Weekly Bible Reading Update

September 19th Reading, the passages that I picked were meaningful to me today.

Isaiah 33:5-6 "Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, he will make Jerusalem his home of justice and righteousness. In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure."

Galatians 5:5-6 "But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love."

Psalm 63:1-8 "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely."

Proverbs 23:22 "Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don't despise your mother when she is old."

God bless you this week and trust God, He is who He says He is.

What Has 40 Arms and 48 Legs?

I received the following article from some friends who work with a missions organization. I will tell you more about them at the end. I liked this article so much, that with the help of my dad, I used it as an offering devotion at church.


How do 20 Believers from the Higaunon tribe and 2 pigs travel more than 50 miles to a bi-annual church conference in the Philippines?

They hire 2 motorcycles.

Their load includes all of their luggage, but it is not as bad as it sounds because the pigs didn't bring any luggage.

"These motorbikes have a frame built on the back of them with 2 planks of wood tied cross ways to them and they often carry up to ten people plus the driver," wrote missionaries Ron and Michelle Jennings. "Two people sit behind the driver, and two boards that they call wings stick out on each side in order to carry eight more."

"They told how they braced themselves along the highway as big buses overtook them with other buses coming the other way and they prayed thinking that they were going to be squashed between them. Then on the mountain roads they described how many times they crashed as the bike could not stay balanced on the rough roads."

"It's okay though," they said, "with the wings sticking out the way they do, the bikes can't actually crush you. You just get toppled off."

Hiring the bikes cost the believers the equivalent of 2 weeks wages.

"Anyone who is willing to go through all of that to attend a Bible conference - and then stand at this end rejoicing in God's provision in getting them there - has to have a motive that is a little bit beyond the natural realm," wrote Ron and Michelle. "They just decided what the Lord wanted them to do and placed themselves in His hands."


Priorities. This story shows me that these Believers had their priorities in the right place. Matthew 6:33 talks about where our priorities should be, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." All Christians need to be examples of that. In all that we do, are we seeking FIRST God's Kingdom and Righteousness? Are we willing to get on a motorbike built for 10 people because it is the right thing to do? How deep is your faith? When it comes to giving your money to God, how deep is your faith?

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says, "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

You will find this article here at http://www.ntm.org/andy_corley/4151. I went to college with Kristi (Neff) Corley and I also met her husband, Andy, there even though he wasn't a student at NCC. They are currently serving with New Tribes Missions. You can check them out at the above website.

Weekly Bible Reading Update

Sept. 14th reading, Proverbs 23:12, "Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge."

I plan on posting a offering devotion that I did several weeks ago in a few days. I ask that you pray for me tomorrow night. It is my first test for my Constitution class. I am a little nervous about the essay questions concerning the different cases that we have studied.

I hope you have a blessed week!

Some Thoughts

I really don't have time for this because I need to finish getting ready to go to church, but I am going to make time this morning. Writing is healing to me. I have been beating myself up this weekend - I don't know if you do it to yourself, but I can't stop beating myself up over my failures and inadequacies. All it does is leave me sad and feeling in the dumps.

So as I am getting ready to go to church, I remember the lesson I did last week for a ladies Bible study. The study is in James. The version of the Bible the study uses is the New Century Version. James 1: 2-4, "My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need."

Though my troubles are small compared to many, I can't be weighed down anymore by feeling inadequate. I realized that in my lesson, I need to be full of joy. Today I am going to work on that. In having joy, patience will come.

I must go now. I may go to church not quite so perfect on the outside, but at least I am striving for joy on the inside. If I continue to do that, perfection will come.

And The Answer Is...

Now if I was a good granddaughter, I would have already seen this riddle before it was in my local newspaper, because my Grandpa and Grandpa Huff sent me this riddle in an email. Many of you probably already know the answer, but for those who don't I will repeat the whole riddle with the answer here.

Who am I?

I am under 45 years old,

I love the outdoors,

I hunt,

I am a Republican reformer,

I have taken on the Republican Party establishment,

I have many children,

I have a spot on the national ticket as vice

president with less than two years in the

governor's office.

Did you guess?

I am Teddy Roosevelt in 1900

History repeating itself?

Can You Guess Who?

My local paper printed this in the opinion section.

"I am under 45 years old. I love the outdoors, I hunt, I am a Republican reformer, I have taken on the Republican Party establishment, I have many children, I have a spot on the national ticket as Vice-President with less than two years in the governor's office. Have you heard of me before now?"

Can you guess who? I will tell you what the answer is tomorrow.

Dear Anonymous

I have had someone anonymous comment on my post about Sarah Palin. They gave a link to an article about comments that she made about the pipeline in Alaska. I cannot tell you enough how tired I am with the Presidential election. I am tired of trying to figure out if what the media and opposing campaigns are digging up about a candidate is true or not. I saw an interview with McCain on The View and I thought immediately that they were being extra hard on him, asking him tough questions. Not that I am opposed to tough questions, but I have seen them also interview Obama and that was not the case. I think that it should be fair and that there is too much of a bias on that show. Then I saw the interview with Palin and Charlie Gibson. Here is a man who is suppose to be without bias, and yet his questions seemed to be. AGAIN, I don't care about tough questions, but I would prefer both sides to be hit with tough questions, and AGAIN that doesn't seem to be the case.

The fact of the matter is that both campaigns are mud slinging, both sides are twisting what the other side is saying, and both sides cannot do all that they say they are going to do. I have to admit, following Ron Paul's suggestion and voting 3rd Party sounds like an interesting proposal. If many people do that, it could shake things up a bit. Most likely, I will not do that. I will tell you what I am going to do.

I am Pro-Life. I believe that life begins at conception. There are scientific studies that prove that. Any other studies that prove otherwise are not in agreement when life begins. I am sorry if you have an unexpected pregnancy, I am sorry if it came through unpleasant means. When we live in a world like this, we have to go through hard times. But just because it is in a woman's body, doesn't give her the right to get rid of the life growing inside of her. You cannot convince me otherwise.

I read an article written by a Pro-Choicer. She ended her article saying that life is a crap shoot. You are a crap-shoot. It is luck that we are here in the first place. I feel sorry for her. If you believe that, I feel sorry for you. I see what she is saying, but it is not the case. How can you live your life if it is just a crap-shoot? It is not giving any worth to life. You cannot be a Christian and believe that. God has a plan for us.

I am going to be writing more about my views on abortion. The Constitution class that I am taking is really opening my eyes up to it again. I may fail the class, but I am gaining some new insights.

Dear Anonymous, I probably cannot convince you to vote McCain/Palin for my reason, just like you cannot convince me to vote for Obama/Binden for your reasons. I will not vote for them because of the fact that they are pro-choice. In fact, it seems that Obama opposed the Born Alive Infants Bill. In opposing the bill, he is saying he supports not saving the aborted baby who is born alive. If a man can do that, what kind of a man is he?

I am obviously voting for McCain/Palin. I need a person as President who recognizes the humanity of an unborn baby. We cannot ignore this issue, we cannot avoid this issue, we cannot sweep it under the carpet. It can't be a woman's rights issue, it needs to be a human's rights issue.

Weekly Bible Reading Update

I read September 10th's portion of scripture today. Isaiah 6: 1-9a is a favorite passage of mine. In fact, I used this passage during my Senior sermon at college.

1 It was in the year King Uzziah died^[a] that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

9 And he said, “Yes, go


How blessed you are when your sins are forgiven and your guilt is removed. God bless you today, now GO!

Weekly Bible Reading Update

I have been sick. I don't know when I have had a cold as bad as this one. It developed into a sinus infection and I have to tell you that I felt pretty miserable. It doesn't really surprise me though, starting all these life changes and babysitting 2 other children besides my own, I had to come down with something. Needless to say, EVERYTHING, was put on hold. I was just trying to survive the last 2 weeks. I am happy to say that I am feeling much better. I am still suffering from a cough. My kids, as well, are still suffering from cold symptoms. I feel like a bear digging out after hibernation - I look around my house and I think, "what a mess!"

My Bible reading was also put on hold. This morning I opened my One Year Bible to see where I am in my reading - September 2nd! What words greet me at the start of the reading? " 'Everything is meaningless,' says the Teacher, 'completely meaningless.' " Is that a sign? Should I just go back to bed? Thankfully, I know how the book of Ecclesiastes ends. September 2nd's reading ends with this, a reminder of what I do need this day, Proverbs 22:15, "A youngster's heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away."

I hope and pray that you are striving for discipline in your life. The more disciplined we are in the way we live, the less foolish mistakes we have to make. I think that is very practical advice.

Another life change that I haven't mentioned is the fact that I am taking a college course. I have decided that I am going to pursue getting my teaching credential. Before I can get into the program, I needed to take a government class. Jumping in with both feet, I got into a Constitution class at the local junior college. As interesting and stretching as it is, I am wondering that it may be too much for me and my stay-at-home mommy brain. (I am not putting down stay-at-home mothers here, I just feel like part of my brain is a little dusty and cob-webby). Depending on how I do on the paper that is due tonight, I may drop the class. I am sure I will update you on what I decide, when I decide.

God bless you this week in staying disciplined in your life!

The Question is, "Do I have your vote?"

Click on the link below and have yourself a good laugh.

http://www.inews3.com/topstory.php?id=526562656363617c4576616e73

Sleeping

I have had issues with getting all 3 of my children to sleep in their own bed at least once in each of their lives. I developed strategies for the first 2 and after a time of planning, executing, following through and being consistent, I had those 2 sleeping in their beds. I can say now that they are good sleepers. In fact my middle child is pretty great at sleeping. Thank goodness. I thought that I could probably write a book about sleeping.

With all 3 children, when they were first born, I brought them to my own bed and they stayed with me. About 9-10 months into this situation, my husband would have had about enough of the situation and start complaining about it. I started weaning the baby, around 1 year, although it got a few months later with each baby. At that time I would start working on the technique to get the child to sleep in his/her crib.

Enter my youngest. He has been something. I will struggle with my method and it will take months and suddenly he will sleep in his own bed. Just when I start patting myself on the back for a job well-done, he starts his problems all over again. Ever since my family was here visitingthis summer, my youngest has been giving me problems about sleeping. Some days I just want to scream. As I was sitting at the door, waiting for him to go to sleep (that is how the Super-Nanny does it), I was watching him mess around, willing me to look at him - he was acting out. He reminded me of a little monkey. (I am sure some of are saying just spank the child. Oh believe me I have.) So as I was sitting there seeing all of this in my peripheral vision, trying not to laugh and trying not to go crazy mad, I wondered, "Is it child abuse if I duct taped him to the bed?"

Don't worry I didn't. But I did think it. Now he is sleeping peacefully in his bed. He will wake up soon in about an hour and I will just pull him into bed with me because I don't want to go through it again. What am I going to do? Just when you think you have the answers, you get smacked up against the head to be reminded that you don't.

I didn't forget my Weekly Bible Reading, but I will explain that the next time. Happy Sleeping everyone!