Monthly Archives: January 2008

Internet Growth

I was reading something interesting the other day about computers and the internet.  Did you know that….

  • More than one Billion people worldwide use the internet from their homes, offices and schools. 
  • You can search in more than 200 Million sites, and 235,000 are being added every month.
  • The reach of the internet as a source of information in the U. S. has increased from 60 to 70% of total households.
  • There are about 200 Million e-mail boxes in the U.S. and only 109 Million of those are for business users.
  • In the year 2000, more than 7 Trillion e-mails were sent.
  • Nearly 50% of the U.S. population communicates by e-mail.
  • Two out of every three Americans spend time online daily
  • The average e-mail user receives 31 e-mails per day.

So, how do you rank?  How often do you log on?  Where do you log on?  Are you quickly on and off, or do you like to browse and window shop?  How do you use the WWW.?

Works for Me Wednesday

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This is my first attempt at a blog carnival, but I’ve learned so much from some of these women.  Tonight I’m making Chicken and Noodles.  Just poached the frozen chicken breasts in water, added the noodles, and here’s the secret…. added a can of cream of chicken soup to the pot to thicken it up.  It’s really great if you can find the can with the herbs added in, then you have one less step.  It’s so simple, yet so yummy on a cold winter day!  I hope you enjoy the simplicity of it.  For more ideas, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

“Moore” Monday #9 (on Tuesday)

MY GOD IS HUGE AND

MY GOD IS ABLE.  IF I DON’T GET

WHAT I ASK HIM FOR, I KNOW I’LL

GET SOMETHING BIGGER.

You alone are the Lord.  you made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.  You give life to everyghing, and the multitudes of heaven worship You (Neh. 9:6). 

The earth is Yours, O Lord, and everything in it— the world and all who live in it (Ps. 24:1).  For You are a great God, the great King above all gods.  In Your hands are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to You.  The sea is Yours, for You made it, and Your hands formed the dry land (Ps. 95:3-5).  In Your hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:10). 

Another excerpt from Beth Moore- Praying God’s Word Day by Day

One of the many things I’ve learned from my daily bible readings so far is how dependent on God the people of the Old Testament were.  If they didn’t know what to do, they asked God, and then followed his direction!  How simple to do, but how little we do it.  I like the part where it says “if I don’t get what I ask Him for, I know I’ll get something bigger.”  I KNOW…  Ask and believe, then you will receive.  Thank You God!  You are so full of wisdom and love, thanks for sharing it with us. 

90 day Bible Reading-1 & 2 Kings

1 Kings 2:3-4  David is talking to Solomon.  “I am about to go the way of all the earth, so be strong, show yourself a man and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in His ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the Lord may keep his promise to me:  ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

When David died, his son Solomon became king.  Solomon prayed for wisdom and discernment, and he was given that by the Lord.  You may recall the story of the two mothers, and one of their children had died.  The mother of the child who died had tried to trick the other mother into believing it was her child who was dead, and they took their plea to Solomon.  Solomon said the baby should be cut in half, and the woman whose son it was said No, don’t kill him.  That is how Solomon knew she was the real mother.  Solomon was wiser than any other man from all the nations because he asked God for wisdom!  He built a beautiful temple for the Lord in Jerusalem, and brought the box of the covenant to the temple. 

Solomon angered the Lord when he had many wives who had many different idols that they worshipped, and sometimes Solomon would join in with the offerings to the idols.  The people saw Solomon doing these things, and thought it was OK, so they became interested in the idols too.  Solomon died and Rehoboam took over as king.  He was nothing like Solomon, and the Israelites separated into two kingdoms.  The ten tribes to the north of Jerusalem made their own king and made sacrifices to idols in Bethel and Dan.  The prophet named Elijah felt as though he was the only true worshipper of the Lord left.  He was told by God to stay with the widow at Zarephath, and she provided for him what she didn’t have to provide.  Then her son became ill and died, but Elijah took him and prayed for his life to return and it did.  The widow knew that he was a man of God.  Elijah then went on to prove that Baal was not the real God, but still had to run for his life because king Ahab’s wife wanted to kill him.  Elisha was called to succeed Elijah. 

In 2 Kings, Elijah is walking and talking to Elisha, when a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the men, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.  Elisha was a faithful servant, and went wherever God needed him to go.  He was helpful to all peoples.  On the other hand, the kings of the two kingdoms seemed to thrive on personal fame and success, and not on God.  Kings Hezekiah and Josiah wanted the people to be loyal to God, but in the end even they succumbed to the evil ways of the people.  The Babylonian army attacked them while under the reign of king Zedekiah, and they destroyed the temple.  The descendents of David were led into exile by King Nebuchadnezzars army.  The people were slaves, but God was still with them.  Little by little, things improved for them, and the king Jehoiachin was released. 

I think we are caught up now, and I so apologize for falling off the blog!  Life took over, or satan thought he could get a stronghold on me, and I’m now saying NO WAY!  I will follow Jesus Christ, He is my Lord and Savior!  Bless you all. 

90 Day Bible Reading- 1 & 2 Samuel

SAMUEL- THE KINGMAKER  What would make me think the Israelites would be happy once they arrived in the Promised Land, and obey God?  Naive, I guess.  They didn’t listen to the judges, and went back to doing whatever they wanted to do.  But again, God had a plan.  He helped the childless Hannah become pregnant, and she gave birth to Samuel.  She promised to give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and she did just that.  Samuel was a very special boy, and he grew up to be a priest and prophet who led the people through many difficult times.  Again, the Israelites were not happy, and complained they wanted a king,  just like the other nations.  So Saul became king of the land.  At first, everything went well, then power went to Saul’s head and he turned his back on God.  That led to God turning against Saul, and the end of his kingship.  He did realize too late what was happening, and confessed his sins to Samuel and God.  David is then chosen as king by the Lord.  The irony is that Saul was chosen by the people’s standards, and David by God’s.  Which was more successful?  David! 

David had worked in Saul’s service for a while.  He had played the harp when Saul was tormented by an evil spirit because he had turned from the Lord.  David went on to defeat Goliath, and then run from Saul because he was trying to kill him.  He had many accomplishments that showed his faithfulness to God.  Saul ended up taking his own life, and David is annointed King in 2 Samuel.  David was a good king, who made his kingdom stronger and stronger for a long time.  Until Bathsheba came along.  David saw her and wanted her, even though she was married.  She became pregnant, and then David had her husband sent out to the front lines and killed.  David sinned, and confessed, and God forgave him, but turmoil came upon him and his home because of the sin.  Bathsheba lost the baby she was carrying, and David’s daughter Tamar wasraped by her half brother Amnon.  Tamar’s brother Absalom killed Amnon and then fled for his life.  Absalom then planned to kill David, and was killed himself by David’s soldiers. 

Sick…

Saturday began with Brooke complaining of a headache and sore throat.  I thought it was her sinuses, and gave her some allergy meds.  I then took her to rehearsal, where she danced for around 5 hours.  The show was GREAT, and I am always amazed at the ability of these young kids to get onstage and dance for Jesus the way they do.  I don’t know where she gets it…because she’s absolutely beautiful!  I’m so proud of her!  Afterward, we went out to eat at our favorite little Mexican place, where Brooke didn’t feel like eating.  (so not like her!)  Then she came home and slept, a lot.  Went to church yesterday morning, and she came home and slept.  As of bedtime last night, I was pretty certain she would be staying home from school.  I awoke at 5:30 this morning with Zach standing above me, telling me he couldn’t breathe.  We went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, and let the steam go to work.  After about 25 minutes he felt better, and he went back to bed with the humidifier running.  At this point I’m not feeling too well myself, so I go back to bed too.  Then Brian starts in with a sore throat and swollen glands as well.  Matthew is running around with abundant energy.  I took B and Z to the doctor, and they both have strep throat.  So I say Great!!  How do I keep them away from M?  Why does that lump in my throat suddenly feel larger and more painful?  I need to lay down…  So that is my weekend and day in a nutshell.  I began this post because I’ve slept so much that I thought I wasn’t tired any more, but suddenly I am.  Any wellness prayers would be appreciated. 

Thankful Thursday

ttbutton.jpg  Another week is flying by in a frenzy of activities, both good and bad.  It makes me remember how long the weeks seemed when I was a child.  Where does the time go?  Anyway, still have plenty to be thankful for, so here’s my list.

  • Most of my house is clean today.  That will soon change because the kids are now home, but it will be documented here!
  • I was able to see my parents on Saturday when they came up for my birthday lunch, and again yesterday at a funeral.  Not a great place, but it was an awesome funeral.  See previous post.  I will see them again on Saturday because Brooke is dancing and they’re coming to watch.  We went from one time in 9 weeks, to 3 in 1 week! 
  • I’m saving money thanks to money saving mom!  I’ve only been “big” grocery shopping one time this month, and the rest has been for weekly stuff like milk, bread…and that one ice cream night!  I took an inventory of my pantry and freezer, and truly think we could live for a month on just that stuff alone.  I can’t wait to tally up my numbers to see the savings.
  • It’s supposed to be single digit temps in the morning, so we might, might, have a 2 hour delay!  I’m trying to be positive about freezing, and could really use the sleep!

A tearful goodbye/celebration

I don’t know what else to call it, besides the best funeral I’ve ever been to.  It sounds crazy to say that, but that’s how I feel.  I was dreading this funeral so badly, but was blessed by attending it in so many ways.  My dad’s cousin Jimmy died on Saturday.  He was only 52 and it was totally unexpected.  Married with three beautiful boys, the oldest is a teen.  It’s so hard to think about sometimes, but I urge you to take the time to talk with someone about what you would like to happen when you’re gone.  Jimmy and his wife did that, and I want to do it too.  There were 3 songs sung by two women, and then we sang two hymns.  These were songs that he had wanted.  The pastor opened up the floor for people to talk, and I was amazed by the outpouring of love to the family.  Everyone spoke of how much he loved his family, and how much he loved the Lord.  He touched so many lives, and didn’t even realize it I’m sure.  That’s just the kind of person he was.  He cared.  People from his church, and people from his workplace all loved him, and were blessed by the Holy Spirit within him.  One woman was talking about how he always lifted them up if they were struggling at work, and then she broke out singing Wind beneath My Wings!  It was beautiful!  Another person spoke highly of Jim, and didn’t know his wife, but said he knew her potato salad, and to fed ex it to them every now and then if she had to.  That made her laugh!  There were tears and there was laughter, and I guess the difference that I felt in this funeral was this.  We were a room filled with more believers in Jesus Christ than not.  We know that his earthly presence will be missed, but that he is truly home with God right now.  We may not understand it, but God has a plan for Jim, and it includes him at His side.  The pastor then preached, because he said that’s what Jim wanted him to do.  He preached about salvation, and that doesn’t mean just doing good things.  We have to confess, repent, and ask for fogiveness of our sins, and He will forgive.  We need to ask Jesus into our hearts and lives, and commit to follow Him.  And it’s too late when we’re in the coffin.  I had some family members sitting right there with me that needed to hear that, but I’m not sure they did.  I don’t understand it, but I don’t need to.  I just need to continue to pray for them.  (Off on a tangent again!)  Anyway, even in his death, Jim was witnessing to others.  He  planned that all out, and he knew who needed to hear it!  One person that stood up said we might ask why?  We should turn that around and we get YHW.  That stands for Your Holy Will!  Isn’t that great?  WHY= Your Holy Will 

I could go on and on, that’s how amazing it was!  I’ll stop, but I ask for prayers for his family.  I know they have a great church family that will lift them up, but you can never have too many prayers! 

I have one more funeral to attend this week.  A friend who passed away on Sunday, unexpectedly at the age of 36.  He too has a wife and 2 kids, the oldest is 12.  I just ask that these families be lifted in prayer, and that God would wrap His loving arms around them and provide comfort to them, that only He knows how. 

90 day Bible Reading-1Samuel

I’m doing the single parenting thing this week as my husband is out of town on business.  It happens to be a particularly busy week with dance, and the first performance coming up this weekend.  There’s also a few other things going on too, so it’s about all I can do to finish my readings daily (which I am!).  I just can’t seem to summarize it all to blog form!  I hope to get my routine going again, but feel free to chime in with your reading input if you’d like. 

“Moore” Monday #8

PATIENCE TO WAIT DOES NOT COME FROM SUFFERING

LONG FOR WHAT WE LACK

BUT FROM SITTING LONG IN WHAT WE HAVE.

The Lord will do great things for me, and I will be filled with joy.  I will sow in tears, then I will reap with songs of joy.  If I go out weeping, Lord, carrying seed to sow, I will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with me (Ps. 126:3, 5-6).

Please help me be willing to sow the seed of Your Word and to water it with my tears, believing You in the midst of my pain.  If I do, You will be faithful to fill me with joy again.  You will faithfully bring a harvest forth from my life.  My suffering will not be in vain. 

You, the God of all grace, who called me to Your eternal glory in Christ, will restore me and make me strong, firm, and steadfast after I have suffered a little while (1 Peter 5:10). 

From Beth Moore’s Praying God’s Word Day by Day.