It's hard to get Moto to show up in pictures he is so black! He is our new puppy. He was born the end of May. His mother was a Sharpei/Rottweiler mix and that is who he mostly looks like. His Dad was a Blue Heeler/Husky mix, and you can see a bit of the blue heeler in his white blaze on his chest.
Today Moto is being neutered. I hope he is not mad at us when he gets home!
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. Revelation 13:18.
The great harlot is also a mystery. With harlotry - money is involved. I was listening to Ashley Dupre's interview with Diane Sawyer on 20/20. Ashley spoke of her relationship with former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer, father of three daughters, in a way that that made herself appear almost noble, for only being an escort and not a prostitute. When questioned by Diane as to whether or not both words mean the same thing, Ashley said something like - no, because we talk. I read more online and learned that she and other escorts received between $2,000 and $5,000 an hour for "talking." She said - her reason for "escorting" had nothing to do with money. Give-----me-----a-----break!
Down through the ages since the fall of Adam and Eve, we've been making excuses for our behavior, actions and reactions. We cunningly devise reasons for why we continue to sin. We give nicer names to old sins. Escort = prostitute = harlot. We don't want to be held responsible for our actions. It's always someone elses fault for the way we behave. In this sad story, Ashley spoke of her biological father who was not there for her as a possible reason for wanting to be an escort. I would guess that she was intoxicated by her God-given beauty. She loved the attention men gave her when she was dressed to kill. She forgot the heartache another woman would have to bear for her silly daring acts of indiscriminate intimacy. I don't only hold her responsible, but him. He is the one that was throwing money around, and money that was not rightly his to throw!
Oh, but we are all sinful. All of us. There is no one that is good or without sin. I definitely am not good. Billy Graham is not good. That sweet lady down the street from you - even she is not good.
Here is what Corrie ten Boom had to say about it all.
"Sometimes I get a headache from the heat of the halo that people put around my head. Would you like to know what Corrie ten Boom is really like? Then I told them what happened the evening before --- how my own sleep had been more important in my eyes than the salvation of young people. "That," I said, "was Corrie ten Boom. What egotism! What selfishness! But the joy is that Corrie ten Boom knew what to do with her sins. When I confessed them to the Father, Jesus Christ washed them with His blood. They are now cast into the deepest sea and a sign is put up that says, NO FISHING ALLOWED. But Jesus in Corrie ten Boom is just the opposite of all these things." Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the LordThank God for His forgiveness. There is nothing He will refuse to forgive when we repent (turn away from) of our sin. Praise the LORD for forgiveness and for peace!
Peace in our hearts is a richness of great value and only can be placed deep inside by God when we believe Him.
Photo of the little thermometer gadget that Doug brought home for me. Shows the inside and outside temp's with a little guy that puts on clothes (or takes them off) depending on the outside temperature.. He's all bundled up - it's cold today!
What about our loving and caring people, huh? Those that keep a foot in the door for some of us. The door of salvation, the door to eternal life, the door to a personal relationship with God. Holding the door ajar for some who appear to carelessly have shut the door on the face of Jesus Christ.
Quietly they've kept trusting because they know that God too dearly loves someone dear to their own heart. They've never lost hope that one day their heart will be softened, their ears unstopped, their minds enlightened - and all by the merciful reach of God. You have a friend like that? A Mom? A Dad? Aunt, Uncle, cousin?
They just keep on praying.
For those who in anger shut the door;
In ignorance, walked past the door;
With disbelief, laugh at the door.
In busyness, are oblivious of the door.
Yesterday I read "The Shack." In my humble opinion the author (William Paul Young) of The Shack makes our incredible, awesome, powerful God just too man-like, and way too common. Actually the author presented God the Father as a black woman; Jesus as a homely Mid-Eastern man in saw-dusty work clothes; and the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman.
This large and oh-so-stereotypical matronly African-American woman is God (or at least an anthropomorphism of God she chose to take on in order to communicate with Mack). Throughout the story she is known as Papa. Near the end, because Mack requires a father figure, she turns into a pony-tailed, grey-haired man, but otherwise God is this woman. Jesus is a young to middle-aged man of Middle-Eastern (i.e. Jewish) descent with a big nose and rather plain looks while the Holy Spirit is played by Sarayu, a small, delicate and eclectic woman of Asian descent. By this point many people will choose to close the book and be done with it. But for the purposes of this review, let’s just assume you are able to get past seeing God and the Holy Spirit portrayed in this way and let’s press on. Read more by CHALLIES.COM.This holy three-some banters with each other as they cook together, spend the day together, do things for Mack together. The read was interesting and many times emotional. I talked with Mom this morning (she read the book) and mentioned that I felt the way the author presented God was a lot different than the way John writes about God in Revelation, so majestic. Previously she had said of the book, "It's just too different."
Young's fiction novel hints at teachings from the Bible but does not quote any. Eugene Peterson's quote: "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's just that good!" Even though it appears to be popular in Christian circles, I feel this quote is an exaggeration.
There are redeeming qualities about this write that I will acknowledge. It will make people more aware of the ever-present God - the Holy Spirit we can count on everyday. He is always with us and never leaves us. The fact that life continues, spiritually, even though we cannot see those that have passed away, they are still alive, spiritually. Another idea I came away with is that God did not come to establish organizations, but He wants to grow relationships. I totally agree with that. We don't need more committee's, more clubs, more churches, but we do need a relationship with God and even with others "of like precious faith."
This is where the heart to pray over and over for someone that we love comes from. The relationship we have - or want with someone we love. This tugs at our hearts because the relationship we have with God (via His Son) is precious to us and we want that for others. It is comforting when we need comfort. It is Truth where there does not seem to be truth around us. It is grace in daily life. It brings us the promise of Life eternal. We want all that and more for our family and our friends who have not met our Savior this way ---yet.
Today, I've thanked God for friends and relationships, ones that included prayer for the Holy Spirit's gentle wooing to continue in my life.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20.
Picture is Doug walking the dogs in Teklanika, Alaska.Before I left to enjoy Hawaii with Klint and Calli I signed up for Merriam-Webster's Online Word A Day and I have been enjoying reading definitions. If only I could remember to use the words ---in the right place ---at the right time! I could sound so smart, ha.
To refresh our memories: Merriam is the last name of brothers George and Charles, booksellers and printers. When Noah Webster died (1843), these guys bought the rights to publish revisions of the 1841 edition of Noah Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language, Corrected and Enlarged. Thus we gained Merriam-Webster.
At the beginning of the 19th century, when he was 43 years old, Webster decided to write a dictionary because people in different parts of the country pronounced and used words differently. He wanted to create a common source of accuracy. But, in reflection of national revolutionary sentiments, he did not believe the American people should speak and spell in the same ways as people in England. He was quite willing to adapt his version of the dictionary to accommodate American users, and to distinguish them from their fellow English speakers in England. He added words that were distinctly American, such as, skunk and hickory, and he changed the spellings of many words and turned such words as neighbour into neighbor, centre into center, and plough into plow. A Noah Webster biography.So, now I know why UK friends spell some of their words different. To Noah Webster it was a "proud to be an American" thing. It was a strong and common feeling in Noah's day ("national revolutionary sentiments") to be different from England in language, for they (USA's forefathers) had won our freedom from England's interference into our daily lives.
Sharing the Word-A-Day:
Did you know?
"Circumspect," "cautious," "wary," and "chary" all imply looking before you leap, but each puts a unique spin on being careful in the face of risk or danger. "Circumspect," which descends from Latin “circum-” (“around”) and “specere” (“to look”), implies the surveying of all possible consequences before acting or deciding (as in "he is circumspect in business dealings"). "Cautious" suggests fear of danger and the exercise of forethought that it prompts (as in "a cautious driver"). "Wary" emphasizes suspiciousness and alertness in sensing danger and cunning in escaping it (as in "keep a wary eye on the competition"). "Chary" implies a cautious reluctance to give, act, or speak freely (as in "she is chary of signing papers without reading them first").
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15,16.
And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth. Exodus 23:13.
The *M%E#D@I!A^ also says --- we (Alaska) have a gas line to be approved and she needs the public exposure. I say to the *M%E#D@I!A^ - "Go fly a kite!" I have had enough of the *M%E#D@I!A^'s opinion the last two years, give us a break and you know what? Sarah will continue to do fine without all of your stupid input.
Please Sarah.... "Just say NO to Oprah!"
Let's Go Fly A Kite!
