Visited from Where?

Here is a list of some the different countries that I’ve had visits from. I'm not going to list the all the cities because sometimes there are several visits from just one country. (I've listed the visits from the different states in the US though.) (I decided to start this list because Site Meter erases visits after awhile.)


Netherlands

Canada

Japan

United Kingdom

Greece

Spain

Saudi Arabia

Germany

Mexico

Austria

Hungary

Portugal

France

Slovenia

Serbia and Montenegro

Singapore

India

Turkey

South Africa

Poland

Brazil

Norway

Finland [New!]

Philippines [New!]

Denmark [New!]

United States:

Alabama

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Illinios

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana [New!]

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana

North Carolina

New Jersey

New York

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

This is not all of them because, like I said above, Site Meter erases them.

Pictures from Site Meter.

Belgium

Here is a website where you can learn some more about Belgium.

Chocolate

We all like chocolate right? Why do we like to eat it?

Because it tastes good!

On the website Clean Joke of the Day I found they had some more reasons to like to eat chocolate!

Do you like chocolate? Here's a list of reasons why you should, if you don't already...

Chocolate is a vegetable: it is derived from cocoa beans. Beans are a vegetable.

Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus (to repeat my point), chocolate is a vegetable.

To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is a dairy product. So chocolate and candy bars containing it are a health food.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

If you have a problem of trying to figure out how you can get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car, I have the solution for you: eat it in the parking lot.

Diet tip: eat a chocolate bar one half hour before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you'll eat less.

If you eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, isn't that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?

Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?

The Cross Tells Us:

Each person is of value to God.

Iniquity and evil are intolerable to God.

God’s love is deep, His justice is wide, in perfect balance.

One divine person, Jesus Christ, can pay the debt for the human race.

Assurance of forgiveness is not presumption, but based on fact.

We are ransomed, redeemed, restored, renewed.

The estrangement from our Creator has been healed.

We can be a child of God, a member of His family.

Taken from Know What You Believe by Paul E. Little, chapter 4, pg. 59

Picture taken from FreeFoto.com

Still More Technical Stuff

I'm working on the template right now.

So you might see some weird, funny, or missing things.

Please be patient while I try and fix it!

Thanks!

Hannah

P.S. Check back later for a new post.

Jesus Christ’s Death

The cross of Jesus Christ has been called “the central fact of human history.” To the entire world the cross is the primary symbol of Christianity; it crowns church spires, highlights church auditoriums, and even dangles on jewelry counters.

This spotlight on the cross declares God’s planned purpose for the coming of Jesus Christ into human history. For both God and our world, the cross carries monumental significance, “the weight of glory,” as Paul expressed it (2 Cor. 4:17) and C.S. Lewis echoed in his book of the same name. It was the climatic fulfillment of God’s covenant, His design to close the gap between Himself and humanity.

Jesus Himself said the cross was His intentional, redemptive goal. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

The death of Christ on the cross also singles out the “uniqueness” of Christianity. Here God has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He has provided the way for each one of us, prone to sin and distant from our Maker, to be forgiven and brought into vital relationship with Him. All this is based not on something we must do, but on something God Himself in His Son has already done.

Every other religious system in the world is essentially a “do-it yourself” proposition. Only in Christianity is salvation a free gift, not because we deserve it, but prompted by the incomprehensible goodness of God’s love. It is true, the cross of Christ is the central fact of human history. When we grasp the full meaning Christ’s death has for us, we can enthusiastically join all creation and declare He is worthy to receive our worship (Rev. 5:9,12,13).

Taken from Know What You Believe by Paul E. Little chapter 4, pages 51-52

Picture taken from FreeFoto.com

More Technical Stuff

I've add a Blogs That Link to Me section on the sidebar. Those are the blogs that I know of that have linked to me (when I say linked to me I mean that they have linked to me on their sidebar, not just in a post).

Anybody else link to me?

If so leave a comment (be sure to leave your blog address) and I'll add you to my links.

Thanks!

Hannah

Note: If you link to me, but I think some of the content of your blog is not appropriate, I will not link to you.

Bible Verse (Romans 10:9-13)

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:9-13

Picture taken from FreeFoto.com

Speak Up

When I was reading my Bible earlier, I came across this verse in Proverbs 31:8 that says,

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

And I was reminded of babies who are being aborted. They cannot speak for themselves. They are completely helpless. They are at the mercy of others. And unless we speak up for them, they will continue to die horrible deaths.

We need to be the voice for these babies.

We need to stand up for their rights, because they can't.

Calling All Bloggers

Agent Tim is doing a series on blogging. He’s discussing the basic of getting started, how to get linked, how to write, etc. If you have a blog (or even if you don’t) be sure to go by his blog and read it. He has an excellent blog so I’m sure he has some good tips for us!

Do it all for Jesus!

Hannah

Technical Note

You can now click on the site meter and mapstats buttons and see my stats. Also you can now subscribe to my blog to see when I put up a new post.

Have a great day!

Hannah

The End of Time

Sounds scary doesn’t it?

But for Christians it shouldn’t sound scary at all because it is the time when our Lord Jesus will come back to take us home to be with Him. He will take us to Heaven where we will never experience pain or sadness again. We will be completely happy and satisfied. But most of all we will finally get to see Jesus, face to face, and like Thomas, put our hands where the nails were, and place our hand where He was speared.

In the book Adventuring Through the Bible by Ray C. Stedman in chapter 77, pg 792-793 it says:

At the end of the book [Revelation], we are admonished to wait for the coming of Jesus—and to
work for it, to be diligent and faithful and obedient until the Son of God
comes. You may be surprised to know that this is a book of extreme optimism.
Although Revelation is better known for its scenes of death, horror, upheaval,
and mass destruction, it truly does not stop there. Revelation looks beyond the
Tribulation, beyond Armageddon, all the way to the final victory of God, more
sure than tomorrow’s sunrise. C.S. Lewis writes this commentary on that glorious
coming day:

God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else—something it never entered your head to conceive—comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realize it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not
last for ever. We must take it or leave it (Mere Christianity, [1943; reprint,
New York: Macmillan, 1960], 66).

Revelation is filled with encouragement. It is a book that will either inspire your faith—or fill you with fear. It will give you great comfort and encouragement if you know the Lord of all time and all space. But it is also a solemn book designed to make us understand that the One who unrolls the scroll is the One who was once here, the
One who died on Calvary’s cross, the Lamb led to slaughter so that He might win
the right to be the Lion, the King of all the earth.

The Lord is coming—and it won’t be long now. Those who know Him welcome that day and work and pray to hasten it. People who don’t know Him either scoff at that day—or dread it. The book of Revelation concludes with this promise of Jesus
Himself:

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen ([Revelation] 22:20)

We should look forward to the day when our Savior returns! Because He will welcome those of us who have accepted Him with open arms.

A Day to Dread: What to expect at the end of time

“Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”

[Mark] 13:33

Fast forward a few days beyond this event of Mark 13 to the time when Jesus is prodded by Roman soldiers toward the place of execution. A group of women follows behind, hysterical with grief. Suddenly Jesus turns and silences them with these words, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children…For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke 23:28,31).

As chapter 13 spells out in grim detail, Jesus does not expect the war against God’s kingdom to end with his own death. He predicts that evil will only intensify until, after one final spasm of rebellion, the earth gives way to God’s full restoration.

This chapter echoes, and quotes from, the Old Testament prophets. At the end of time, God will take off all the wraps. And when Jesus returns, he will appear in a new form: not as a helpless babe in a manger, not nailed to a crosspiece of wood, but as “the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”

When Is the End?

Some of Jesus’ dire predictions find fulfillment in A.D. 70 when Roman soldiers break through the walls of Jerusalem and demolish Herod’s temple—the same temple Jesus’ disciples are admiring when Jesus first speaks these words. Other predictions apparently have not yet been fulfilled.

Just a few decades after Jesus’ death, scoffers mock the notion of the second coming of Christ. “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (2Peter 3:4). For all such scoffers, Jesus and the prophets have one ominous word of advice: Just wait. God will not let you go on scoffing forever. One day, the earth and the sky will flee from his presence.

By Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (NIV Student Bible)

If I could take a couple of minutes of your time...

"Good morning," said the young salesman to the lady when she opened her door after his repeated knocking. "If I could take a couple of minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.

"I haven't got any money, please go away!" replied the lady, and she proceeded to try and close the door.

Quick as a flash, the young salesman wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open.

"Don't be too hasty!" he said. "Not until you have at least seen my demonstration."

With that statement of triumph, he proceeded to empty a bucket full of smelly dump yard dirt onto her hallway carpet.

"If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this smelly dump yard dirt from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder."

The lady replied, "Well I hope you've got a good appetite, because they cut off my electricity this morning."

That reminds me of the time…

Last year when we were in the US for a few months, a telemarketer called and he began telling me about this product and asking if I knew about it. After a while he ask if my parents were there and I said no, and he ask if he could call back sometime when they were there. But I said that we really were not interested and he said, “They have trained you well haven’t they?”

Bible Verse

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Mark 13:32-37

Picture taken from FreeFoto.com

Short Note

Hope you had a great Christmas and New Years! I was kinda busy. (Who isn’t around the holidays?)

This year we waited until the week before Christmas to put up our tree. That is amazing because one year my mom put the tree up it was either right before Thanksgiving or right after. When did you put your tree up? (Come on, be honest!)

My Christmas isn’t entirely over yet. Later today the Homeschool group we are apart of is having a Christmas get-together. So, there is still more food and presents to go. (That’s a nice combination isn’t it? Food and presents!)

I took a chemistry test on Monday. Chemistry is definitely not an easy subject. (If you have taken or are taking chemistry you know what I mean!) All those atoms, molecules, chemical formulas, chemical equations, protons, electrons, and neutrons! Quick quiz: What is stoichiometry?

Please Pray

I posted this earlier this week but I’m going to post it here as well.

Please pray for the families of the miners that died. Pray that God would comfort them. Also pray for Randal McCloy, the only miner who survived. Pray that he would be healed and also that God would comfort his family as well.

I plan on posting more next week.

allfornow,

Hannah

Pictures taken from FreeFoto.com

Work: Being patient to see results

Sometimes it seems that when we work hard at something, we don’t always see the progress we’ve made right away.

And sometimes it is frustrating.

When we’ve worked hard at something, we want to see the results immediately, but that is not always what happens. For example, I have an aquarium. When I clean it and stir up the gravel, the water becomes dirty and the aquarium looks worse than it did before I started cleaning it. I can’t see the results immediately, I have to be patient and wait. After a while, the water starts to clear and then I can see improvements that have been made.

When we work hard at something—whether it is in school, sports, music lessons, or something else—sometimes we don’t see the progress right away, but if we are patient we eventually will.






Pictures taken from © 1999-2006 www.barrysclipart.com

Please Pray

Please pray for the families of the miners that died. Pray that God would comfort them. Also pray for Randal McCloy, the only miner who survived. Pray that he would be healed and also that God would comfort his family as well.

Bible Verse

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7

Picture taken from FreeFoto.com

2006 is here!

Happy New Year!

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Ephesians 6:24

Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Book

I have read the book. In fact I have read the whole series of the Narnia books twice. But out of them all The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was my favorite.

One of the things I like about the book is that the good and evil sides are made very clear. The lion represents good. The witch represents evil. The sides are made very clear and very distinct. You know which is the good side and you know which is the bad side. But take for instance Harry Potter. From the reviews I’ve heard, Harry Potter is a witch, yet he is made to be the good guy. The sides of good and evil are not clear. I have never read the Harry Potter books. I have never watched the movies. I do not agree with them, because Harry Potter is shown to be on the good side, when he should be on the evil side.

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire,
who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or
casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone
who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable
practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be
blameless before the Lord your God. The nations you will dispossess listen to
those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has
not permitted you to do so.

Deuteronomy 18: 10-14

He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my
son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murders, the sexually
immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place
will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

Revalation 21:7-8

Making it into a movie. Good idea? Bad idea?

One of the concerns I had about the movie was whether they had stayed true to the book, or had they changed it. Christianity Today’s interview with Douglas Gresham (co-producer) helped to clear this up. Click here to read that interview.

(I saw the movie last Friday and they definitely kept Narnia, Narnia. They stuck to the book.)

Why partner with Disney?

Some people do not want to see the movie because Walden partnered with Disney. But Walden co-founder and president Micheal Flaherty, in an interview with Christianity Today, explains about that. Click here to read that interview.

Should Christians support this movie?

Read the interview that Christianity Today had with Douglas Gresham. Click here. (It is the same one as above.)

Disney has made movies that are bad, but they have also made some very good movies. For instance, Cinderella, Toy Story 1&2, The Pacifier, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, etc. And now that Disney has partnered with Walden on Narnia, I think that we should show them that we support movies like this. So then maybe it will encourage them to make movies like it in the future.

Do I support it?

Yes, I supported this movie even before I saw it, but now that I’ve seen it, I support it even more. They did an excellent job. And I give it 5 stars and 2 thumbs up!

These are my views on the movie, but if you don’t agree, I respect your opinion. I don’t want this post to start a debate. I just wanted to show you my view.

Finding Joy in Your Work

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3: 23-24

Work should always be associated with joy. . . .

The story is told of three women washing clothes. A passerby asked each what she was doing.

“Washing clothes” was the first answer.

“A bit of household drudgery” was the second.

“I’m mothering three young children who someday will fill important and useful spheres in life, and wash-day is a part of my grand task in caring for these souls who shall live forever” was the third.

Ordinary work, which is what most of us do most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as the extraordinary. All work done for God is spiritual work and therefore not merely a duty but a holy privilege.

By Elisabeth Elliot

Pictures taken from © 1999-2005 www.barrysclipart.com

Bible Verse

Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?

Psalm 77:13

Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Wow! Christmas has just kinda sneaked up on me this year.

I saw the new Narnia movie today. I loved it! They really did an outstanding job with it.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! And remember, it is all about Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

Hannah

Picture taken from FreeFoto.com

Christmas

What’s it truly about?

It is Christmas time! Presents, lights, food, friends, family, fun. Oh, and we can’t forget Santa Clause! That’s what Christmas is all about right?

No it isn’t.

Christmas is all about Jesus.

His day

Once a year we each have a birthday. It is “our day”. We receive presents, cards, cake, and all the attention. How would we feel if someone were to cancel “our day”? How would we feel if they celebrated our birthday, but celebrated it without us, just kinda ignored us? Christmas is Jesus’s birthday. It is “His day”. But, He is very often taken out of the reason for celebrating Christmas. We celebrate His birthday without Him, we ignore Him. Jesus, the One who came to this earth to give up His life so that we might be free. We ignore the One who loves us so much more than anyone else has or ever will.

Our priorities, are they right?

We get so caught up in shopping for presents, decorating the Christmas tree, planning dinners, and visiting relatives and friends that we forget about the true meaning of Christmas. We forget about Jesus. It is not wrong to shop, decorate the Christmas tree, plan dinners, or visit with people. Those things are fine. But it is when we put all our attention and focus on those things that they become wrong because God should be our number one priority. But it seems that when Christmas time rolls around we get so busy that we tend to put God into 2nd, 3rd, or 4th priority. He should be at the center of our lives, not only at Christmas, but all the time.

The reason for the season

Those who are not Christians can’t understand the true meaning of Christmas, but those of us who are Christians, do. We need to work harder to keep Jesus “the reason for the season”, because Christmas truly is all about Him. And we need to show the world that.

Pictures taken from FreeFoto.com

Words Are Not Enough

You can believe all the right things, yet still be dead wrong

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

[James] 1:22

Where there is life, there is motion. Some antelopes, as well as the cheetah, can sprint faster than some cars on the highway. Bighorn sheep, charging one another headfirst, collide with such force that the sound echoes like a gunshot through mountain ranges. Canada geese, fanned out across the sky in an orderly V, battle winds for 1,000 miles, nonstop, before dropping back to earth.

Sometimes we keep relics of life: an elkhead hanging above a fireplace; a fragile, perfect seashell; an exotic butterfly mounted on a pin. But these are mere mementos: Life has gone from them, and with it motion.

A Sure Sign of Life

Authors of the Bible often look to nature for analogies to express spiritual truth. And the book of James, controversial because of its emphasis on “good works,” is perhaps best understood through the analogy of motion. In the spiritual realm also, where there’s life there will be motion.

When a person becomes a Christian, new life begins, and inevitably that life must express itself through “spiritual motion,” or good deeds. In James’s words, “What good is it…if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?” ([James] 2:14).

Movement does not cause life, but it does invariable follow life. It’s a sure sign that life is present. Similarly, genuine faith in Christ should always result in actions that demonstrate faith.

Does James Contradict Paul?

James is not writing about how to become a Christian, but rather how to act like one. Having all the correct beliefs about God will hardly suffice: Even demons believe in God. Real, life-giving faith should produce motion, and James minces no words in describing the specific spiritual actions expected of Christians.

Christian thinkers, notably Martin Luther, have struggled to reconcile the message of James with that of Paul, who so firmly warned against slavish legalism. But Paul never belittled holy living. When he wrote to carousers, such as in his letters to the Corinthians, he railed against immorality as strongly as James.

Evidently, James’s readers were not even flirting with legalism. They lived at the other extreme, ignoring those laws God had clearly revealed. James had a simple remedy: “Do not merely listen to the word…Do what it says” ([James] 1:22).

Straight to the Point

Unlike the apostle Paul, James was no urban man of letters. He was a simple, homespun preacher, perturbed at people who were not living right. His letter covers a wide range of topics, applying the Christian faith to specific problems and commanding readers to live out their beliefs.

Be humble! James orders. Submit to God! Stop sinning! James is as forthright as an Old Testament prophet; it’s hard to miss his point.

Modern readers of James face the same dilemma as the first recipients of this unsettling letter. His words are easy enough to understand, but are we doing what he says? What kind of motion characterizes our spiritual lives? As Luther himself said, “You are saved by faith alone, but if faith is alone it is not faith.”

By Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford, Student Bible

Pictures of butterfly and Bighorn sheep taken from © 1999-2005 www.barrysfreephotos.com

Picture of geese taken from FreeFoto.com

Whaz-up?

The sky, duh!

Anyway…

What is up with me? Or rather, whaz-up with me?

Well, last Wednesday, we went to see King Kong. And I really didn’t like it. There were a lot of scenes in the movie that I think could have used some editing, because it seemed that they drug some them out too long. And the natives, in my opinion, were way over-done!

Yesterday at church we had our Christmas service, banquet, and gift exchange (Since Christmas is on Sunday this year, we will also be having a Christmas service this next Sunday as well). For the past 3 years, we have had a Christmas play, but we decided to not have one this year. So I didn’t have to memorize any lines this Christmas!

On Friday we plan on going to see the new Narnia movie. We haven’t been to see it yet because it doesn’t come out in theaters here until December 21, so we have had to wait.

Sidewalk update:

Hey, guess what! They finally finished the sidewalk in front of my house (Well, there will have to be a touch-up here and there). (To see what I’m talking about click here) No more walking in mud or gravel to get to the house!

allfornow,

Hannah

Pictures taken from FreeFoto.com

Bible Verse

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:21-23

Picture taken from FreeFoto.com

Vote!

Brett and Alex Harris from the Rebelution need your vote! They are a finalist in the category of Best of the Top 1001-1750 Blogs in the TTLB Ecosystem.

Click here to vote for them now!

To find out more about this click here.

Note: This post will remain here until the voting stops. Be sure to check out the new posts below. (Sorry, I forgot on Monday to move this post back up to the top!)

Update: The voting is over and the Rebelution won!

Where's my seat?

On her way back from the concession stand while attending a ballgame, Julie asked a man at the end of the row, "Pardon me, but did I step on your foot a few minutes ago?"

Expecting an apology, the man said, "Indeed you did."

Julie nodded, then noted, "Oh good. Then this is my row."

© 1999-2005 www.barrysclipart.com

Blogging

Joshua Harris’s post on “Biblical Advice for the Blogosphere”

Today in my quiet time I read Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 which seems to me to have
specific application to the blogosphere:

"Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others."

This is not to excuse "cursing others" which certainly isn't a godly practice. But the
counsel here seems to be not to overly react when others say negative things about us. The web, and particularly blogs have given millions the ability to broadcast (often unwisely) their every thought and musing. Couple that ability with indwelling sin, bitterness and selfish ambition and you've got the recipe for a whole lot of "cursing." And that's where the wisdom of Ecclesiastes is helpful. Don't take it all to heart. Don't "flame" back or react with vengeance.

And that reminds me of another sound piece of advice. Someone once wisely noted:
"We'd worry less of what people thought of us if we realized how seldom they do."

It's so true. The other day I was made aware of a rather heated online forum that was discussing and bashing me and some friends because of our opinions about courtship. Reading the comments wasn't very pleasant. There was scorn, derision and what you might call "sanitized Christian cursing." I don't know any of these people, these fellow Christians, yet they were laying into me. It helped me to remember that while these people had typed these things about me, it wasn't as if they walked around thinking of me. If they do, I feel sorry for them. I'm not that important!

The only person who always has us in mind is our Sovereign God. It's His good
opinion we should seek more than anything else.

And what should guide what we write about others in our blogs? How do we handle legitimate disagreements on various topics? Last week I was meditating on James 3:13-18:

"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

For Christians, I think this passage should be our guide for what we do and don't blog. Sadly, too much of the communication online is characterized by "disorder and every vile practice" and fueled by jealousy and selfish ambition. And I'm just as susceptible to this as anyone else. This passage is a reminder of the kind of words and communication that will be present when we're guided by the wisdom from heaven.

A good reminder for those of us who have a blog. We need to remember that as Christians we represent Jesus Christ to the world. Someone once said that our lives may be the only Bible some people will ever read. We need to reflect Jesus in everything we do because the world is watching us.

Bible Verse

[Jesus] “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

John 10:14-15

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New Look!

I decided I like this template better than the other one. I'm still working on it, so please be patient for awhile.

Thank you!

allfornow,

Hannah

Well Done

John was furious when his steak arrived too rare.

"Waiter," he shouted, "Didn't you hear me say 'well done'?"

"I can't thank you enough, sir," replied the waiter. "I hardly ever
get a compliment."





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Serving

Once when Christ was speaking with his disciples, a well-meaning mother approached him. She was concerned for her sons’ futures and hoped that by networking with this up-and-coming young carpenter-leader, they would be set for life. “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom,” she asked the thirty-something Jewish leader (Matt. 20:21). No bones about it—she knew that to get ahead in this world, her boys had to capitalize on their contacts and make the most of their opportunities. This guy Jesus was going to be a mover and a shaker, she could tell.

When the others heard her request, they became indignant, not because of the selfish absurdity of it but because they, too, wanted such status and power. Jesus, however, saw through them all. He must have smiled as he called them together and shook his head as he corrected them. Gently, he then gave them the real definition of success: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:26-28).

Our ultimate example of how to live our lives is found in the one who came not to be served but to serve. For the Christian, then, the wonderful thing about service is that our only qualification is willingness, and our greatest reward is God’s pleasure (which, of course, spills over into our hearts!). We are not driven by it, we are called to it, revealing the gracious relationship between the Son of man and the one who has been ransomed by him. As we all know, service will probably never make us famous, rich, or powerful, that is, in the worldly sense, though it will in God’s eyes. Though the world might never honor a servant’s efforts, it will almost always respect it, if even anonymously.

Taken from Feast of Life by Jo Kadlecek

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George Frederic Handel

In 1741, George Frederic Handel was genuinely discouraged. His health was failing, audiences had deserted him, and he was deeply in debt. Seeing no hope for the future, his music, or his life, he was ready to retire in disgrace.

It seems that God had other plans for Handel. Two challenges almost simultaneously set before him changed his life and the map of the musical world. From a Dublin charity, he received a commission to compose a piece of music for a benefit concert. From Charles Jennings, a wealthy friend, he received a libretto based exclusively on Bible texts.

With that libretto in hand, Handel went into a feverish work mode. For three weeks, beginning on August 22, he confined himself to his small house on Brook Street in London. From early in the morning into the night, he rarely left his music paper, ink, and pens. A friend who visited at that time reported having seen Handel weeping with intense emotion. Later, as Handel related the compositional experience, he quoted St. Paul’s words: “Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it, I know not.”

At one point a servant came into Handel’s room to deliver a tray of food. He reported having seen a wild expression in his employer’s eyes; a weeping Handel refused the food and exclaimed, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.” He had just completed what has become the most-performed choral movement in history, the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

After six days of this incredibly concentrated work, Handel had completed Part 1. Part 2 took him nine days, and Part 3 another six. In two more days—to complete the orchestration—the masterpiece called the Messiah was finished. In the unbelievably brief span of twenty-four days, Handel had filled two hundred sixty pages of manuscript.

One of Handel’s many biographers, Sir Newman Flower, gave this summation: “Considering the immensity of the work, and the short time involved, it will remain, perhaps forever, the greatest feat in the whole history of music composition.”

And musicologist Robert Myers has stated that the music and its powerful message “has probably done more to convince thousands of mankind that there is a God about us than all the theological works ever written.”

Handel’s own aspirations for this masterpiece were revealed after the fist London performance of Messiah. When the concert ended, Lord Kinnoul congratulated Handel on the superb “entertainment.” Handel’s reply? “ My lord, I should be sorry if I only entertain them; I wish to make them better.”

With such a spiritual purpose, it is no surprise that the Lord blessed this talented man with a special grace to compose such a powerful piece.

In the midst of a depression, did Handel set out to writ the most celebrated choral music of all time? Probably not. But Handel was a man listening to the voice of God. Struck with the power of the words of Scripture, he opened himself to the Holy Spirit and let the Spirit work through him to produce what can be described as a wonder.

Although you and I might not produce the world’s next choral Messiah, each of us can be ever listening to the voice of God—as He speaks through the Scriptures, through opportunities set before us, through friends, directly to our spirits. And we, too, can produce masterpieces. As you step out in faith, remember God’s promise:

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isa. 30:21)

Taken from Spiritual Moments with the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh

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I was sick (frown)

Sorry about not posting on Thursday and Friday. I was sick. And I was sick the whole weekend. This morning I woke up and felt better, but I still had to go to the doctor today anyway.

Hopefully I’ll be able to post more this week.

allfornow,

Hannah

Bible Verse

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

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