Rebecca St. James newest CD, "If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something" at CrimsonLight.com. Just click the link below:

CrimsonLight.com .no frills .no gimmicks .just reviews

The quick review is...this is the flagship CD in the St. James repertoire. Get it soon!

Episode I

Yay! It's our first Sisters' Podcast: It Bloggles the Mind!

(It is NOT 30 minutes long!)

Episode 1 - Click here!

In this introductory episode you will learn who the sisters are, where the "bloggles the mind" came from and a few others things you probably don't need to know! Woohooo!

If anything, you can always listen while you play the "Do Not Press" red dot game below!

I Did NOT Die When I Clicked...

...the red button. I LAUGHED! I was quite humored by this little "game" that I happened across on Nikki's Myspace. I think you'll enjoy it too!

No Power, No Gas

I have a bad habit of avoiding gas stations until I am on "E". My jeep counts down the number of miles left on my tank of gas, and today I pushed it to just 3 miles left to go. On my way home from church I passed the road to my house and headed to the gas station.

I pulled up to the pump and got out of the car, inserted my card and waited for authorization. I couldn't see the LED display on the pump, so I looked real close and shaded it from the sun with my hand. I still couldn't see it and just then a man with a nasally, thick southern drawl yelled from the front of the store "they ain't got no power so ya ain't gonna get no gas!" I chuckled to myself at the whole "ain't got no" thing and said under my breath well, I ain't got no gas so I ain't gonna get home! LOL

I thought for a minute as to what I should do now. Was the station just without power, or was it the entire block? I went through the intersection back there and there was a light...or was there? Glad I was paying attention! LOL

I decided to travel further up the road and check other stations. Power was out everywhere. I was now down to 2 miles to go on this tank. I was on the commercial strip of the little city where I live and gas stations abound...unfortunately, without electricity the quantity of choices is limited.

I drove another quarter mile and yay! There was power and a station where I could get some gas! YAY! Whew! That was close!

It is a very windy day today. I think winds are sustained at aroun 15-20 miles with gusts up over 30-35. Other than the wind, it is a beautiful day...sunny and warm with temps around 65 degrees. I figured a tree went down on a powerline or something. As I traveled toward my house I was wondering if we had power.

Once I arrived, I realized that we had no power at the house. It is amazing how quiet a home gets with no power. One doesn't realize how used to the hum of the refrigerator we get, and the buzz of certain lights.

I waited in the quiet and wondered how long we would have to go without power...without the computer!? OH NO! Tragedy!

Katie and Justin returned home from church and we were all hungry. Justin was scrounging for food and popped some bread in the toaster. I waited to see how long it was going to take them to discover that there was no electricity. While Justin's bread was NOT toasting, he started to prepare something else to go into the microwave. I finally had to say "ummmmm, we have no electricity." Justin was not pleased since he was "starving"!

So, Katie had a solution!



I live with crazy people. 

Something I Dislike About Being Older and Wiser

I am 20-19 years old. I don't feel 20-19 years old. I feel 19 years old. Well, not physically.

Physically I am 20-19 years old. I had major back surgery when I was 24 years old and the years of agony prior wore me out. I can walk now, that's a good thing and I'm basically pain free, but all that took a toll on my body. I haven't been the same physically since.

Anyway, that is not what this post is about. There is something weighing heavy on my mind, and it has been for awhile.

There is something that I dislike about being older and wiser, and it is the fact that young people make mistakes and all I can do is watch.

It's not so bad to watch some of the minor mistakes, you know, things like getting a speeding ticket or having a fender bender, or maybe skipping class and getting a detention for that. Being older and wiser means that we understand growing pains and that life experience teaches great lessons. No, it is the major, life-altering mistakes that I hate watching young people make.

My heart hurts when I see young people, especially those once so on fire for Christ, turn from Him and try to live life on their own, without regard for the life God created for them. Being older and wiser simply means that I see a future for these young people of heartbreak, a life that is flailing, and the possible consequences for poor choices that will not only affect themselves, but those that love them too. They are blinded to the life before them, but the older and wiser can "see" what the future may hold for them, either from personal experience, or by having seen it happen time and time again.

Something I dislike about being older and wiser is that when I see a young person making mistakes, after all that can be said is said, and all that can be done is done, all I can do is watch. Stand by and watch. Watch from a distance maybe. It hurts just the same...I hurt for them. The young live life for the moment, but, I see a moment in time before them when their world will most likely come crashing down.

Why don't they listen? Why can't they see?

Something I dislike about being older and wiser is that when I pray for younger people and hope that they come to realize the error of their way, I know that they will most likely have to fall and hit rock bottom first. I want them to turn before it is too late, but still feel as though they have to hit bottom before looking up just like the prodigal son, who squandered all his money and partied his life away, did not see his error until he was yearning to eat food set before pigs.

What will it take? realizing you are rarely sober? an overdose? unexpected pregnancy? disease? jail? abuse? adultery? bankruptcy? depression? losing your family? friends? near death experience? losing your integrity? or will you have to crave the slop that is given to the pigs?

Something I dislike about being older and wiser is having to watch young people make a mess of their lives and not being able to stop it.

All I can do is watch and wait.

Wait and watch.

And pray.

God must hate watching too and so merciful is He, He will forgive and is waiting to take anyone back who is willing to turn to Him! He'll give you a clean slate! A brand new life!

Something I DO like about being older and wiser is being able to say that I'll be here when they come "home".

CleanFilms.com

Are you fed up with all of the bad language you are subjected to when you watch a movie?

Do you cringe each and every time you hear the Lord’s name taken in vain?

Are you sick and tired of having to fast forward through, or actually having to sit through those gratuitous sex scenes found in too many movies these day?

And these are the movies that are rated PG-13!?

Me too!

With that kind of glorified sin going on, I don’t dare watch an “R” rated movie!

Read about CleanFilms.com in my post "Film Editing for the Christian Viewer" at

CrimsonLight.com .no frills .no gimmicks .just reviews.

Adam and Eve

Whose fault was it anyway?

The serpent's? Eve's? Adam's?

Katie and I did some Bible study tonight on Eve. At one point we had to answer the question of whom to assign the blame to.

We pondered for awhile and came up with reasons they all have blame, and since God did curse them all, He obviously felt they each had some responsibility in the whole deal. What really bloggles my mind is wondering how we can assign blame to Eve when she didn't gain knowledge of good and evil until after she ate from the tree. How can she have been deceived into doing something wrong if she didn't know good from evil? She didn't even know what evil was yet!

From Genesis 3:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "

4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Eve blamed the serpent, but Adam went on to blame Eve for his wrongdoing. We say nowadays that people don't take responsibility for their actions, but these people weren't even accepting responsibility from the very beginning! At least no one blamed President Bush!

OH NO! I Forgot the Kids!

OOPS!

Katie just called...I forgot the kids!!!

It's Wednesday, I am supposed to go get the kids at school.

I took a friend and ran an errand, ran another errand after dropping her off at home, and came home to enjoy the last few minutes of peace before the kids came home. It never dawned on me even after my last few minutes of peace turned into my last few HOURS! LOL

It wouldn't be so bad, but I forgot the kids we carpool with too! The little 1st grader must be panicked!

The holidays have my schedule all messed up!

I totally forgot I was supposed to pick them up!

So, why after an HOUR did they just now call someone?

This is why I am a "not the mom".

I feel bad.

Oh well, it made a memory..."hey, Sue, remember when you forgot to pick the kids up from school?" LOL

Reviewed: Da Minista "John Miller's Son…Still Preachin'"

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So There I Was...

So, there I was driving down the road in my car one evening. I was on a road that I had not driven before, yet somehow it felt familiar, deja vu almost.

The sun was setting on the horizon before me and I rounded a curve to the right that was on a slight incline. After the crest of the hill, the road began a gradual descent.

To the left, on the hill, I noticed a large modern building with black-tinted windows that reflected that last drops of sun in the twilight. The sign out front said "First Baptist Church".

I continued driving down the road and as I turned to face front again, I was immediately immersed in water. I was frantic when I realized I had driven off the road into the water of the bay.

My speed, maybe 45-50 mph, did not slow when I hit the water and I remember being puzzled by that. I continued at that speed as my car was sinking quickly and water surrounded my car on all sides.

I noticed the creaking of the metal and cracking plastic as the pressure started to build and crush inward. I started plotting my escape, knowing I would not have enough strength to break the window or open the door, I simply hoped that once the increasing pressure caused the car to be crushed, that the window would break and I could somehow escape as water began to rush in.

I remember thinking I sure thought I would feel more frightened at my moment of death. I'll be with Jesus soon.

I started to try to breath in deeply just in case the window cracked and would allow for me escape. I was thinking if I do manage to get out, I will still have a long swim to the surface. I hope my air holds out. I wish I could just be dead and not have to suffer through asphyxiation.

I kept sipping air hoping to keep my lungs inflated in case I had an opportunity to escape my sure drowning. I was amazed that for the most part I was still dry because very little water had seeped into the car yet. I found that quite bizarre.

Then I was awakened.

I dreamt that days ago and can't shake it.

Reviewed: Chris Tomlin "Live at Austin Music Hall"

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