Chicago Chicago

Today I was just fooling around with my computer and Quick Time and posted a video of some of the sights of Chicago on You Tube. Check it out - it is 8 minutes tho (probably a tad long for internet viewing-but hey). The first few scenes probably won't capture anyone's interest, but hang in there - you'd be surprised at some of the sights. Hope you enjoy it. (Made on a Mac, of course!)

After a Gentle Rain

I just paid a visit to a dynamite blog - called "After a Gentle Rain". 'a blog by a teenager you don't even know'. I'm not sure if this person is male or female, but I'm thinking female. Anyway, she/he seems like a dynamite person and the blog is refreshing, honest and candid. No preaching - just honest thoughts, questions. Anyway, if anyone ever reads mine I would highly recommend a visit.

If you click the title to my post here that should bring you to their page. I hope you enjoy.

Thou Knowest, O God, I am Thine

The following was written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer a month before his death at the hands of the Nazi's.

Who am I?

They often tell me I would step from my cell's confinement calmly, cheerfully, firmly, like a squire from his country-house.

Who am I?

They often tell me I would talk to my warden freely and friendly and clearly, as though it were mine to command.

Who am I?

They also tell me I would bear the days of misfortune equably, smilingly, proudly, like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of, or am I only what I know of myself, restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage, struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat, yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness, trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation, tossing in expectation of great events, powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance, weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making, faint and ready to say farewell to it all.

Who am I?

This or the other? Am I one person today, and tomorrow another? Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others, and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army, fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I?

They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine.

Mac commercials

I just love the Apple commercials for their Mac computers. They do an excellent job of parody! This one for example:



But, it is true - once you go Mac you never go back! I made the switch and I won't be going back either.

If I Die Before You Wake

Someone sent me a link to this video today- Beautiful! It is worth the few minutes it takes to watch. Music is good, images also......a good reminder to think of and pray for our young men and women in the military today. Just click on the title and you can go there.

The Promise

Spring has sprung! The sun has finally returned to NJ!! Yeah. It returned slowly on Thursday, shining out from behind the clouds - a promise of what was to come. I woke Friday morning to sun and blue skies - a very welcome sight and revleed in the warmth and brightness. The pain I had been experiencing slowly started to leave my body. My neighbor was outside tinkering with his lawn mowers, birds were chirping away and every kid in town was outside playing. A truly beautiful day!


The way the sun peeked from behind the clouds Thursday promising a better tomorrow reminded me of a scripture that speaks about how God has placed a deposit in us who have trusted Christ for forgiveness of our sins.


“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:13, 14 (NIV)


This promise reminds us that we get so much more than a few days of sunshine and a reprieve from foul weather. It’s a guarantee of our future.


Among the things we will receive in heaven is relief from suffering and death:

Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat. Rev. 7:16, 17

He (God Himself)will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev. 21:4

There will be no more darkness:


There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they(that’s us) will reign for ever and ever. Rev. 22:5


We will have new bodies (thank God for that promise!):

1Corinthians 15 - You’re going to have to read that one for yourself.


That’s just for starters. Of course, there is also my very favorite bible verse which is Romans 5:1:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,


That’s a promise for the here and now. I rejoice in knowing that I have been reconciled with God - I don’t have to be afraid, don’t have to worry about measuring up, of trying to meet some unreachable standard. I am able to turn to God instead of hightailing it in the opposite direction. Jesus has made this possible.


That peace, those promises plus forgiveness for all wrongdoing is available to anyone who wants it.


Don’t worry - no matter what you have done, you are not too bad for God to forgive you. Conversely, you are also not too good not to need God and His forgiveness.


If you would like to share in these blessings (& more besides) here is all you need to do:


1. Admit you have done wrong. You have sinned. Sin means to “miss the mark” of God’s standard. If you have done one thing wrong (1 lie, 1 curse) you have missed the mark. Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.


2. The penalty for our sin is death. Romans 6:23 says “The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.


3. Know that Jesus has made full payment for the penalty of our sin (remember - that’s death). Romans 5:8 says that “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. That is so awesome to me. God knows all about me and loves me anyway - and doesn’t excuse my sin and say it’s okay, but pays my debt Himself, making a way for me to be completely and totally accepted by Him.


4. Finally, as Romans 10:9, 10 says ”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.”


Don’t be afraid - the bible says that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. Ask Jesus to forgive your sin, He promised never to turn anyone away. Trust Him. Don’t worry about your feelings - remember - the One who knows you best, loves you most.


If you don’t have a bible go to www.Crosswalk.com or www.Biblegateway.com and read an online bible.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me.

Global Warming

Aiyeee! Where is global warming when you need it? It is FUH-REEZING here in NJ. It's not uncommon to have cold days in April, but not for such a long period. According to the weather people it is the coldest April on record. So, I ask again - where is that global warming? It sure would be welcome about now. It'll warm up eventually (it always does) and it won't be too long before everyone is complaining about how hot it is.

Also, according to the weather people we just had the 4th rainiest day on record. There's flooding all over. I am just SO very grateful we only got a wee bit of water in the basement. I passed quite a few homes today pumping out their basements or people unable to stay in their homes due to flooding.. The lack of water in my basement was a bright spot in an otherwise very painful couple of days. I have rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia and the pain was so intense because of the weather. But, I swallowed Aleve and Tylenol every few hours and look forward to better days. But, I sure had to remind myself of what I posted earlier about "The Choice". It was a good day and good excuse to relax, surf the net, find some new blogs and do some reading......and today was a good day for making brownies!

Hope you enjoy my Easter tulips. They were so pretty. Hope they are as pretty next year.

Lou Giglio "How Great is our God"

Here's a few minutes of Lou Giglio's talk from the "How Great is Our God" tour mentioned in an earlier post. The visuals aren't great, but you should be able to see enough, and of course, hear to get the message. Hope it works!








Shalom!

Human Glue

Hubby and I recently went to a Christian concert; "How Great is Our God" tour featuring Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman singing and Lou Giglio speaking. Now, it really went against my nature to pay to go to what I think of as a "worship" concert. Just seems very contradictory. After all, I can worship anywhere God is - which is everywhere. But, we hadn't been anywhere in a long time so we shelled out the money and went.

I was so glad we did! The music was good, but to me, the highlight was Lou Giglio speaking. We were in Continental Arena in the Meadowlands with an almost full house, but as Lou spoke you could hear a pin drop. Quite amazing since the majority of the audience was under 21.

I don't remember quite how he started out but he brought up the subject of "human glue". - Laminin. It is the protein that quite literally holds our body together. The illustration is what it looks like. Pretty amazing to see it is in the shape of a cross! Consider this in the light of this scripture from Colossians 1:17 (NIV): 7He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He then went on with a huge screen slideshow showing an ascending view of our solar system. He tried to give us perspective of how small our earth and sun really are in relation to the rest of the universe. I won't go into the details here as I really couldn't do it justice. But, the icing on the cake was when he spoke about Canis Majoris. (s?). This star which is I forget how many thousands of light years from earth is as big as not 4 earths, but 4 x earth's orbit around our sun. That is pretty huge! I could maybe relate to 4 earths or 400 earths filling the star, but 4x times our orbit around our sun! That is something! Contrast that to laminin which is microscopic and consider all this perfection created by God and it is mind blowing. Not only that, but truly, truly awesome! On top of all this God's spirit and peace confirmed what we, the audience, were observing and thinking. That was the reason for the massive quiet in the Arena.

The peace and comfort I received through this demonstration is something that hasn't left me even though it has been a couple of months. If I considered this only in my mind I don't think it would have been comforting. But, fortunately, with His help it is in my spirit. And that is where I receive His peace.

I gained a new view and understanding of how He created the world with order and natural laws. In our world upon earth, if the earth had even a slightly different angle or slightly different composition in the atmosphere, we would not be able to live here as we know it. It gave me a new understanding of how we cannot live as we want and expect God to suspend His natural laws to accomodate us. He can and does work supernaturally and miraculously to heal, to deliver us from our sin and many consequences and other things, but He has already ordained a natural order. That alone is miraculous!

Enough for now. A little longer than I usually write, but, hey, it's been about a month!

For now - here are some words of Jesus:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27 NIV)

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