Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Balut Anyone??

Well, I have to share something very funny with you. I teach Spanish to adults twice a week in the evenings. Very often, we will veer from the language and grammar and talk a bit about culture. The other evening we were learning the "food" vocabulary and I taught them the word for hard-boiled eggs - "huevos duros". One of my students commented that she had heard a similar word used by Hispanic friends of hers referring to cooked chicken embryos. She said it was popular in some cultures but could not remember the name of it. So, the next day, I got on the internet and started to search. I assumed it was eaten by some Latin culture, but could not find anything relating to that or to chicken embryos. What I did find though was something called "Balut" that is eaten by Filipinos and Vietnamese people and is considered a delicacy. It is actually a duck embryo that has been boiled and is eaten in the shell. I thought I would share the short video with you that I found regarding balut. Be wary, it is rated "SG" for "sorta gross".

Anyway, I was thinking about the different types of things different cultures eat and I did think this was pretty gross. But one of my students pointed out that it's not gross to the people that eat it. I guess that is true. My husband is a big hunter and fisherman and he has eaten some pretty weird stuff over the years: alligator, squirrel, barbecued goat, racoon, not to mention the ones that - uh - "taste like chicken" like rabbit, quail, frog legs, etc... I don't eat any of that stuff. Give me beef and real chicken and I'm good to go.

Speaking of food and eating, I love the scripture from Psa. 34:8 that says "Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." Jesus said in John, chapter 4, that He had food to eat that the disciples knew nothing about. He said His food was to do the will of the Father. Now, that's the kind of "food" from which we can all be nourished!!





Sunday, June 24, 2007

More of the Beach

Thought I'd share a picture of my kids at Hilton Head this past weekend.

Oops! Wrong one. I guess that's not them after all. Here they are...


212 Degrees

Just returned from 4 days at Hilton Head, SC with almost all of my family. Oldest daughter had to stay home and work. My husband's firm sends us to a regional meeting every summer with all the brokers from our region. It's pretty nice because they include the family. Anyway, we had a great time catching up with friends and acquaintances that we have made from previous trips. It's also a motivational/business meeting for the brokers to share new ideas, encourage one another and applaud past year's efforts. The spouses get together as well to get firm updates and answer any questions we may have. The last night is an awards banquet and is always a nice finishing touch to the weekend. Last night our new regional leader showed us a short video entitled 212 - The Extra Degree. I was very inspired and motivated after seeing this and thought I'd like to share it with you. It doesn't need any explanation but is very challenging. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Happy Fathers Day!!

Wow, I am amazed how fast this month of June is flying by. Thought I would catch up a bit with what's going on.

Sitting here taking care of some stuff on the computer and listening to the Braves/Indians game in the background. Right now it's 2-2 , top of the 4th. I hope we can pull it off. John Smoltz is doing a great job pitching.

It's been a busy day. While hubby and son spent most of the morning doing outside yard work I had lots of stuff to do inside. Making wheat bread for someone at church, also preparing for a Spanish class I'm going to teach tomorrow at church for our Mexico Missions Team. I love doing that and it's a great group this year. Now I need to go to the store and get some stuff to make a breakfast dish for our Sunday School class tomorrow morning. Then I need to make supper for my family. My kids have gone out to get their dad something for Father's Day. I always love seeing their cards and what they pick out.

The man I married happens to be a great husband and a wonderful father, too!! We are very blessed to have him in our lives. He has been such an example to me of how Christ loves the church and such an inspiration as a person that is so steady even in the face of trying circumstances.

My father passed away in 1979 at the age of 63 from a massive heart attack. I was a senior in college at the time. It was hard losing him, he was a good man and really tried to live his life according to the scriptures. He was not perfect but he tried as best he could and I admired him. So, I can't say Happy Father's Day to my real dad but I want to wish all the incredible godly men that we have in our lives a wonderful day tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

New License Plate



So, I think we got the house!! Yeah, Christmas in July here we come. We put the earnest money down last Friday, so are just in the waiting mode. Anyway, I am kind of excited too, cuz we are moving to a new county which means we have to get new license plates, which means I am getting one of the "prestige" plates that has a personalized message on it. Guess what it will say? Well, I haven't quite figured that out yet but you can bet it will have something to do with our favorite redhead. I just put this picture here so you could get a laugh. I think an actual license plate can't use any characters except letters and numbers and can only be 7 spaces long. So, do you have any suggestions? Well, until next time....

Saturday, June 9, 2007

In a Slump?! - Persevere for the Prize

We went to an Atlanta Braves game last night. They lost - enough said? No, maybe not. They're definitely "in a slump". It just showed through the whole game. It's just like they didn't really come to play, but were just there in body only. I absolutely love watching the Braves play, but, I must admit, it was rather painful last night, losing 9 - 1.

"Slump": "bad period, bad times, blight, bottom out, collapse, depreciation, depression, descent, downer, down slide, downtrend, drop, dumps, falling-off, funk, hard times, letdown, recession, rut, sag, slide, slip, stagnation." Definitely words that would describe the Braves last 7 games, 6 losses.

By the way, I think I am a very good Braves fan because, even though, as the game progressed and I got more frustrated with our teams inability to score, I kept thinking "next inning, they'll do it". My husband is a true fisherman and loves the sport. He says even if you aren't catching any fish, there's always that next cast. There's always hope. I know the Braves will come back, I hope it's sooner and not later. But, regardless, I love cheering them on and I absolutely love being at a live game and being part of that huge throng of people watching them play and hoping that next pitch will be the one that puts them ahead.

Hebrews 11 and 12 is a great passage of Scripture with similarities to any game or race in life. The writer of Hebrews talks about all the great people of faith that we have all read about in the Old Testament and that their faith in God kept them going through the difficult times. And I love the way chapter 12 starts out, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easy entangles us and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful man." Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, is the One to keep our eyes on. "Consider Him", the passage says, think about Him, focus on Him, realize that there were many, many people before us, "a great cloud of witnesses" that also persevered and made it!!

"Perseverance": "backbone, constancy, continuance, dedication, determination, diligence, drive, endurance, grit, guts, immovability, persistence, purposefulness, resolution, spunk, stamina, steadfastness, stick-to-itiveness, tenacity".

I love being an Atlanta Braves fan and won't quit cheering them on, but I pray everyday that I will be a person known for her perseverance. I want to finish the race set before me because, ultimately, there is a prize on the other side. And I can't wait to get there!!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

House Hunting

We have been house hunting for about 6 months now. We sold a home back in August and have been renting since then. We really weren't planning on renting for this long but there just have been no available homes that either fit into our price range, were what we wanted or worked for our family size, location, etc... I will have to say we have probably looked at over 100 homes in the last 6 months. At times, the task has been almost daunting because our realtor (God love her for her patience with us), would show us maybe 6 or 7 homes in one block of time. Also, I was using the internet to search for homes and it got to where I couldn't remember if we had seen a certain home or not; it all began to be a jumble to me. Anyway, for the last month we were particularly interested in one home that pretty much fit what we needed and we were pursuing this one. New home in a subdivision and we liked it. There were a few drawbacks but overall it was acceptable to us. We got to where we felt maybe we were being too picky, so we were willing to "settle" for a few things. Examples, the house had an exterior chimney, but upon closer inspection, no flue had been built on the inside and it would only burn gas logs. This was not a huge deal to us but the builder told us the home would burn wood. What would have happened if we had taken his word for that? Also, they painted the home all one color, he was not willing to re-paint a few rooms in colors we desired. And lastly, but more importantly was we decided to not sign final contract until we had the land re-surveyed. Good thing we did, since the property line was only about 3 feet from the left side of the home. We would've been in a "pickle". You know, sometimes you just have to go on your "gut feelings" about things. And that's pretty much how we handled it. We just didn't feel comfortable with the little things that kept cropping up and, as time went on, just didn't have a peace or a joy about it at all. Well, we finally walked away from that house about 2 weeks ago. And I am so thankful we did. We found a house immediately after that one that we really love. It also is brand new, still in the construction phase, same area, same price, but the attention to detail is amazingly 100% improvement. In fact, I am so excited about this house, I feel like a kid getting ready to have Christmas. We met with the contractor yesterday and it is a totally different story. He is willing to work with us and we are very impressed with him. I am so thankful that we waited and, if this is the house that the Lord allows us to purchase, then I know it will be a good thing. Even if it doesn't work out, I am again encouraged that the Lord always has our best interests in His heart when He closes and opens doors for us. A couple of scriptures come to mind, "The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord." (Psa. 37) and "you have not because you ask not and when you do ask you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives." (James 4:2-3)

My desire is to always put God first in my life so that I can hear clearly how He wants to direct me and be willing to walk where He leads.

My very favorite scripture in the Bible is also found in Psa. 37 and it says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart; commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass.... be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him." Waiting is sometimes a hard thing to do. Our human flesh just doesn't like it. But, when we wait on His perfect plan for us, whether it's buying a house, getting a job, going to school, dating that certain person, whatever it might be; it will always turn out better for us.

Bottom line, if I can't trust the King of Kings and Lord of Lords with my life, who can I trust? Wait on Him, trust Him and He will bring it to pass!

The King of Comedy - Typewriter Skit

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Stop and Listen ~ Stop and Hear

I am truly amazed at how God shows Himself to us in the simplest of ways. Again, today, I was walking with one of our pooches and was reminded of another simple truth from the world of nature.
Annie (our mini-dachshund) was my companion today. She is very nosy and ran in and out of every yard, every driveway; believe me, every stitch of grass had her footprint on it. I took particular interest in her behavior while we passed by a section of heavily wooded area. Occasionally I could hear rustling in the woods and figured it was probably a squirrel or maybe even a deer, but I never actually saw anything. Annie would stop and perk her ears up and wait a minute or two then keep walking and stop again, listening intently. One time on the second stop she made, she actually took off in the direction from which the rustling came. I was struck with the thought of how many times I have stopped to listen to the Lord but haven't really heard what He wanted to say to me. Now before you think I'm some super-spiritual guru who hears voices or something, let me explain that when I say I haven't "heard Him" I am meaning I have not felt the moving of His Spirit on my heart and mind. The scriptures are full of promises and reminders that God does speak to His people. Even to those that don't know Him the scripture says He shows Himself to us in the very attributes of the nature He created for us. How He speaks to me may be and probably is entirely different than how He speaks to someone else. That point aside, the important thing is not really how I hear Him but what I do with what He may be saying to me. Am I taking time to listen for the "still small voice"? Am I actually hearing what He says to me? You know, we can listen to someone and never really hear what they said to us? We can even look like we're really listening and be a hundred miles away. So basically, it's not enough for me just to listen but true listening involves hearing and true hearing involves action. James 1:22 says, don't just listen to the Word, but do what it says.
What would happen to our children if they never took time to listen to us? If we never talked to them and let them just do whatever they wanted, day in and day out? It wouldn't take long for bedlam to ensue. Why? Because they need direction and lots of it. They are immature, childish and by nature bound to get into trouble. We as adults are not unlike our children. We are immature, childish and definitely bound to get into lots of trouble. What's the remedy? Start listening to the Father. He desires for us to come to Him and hear His voice. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." "Come let us reason together, says the Lord." "Show me your ways, oh Lord, teach me your paths." "He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (NIV) So, it's not a matter of God not wanting to speak to me, it's all about me taking the time to not only listen but to hear what He is specifically speaking to my heart.
Yesterday, as I was reading the Bible, a scripture popped out at me in Ezekiel that I had never seen before. It basically said that God said He would never again reject Israel because He was going to put His Spirit in their hearts. (Ezek. 39:29) I was so encouraged by that scripture and the Lord knew I needed to hear it. God is so amazing how He meets us right where we are and right when we need Him. He speaks to us through nature, through His Word, through that gentle whisper, even by taking a walk with my dog. Don't forget to stop, listen and hear what He wants to say to you.