A Word on the Spirit of Prophecy

I think the Body is in desperate need of this...

Preparing to Stand in the Coming Storm

This message was so timely I thought I should share...

I AM the Lizard Queen!

Why do we develop strange fears of creatures 1/10 our size... or less?
Because of their ability to render us "dead", or maimed by a bite, or stung within an inch of our lives maybe? It's not an irrational fear altogether, right?

Yesterday the trash was supposed to be taken out by a certain 13 year old boy. He started out into the mud room, but returned promptly, leaving the trash behind. Why? Two wasps. Can't say I blame him. We think alike. Why wasps love my attic and laundry room is beyond me. The closeness to the roof line maybe? The desire to hunt me down and sting me maybe?

I haven't been able to convince Bubby that killing the vile scrawny winged creatures that look like they came up from the pit of you-know-where isn't a big deal yet. That leaves me with the job of terminator. After about three or four high pitched shrieks, which I couldn't control, lots of door slamming and lots of whacking (I have very poor depth perception) I had 'em licked. I didn't like it though. They're nasty bugs with armor plating & they never go down without a fight. In the end, they fought the law & the law won, doggone it!

We're so far outnumbered here in the country so this is a full time spring & summer battle. This morning I prepped for battle by grabbing my can of good smellin' bug spray to douse the mud room with. I went outside and sprayed the roof line, the windows, everything I could reach in hopes of keeping them at bay for at least a day or so.

We don't just have wasps though. The assaults are many & varied. We've got wasps at the back door, fat, black beetles (which are attracted to the porch lights and continually pelt the door -loudly- til they become lifeless shells, sprawled across the front porch) and finally, blood sucking mosquitoes at the front door. Last year was the gnat & lady bug plague. Thankfully we haven't had them this year. Is there some sort of house bubble I can purchase? Maybe something like Sandy Cheeks (from Sponge Bob) has...

A girl can dream can't she?

So it's our 19th wedding anniversary today *woo*! and I thought I'd do a little mitzvah for my hunny, who particularly despises the relentless morning mosquito assault as he opens the front door. Spray can in hand, I opened the door and started spraying, spraying, sprayi -

OH MY GOSH!

Folks, there was a SNAKE over my head on the inside ledge of the metal awning! Seriously I could not believe I'd just walked through there earlier and never saw it. I never thought in a million years that they'd be hanging out in our awning. I guess I always imagine them on the ground or something although I should know better seeing how I have all this experience at snake exterminating. Remember the snake post (sorry I can't find the link)? Poor Big D, I think he's scarred for life. He spotted that particular invader dangling from our over-the-fireplace TV cabinet when he woke up from a nap on the couch *shudder*

At least this one was outside where it belonged. This legless lizard was on my porch so he was fair game.First I sprayed him with bug spray. No, it wasn't nice but he was in my territory... and it was my first thought. That didn't seem to bother him at all so I got something off the ground and pushed him so he'd fall. After a few gross pushes he was down, slithering into the flower bed - ew.

Now I don't love being around snakes, but I'll take a non-poisonous snake over a wasp, so I wasn't scared of the snake so much as I was of Big Daddy coming out and seeing it. His fear factor for snakes is off-the-charts. It's followed by immediate rants that go something like



"I HATE this place! HATE IT! I can't wait to get out of here!"

I knew he'd be coming out the door to go to work at any moment and drama would ensue. No time for pictures (drat!) or for vids with my new Flip video cam he gave me for our anniversary. Frantically, I scanned the ground to find a stick that would put enough space between me & the slinky beast that invaded my porch. Since we're basically babes in the woods out here, I knew that wouldn't be a difficult task. I grabbed one and used it rather deftly to pick up the 3 ft long writhing bundle of yuck. I flung it as hard as I could... toward the neighbor's yard
*S*
It took me four good flings to see him go sailing across the ditch and safely into neutral territory no worse for wear I bet. Maybe after all that he wont be ready to traipse his slithery self back over to our metal awning.

So I can't buy my man the iPhone or whatever that new phone's called that he wants but I think I gave him the BEST gift, no?
Indeed, I have challenged all reptilian foes and come out the reigning champion.
I AM the Lizard Queen!
(and thank you God for helping to not pee my pants.)

Whatever Happened to Hygiene?

First of all, let me just say that remembering how to spell hygiene before
8:00 a.m. ...no easy task.
*wink*

Yestersay we thought we'd stop at Taco Bell; cheap & fast, right? We'd already gone out for lunch once this weekend so we wanted to keep it under budget. Taco Bell Gordita's Fresco Style? YUM

We went inside because Big D has an aversion to ordering from the drive thru. Too bad we did. When you go in you can see the filth up-close and personal like. You can also see the DANDRUFF all in the hair & all over the collar AND shoulders of the person who will hand you your bag of hot & tasty gorditas.

*gag*

The people in the back didn't look much better. I was so grossed out that I double checked my gordita's for loogies before I ate them. Awful of me to assume but you never know. They could have smeezed on them or not washed their hands after going to the bathroom or something and I'd never know it either but I had to do something to make myself feel better.

Back in SC, there was a Starbucks guy who spit one into the coffee of an officer then put the lid on it and gave it to him. The officer took the lid off before drinking it adn that guy was so scared he ran off and was chased by the squad car. Then a friend of mine worked at Baskin Robbins and she told me the guys there used to spit loogies into the cake and mix it all in and give it to the customers *shriek* What's with all the spitting?

Last summer I called a local Hardees because they had this woman at the register that, no exaggeration, had open sores all over her arms. Open. Sores. Lots of old scars from these sores too, but open and oozing sores were on her arms. I just find that to be the poorest choice of employee for a restaurant serving food. They could have said you have to cover the open oozing wounds or maybe, come back when they're all closed up. Are we really so politicaly correct that we can't tell people the truth?

What happened to basic hygiene, decency and common sense?

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Pride Month?

Oh yes my friends. It's for real; from the President's very own pen. Around the 5th paragraph, it starts getting to be a slippery, slippery slope. I'm all for equal rights for everyone regardless but I just can't get on board the special treatment train. Sorry.

(Source)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

___________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 1, 2009

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

Any thoughts?

When the Sun Goes Down Over Jersey

This was a pretty neat Sci-Fri...

Yes...sometimes when I'm driving and I'm desperate
(meaning I have no Glenn Beck Podcasts)
I listen to NPR. I gag a little, but I listen anyway.

If I'm Bald Tomorrow...

Then you'll know that I just couldn't take it another minute.
Obama's skipping past our allies, Israel, on his hop through the middle east
(even less intelligent than giving a set of DVDs to a visiting PM who just-so-happens to be our closest ally) and is preparing to give a speech in Egypt.
I swanee, if he bows to ANYONE


or insults America
OR
apologizes (again...)
for ANYTHING America has done,
I might have to pull out every hair on my head.

Last week we got some Scott toilet paper from Sam's Club, not realizing it was really cheap for a reason (you never know til you try! Listen - stay away from the huge box of Scott brand T.P. unless you have a thing for really thin toilet paper). I sent Sissy into their bathroom with an armful of this:


gift wrapped Scott toilet paper.
Sissy's said funny stuff all her life. When she was two years old, she told my mom, out of the blue, "If were a muffin I would crumb on me and eat myself." Then 4 year old Bubby told my mom that his sis sometimes said weird things.
So when she came out of the bathroom,
she didn't disappoint.

She said,

"Mom? I don't mean to say anything bad, but I think Obama needs Scott Toilet paper. On the back it says,
'Common Sense on a Roll.'"


It was a beautiful thing, truly. That alone made it worth buying
all that cheap toilet paper.


* UPDATE *

Did I pull all my hair out or just shave it off Britney style?
Well, no president is ACTUALLY worth that.

I loveed what TOTUS had to say about the POTUS though...

From Barrack Obama's Teleprompter Blog:

Following Up on Cairo

"We're still basking in the Muslim adulation of Big Guy's speech, which went over exceedingly well. Well, except for the the lack of applause in appropriate parts, by which I mean, after every sentence. Man, what a tough crowd. But CAIR absolutely loved the speech back home.

I thought the 2 to 1 proportion of "Holy Koran" to "Bible" references was totally appropriate. After all, the U.S. is one of the largest Muslim nations in the world now that Big Guy is has made it hip to be a MINO(Muslim in Name Only), you know a Muslim without the effort or the really cool explosive wardrobe.

It turns also turns out that most Muslim politicians don't use teleprompters and were surprised by the technology. Up until now, most of them thought my screens were just really small bulletproof shields. "


and I completely agree with Rosie Shades take on things.

Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Sure 'nough!

I'll start off with a blessing, you know, to take some of the sting away from the mad world post...
I WON!
I won a Wal-mart Card giveaway at my funny blogger friend's blog,
"I Am Boymom"
Thank you Boymom!!!

Now, on to the madness.
First, one of our Betta fish died yesterday. He was sort of spastic, yet emo the entire three weeks we had him so I guess it was inevitable. You live hard, you die hard. Poor Phil...
He was Sissy's so I'll have to pick out a new one for her today when I go to Wal-mart. That was the first crazy happening.


I had to laugh at this one this morning...
a long island bandit trying to steal from a convenience store was shocked to find that the cashier was packin' some serious weaponry *L*You can see the video by clicking the link. I LOVE this cashier! He even gave the guy some money. Why not ask for help instead of becoming a thief? Pride perhaps? When you suppose the cashier wont have a weapon, you're more likely to hold him up and that's the truth.
Always remember,





Then the other day Big Daddy was telling me about this pastor in California that was just banned by the government from having a bible study in his home unless he bought a multi-thousand dollar permit.
WHAT???
Oh yes.

I bet some bitter neighbor didn't like all the cars or something, who knows, and called the government on them to complain about it. Just like our 2nd amendment gun rights are being regulated to death, squeezing people to the point where they can't afford to have them , our first amendment freedom of religion & speech rights are being regulated to death to the point where it's possible that you wont be able to afford to have them. Honestly, did you ever in your life see this happening?
You can see it here or read about it here

Times, they are a'changin'...
Soon the Bible will be viewed as hate speech because it stands unrelenting against so many things that are approved by our society. Those who agree with it will be despised. Then we'll be hated like Jesus said we would in Matthew 24. The slope is indeed slippery.




Then what's up with all these murders?? This abortion Dr. gets killed, among all the other insane people shooting their family members or classmate etc...it's just CRAZY. The abortion Dr was completely guilty of taking innocent lives according to God's law, which is murder in God's eyes, but no citizen or public official has the right to take anyone else's life apart from the rule of law otherwise we'd have the wild west and that's wrong. You've got to let the wheels of the law grind even if they grind slower than you'd like.
It's legal for a murderer to go through a trial and be found guilty and if the state chooses capital punishment, they can be legally killed, but no one apart from the law is allowed to murder anyone! Who knows if the guy would have had a change of heart and turn back to the God, but he can't now.

So, I was totally shocked to find
this You tube video
where this Catholic woman basically gloats over the fact that this Dr was killed! I shared this verse with her (among many others)

Proverbs 24
¹⁷ Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
¹⁸ or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him.


She makes no apology for her dangerous views. I replied to her multiple vids on this issue ( there's another one called Mans law vs God's Law) and she made less & less sense as she replied to my comments, never acknowledging the verses I shared which clearly contradicted everything she said *UGH* all the while, she was pulling out every Hebrew name for God that she knew and denying the trinity.

She even said Paul wasn't an apostle along with some weird stuff about Paul contradicting the teachings of Jesus so he was to be disregarded and considered invalid. She even said that he wrote the books, Mark & Luke...go figure.
There was no reasoning with her and I found myself getting frustrated so I cut off all my communication with her rather than getting into conflict. It was truly weird and I wanted to take a shower after talking to her!
You've gotta shake the dust off sometimes.

There are some very very scary people out there! They're teaching some very wrong things on both sides of the fence and the ones in the Christian sector that are doing this false teaching are putting us in a bad light. Fals teaching will become rampant in the church more & more, so the Bible says so we've got to know what the Word really says for ourselves. That means you've got to have some time in it. If you don't, you'll be deceived.
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Matthew 24:11)

Beware of false prophets, preachers and priests who tickle the itching ears of evildoers (2 Timothy 4:3,4)

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways” (2 Peter 2:1,2)

False teachings are going to come from many angles but these like the woman in the video and the commentors who agreed are the kind of people that make us, the normal God loving people, look like right wing nut jobs, out to kill anyone we deem guilty. What makes them different from radical muslims? THat's what they do! They consider us guilty and feel justified in killing us. These types of so-called Christians are fodder for the "enlightened" Progressives to hold high & say, "See? This is why we need to control...for your own good..."

Romans 13:4

For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

He lets them avenge, not us for goodness sake! If you go along with the eye for an eye which Jesus disagreed with, then you have to follow the very next verse after the murderers being killed which says children who "strike" their parents should be killed. Jesus said, no more and I'm on His side.

So my fish dies, people are banned from having a bible study in their home and murder is rampant, but I'm still "more than a conqueror" through Christ.
*wink*

Needin' the Dough

I really think that we're headed for some tough times ahead where it's certain we're going to see spiking inflation & taxes. We're all trying our best to squeeze what we can out of our worthless U.S. dollars so here are 4 tips I've come across along with a few new recipes I really like.

Tip#1

Get a Sam's Club (or other wholesale club) card. You don't have to buy bulk to save so don't think"I don't need that because I never buy bulk items." or you're cheating yourself. If you need diapers or detergent, milk & bread, fruit or meat, you'll save $ even after paying for the membership. Sam's Club has a cheaper membership than CostCo. Cost Co is about $2o more but some people like their goods better. You have to tour both places. Cost Co has the best batteries on the market too, for the absolute lowest price, according to Consumer Reports.


Tip #2

Normally I buy healthy bread A.K.A. anything that's not white bread. BUT when I'm at the Dollar Tree (& don't we love Dollar Tree??), I buy a loaf of their bread or buns/rolls. You just can't beat $1 each for super soft bread even at Sam's Club. Recently Dollar Tree's bread rack was empty and I overheard someone asking them why. They said the price of bread went up so they wouldn't have any more *eek* but after a few weeks it was back *whew*

At Dollar Tree you can also buy the best cleaner I've ever used, called "Awesome". I've told you about it before. It comes in a clear bottle with orange liquid. It gets out blood. Sissy gets nose bleeds a LOT in her sleep and it takes care of the dried blood. Rubbing alcohol works good too. None of the other Awesome products work well, so don't waste your money, like I did!
Another great deal at Dollar Tree is their Kalamata Olives (the greek olives) which you can buy for $1 per jar rather than $4.99 at Wal-mart. The jar is a little smaller, but not THAT much smaller! They also have salt & pepper grinders and dried, chopped garlic etc...

Tip#3

Here's the best, little tip my father in law taught me back when I first got married. When you go shopping, look on the price label (the one that's stuck on the shelf) for the Unit Price.
It's something like this:

Always check how much per unit your item costs! A lot of times you can get a better deal on a certain size. Many times at a regular store, they know you're looking for a bulk thinking it will be a better deal but most of the time I've found that the big boxes are pricier per unit than the smaller package so I always, always check the unit price. You have to be careful though like if you're comparing paper towels or something with size variation. You can't compare select a size a paper towel's per unit price and a full sized paper towel price because your unit sizes are totally different. I hope all that made sense!

Tip #4

Cancel your satellite/cable TV! We did and turns out you can find just about anything you had on TV,plus some, via Freetube & Hulu. Somehow Big D hooks it up to the TV and we can watch it on our big TV! I use my little laptop to see a Fox News live feed all day long via freecast. You can also sign up at Blockbuster for as little as $3.99/month to rent unlimited DVDs (1-3at a time) with no late fees!

RECIPES:

These are a few I've come up with recently and they all have rice (except one), which is very economical & healthy too,especialpasta maybe - except for the wrap recipe unless you like noodles in your wraps.

Birdies Tortilla Casserole
This one I just put together because I had a half bag of stale tortilla chips on hand and hated to throw them out. It's easy and you can add anything you want to it.

1-2 chicken breasts (or firm tofu)
1 cup rice
1 cube chicken bouillon *optional
A handful or two of crunched up tortillas (I used some stale ones)
1 can undrained, diced green chilis
1 can crushed tomato with garlic
White American Cheese - that's what our local Mex restaurant uses!
Southwestern spices

Cook your rice, adding bouillon if you like it. While rice is cooking slice the chicken breast as thinly as you can across the grain of the meat and saute in pan with butter or olive oil til done. Place cooked rice in 8x8 dish. Pour on your tomato til it looks like a casserole should look before you put it in the oven. Add your green chilies with the juice. sprinkle seasonings if desired & stir. You can also add any fresh veggie you want. I chopped up tomato and onion & added those. I used a spice blend I made with cumin, chili, garlic, salt & Cayenne.
Add your cooked chicken to rice & stir. Slice up your white American cheese & sprinkle over the top. Bake 25 minutes @ 350.

YUM.


Chicken Curry
1 cup rice
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1 chicken breast
any veggies you like
(I used frozen edamame, sans pod)
I think it would be good with LOTS of sauteed, chopped veggies
Curry Power to taste
salt or seasoning salt to taste (I used Paula Deen's)
Cayenne

Cook your rice with the bouillon, cook your chicken & saute your veggies, sprinkle on seasoning to taste (it will need salt)
Place it all in a big dish & eat!


Gramma's Pasta & Tomato
This one comes from my Gramma.
She used to make it for me when I came for the summer. It's SUPER easy and surprisingly de-lish.

1 box extra large macaroni noodles
(not the tiny elbows, the big ones or ziti perhaps)
2 cans whole tomato
Parmesan cheese
(I like Wal-mart's because it has Romano & other cheeses also)
season as desired

Boil your pasta, then drain. Drain your tomato into the pot of drained pasta, take the whole, peeled tomatoes and break them up a little in your hand and put them in the pot. Grind some salt & pepper (that you got at the Dollar tree!) over the top & sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

We like it exactly like it is. It's like a comfort food, but you can add anything to it like spinach, onions, peppers or meat, but the beautiful thing about it that you don't need to! It's delicious just like it is. If you use wheat pasta then it's even healthier.

Southwestern Wrap
I made this because I didn't want to thaw out anything. I check the pantry& fridge and pulled out these:

I package wheat wraps
1 Ripe avacado, cut into chunks
1 can chick peas, drained
some green leaf lettuce
1 can diced green chilis undrained
Pace Salsa Verde
Southwestern seasoning
salt

On a warmed tortilla, place your lettuce leaf, rice, chilis w/ juice, garbanzo beans & avacado. Sprinkle on some spices, pour a little pace, wrap it up & MMMmmmm! You could add Onion, chopped tomato which would be great but last time I was at Wal-mart, tomatoes were over $1.50 EACH! I thought I must have been transported to New York City or something... Other add ons woudl be yummy too like sauteed green peppers, some sour cream & cheese, especially cheese if you wanted to make it into a quesadilla but it didn't need it, honestly. Everyone loved it just like it was and it was all healthy.
Someitmes you have to do things the easy way and this was easy. You can cook up a bunch of rice at one time and sort it into single servings, putting them in the fridge for later if you really wanted to be thrifty.

Try this one too...it's good! Depression Cooking With Clara Pasta with Peas

5 Ways to Misery *woo*

All Greek to Me!

For my Christian readers this will make all kinds of sense, for everyone else, it can be a little trip through Hebrew culture.

Today is the Feast of Weeks!
Commonly known to Christians as the "Day of Pentecost"

Ever have a deep desire to know what a "pente" was or why it "costs"? Me neither, but that's where the Greek part comes in. See, the New Testament portion of the Bible was written by Hebrews in, in Greek, the
common language of Rome .


They did that so more people could understand it (you know, that vast Roman Empire they had?). That's where we get the name "Jesus" from. His name was actually "Yeshua", in Hebrew. The problem came up when the Hebrews tried to write His name in Greek. There was no Greek sound, "Y" or "sh" for that matter, making writing His name in Greek difficult. Sometimes you do your best.

Remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the Dad was convinced that every word could be traced back to Greek? *L*



As he said, Christians, in the end we're all fruit...or we should have some at least
*L*

Now I'll try to paint this beautiful, "Feast of Pentecost" picture for you.

Picture 200+ years of slavery in Egypt.

Not.fun.
Lots of prayers for deliverance, no doubt.
Prayers get answers but not always in our own timing.

Enter: Deliverance

Now picture Moses in the wilderness with lots & lots of complaining people....with lots of gold. A people suddenly ripped from their horrible circumstances, with no home, no routine, a little hope and perhaps even less faith. What would God do?

Here's what God did...He attempted to reclaim the minds and hearts of His people by giving them not only His spiritual Laws (or ten commandments) but 7 reminders to keep. Reminders of where they came from and where they are going, because He knew how quickly they (and we) would forget! What reminders?

FEASTS!

There were 7 feasts or times/celebrations that God set aside in the Bible to remind them and us, of His love and His plan for our future. The first 3 are spring feasts,. They and the 4th feast have been fulfilled through Jesus (as in no more animal sacrifices are needed). The final three have yet to be fulfilled. One of them is Shavuot, which is being celebrated today!! It means "weeks" in Hebrew. Shavuot is the 4th feast, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Greek for "50 count"). You can find its origin here in Leviticus 23 then follow along to see what it has to do with you!

Leviticus 23:15-22

¹⁵“From the day after the Sabbath...count off seven full weeks. Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. (* DAY OF PENTECOST) Then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. ¹⁷ From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the Lord as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the Lord from the first of your crops...these... will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ²⁰ “The priest will lift up the... loaves representing the first of your crops. These offerings, which are holy to the Lord, belong to the priests. ²¹ That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.²² “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”

All the "..." portions above were concerning animals. Of course we no longer offer animal sacrifices because the blood of Jesus sprinkled on the temple in heaven was all that was ever and will ever be needed so I left those out for the sake of time,knowing this was a long post already!

Their offerings represented the first of their "crops". Most of us don't earn wages through crops anymore. The first of our crops now are the dollars we make in our paychecks, not flour or sheep thankfully! It's the first & best portion, like tithe is the first portion, this is an extra offering over & above your regular giving. It says it's also a day to go to church for fellowship as well. Remember Paul in Hebrews 10?

²⁴ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

It's also a day for resting, which is always a good thing.


The Feast of Weeks/Pentecost signified two points in history to date. First, the weeks it took, following the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for Moses and the children of Israel to travel to Mt Sinai to receive the Law from God Himself. and second, the weeks the followers of Jesus waited for the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

First came Passover - why?
Do you remember Moses telling them to place the lamb's blood on the doorposts of their homes in Egypt to escape death of firstborn sons? So the death angel would pass over their homes.
meaning for us:
The blood of Jesus covers those who apply it, saving us from spiritual death & giving us eternal life. In Matthew 26 Yeshua/Jesus said:
²⁷And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you; ²⁸For this is My blood of the new covenant, [which ratifies the agreement] and is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I say to you, I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it with you new and of superior quality in My Father's kingdom.
(in other words we'll celebrate with this with Him again when He returns!)


Second came the Feast of Unleavened Bread - why?
The Israelites left Egypt on very short notice gathering all their supplies and spoils in a hurry. The women had no time to let their bread rise so they made it quickly without any leavening needed to make the bread rise.
Meaning for us:
Freedom from slavery to sin! We aren't permitted to bring along any sin with us as we leave the slavery behind. The moment you are saved your slate is wiped clean. The old is gone and the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

He said in
Colossians 3
¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these (*here's the "leaven"): anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

So we're supposed to leave all that sin behind. Leaven represents sin.

Remember Paul said in 1 Cor. 5:6, "...Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"



So these Feasts were designed as reminders to God's people of the way they were brought out of physical bondage and given freedom. The feast days weren't designed to put them into further bondage! It's a time of celebration, a time to remember good things. To stop in this fast paced, hectic life and think and be grateful. It's not a burdensome thing the way some new testament Jewish leaders wanted to make them, along with everything else God told them to do. They were always strapping burdens on people. Jesus gave them a scathing review to their faces for doing that.

After the exodus from Egypt
(now celebrated as the Feast of Unleavened Bread),
they traveled for "weeks" to Mt Sinai


where the Bible says God came down in the form of
Fire to give them His Law:

Exodus 19:18

¹⁸ All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.

Now fast forward to the time of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus was sacrificed at the Feast of Passover (the day following their last Passover Feast dinner. You can read about it here.) He rose again on the Feast of First Fruits, three days later, promising His followers that He would send the Holy Spirit. You can check out this great PDF of the time line if you want (look for the link below the graph).

Jesus gave His people special instructions to carry out while they waited for this baptism He spoke of.

Acts 1:4-5

⁴ Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. ⁵ John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 24:49

“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

During God's Feast days, thousands of Jews & some non-Jews came from everywhere to worship at the temple. It was no accident that it coincided with His followers being all gathered together as they were told, waiting in unity for the promised baptism. They waited from the time of His resurrection 'til the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. That's when life changed forever for God's people!

Finally, in perfect timing, on the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost they were baptized with the power of the Holy Spirit! This is why we refer to this even as "The day of Pentecost" today. Not because of the event but because the event happened on that feast day. Because of this, they were able to witness to many thousands of people that were there to worship, everyone hearing the gospel message in their native tongue. 3000 people believed the message of Christ and were saved that day. Salvation is available to everyone today through His sacrifice alone.

It's interesting to note that God came to Mt Sinai in the form of fire and came to the "upper room" represented as flames of fire over His people.

* side note: Every Christian is "spirit filled". Jesus' followers had already received the Holy Spirit/salvation at the time of the Feast of Pentecost. This promise they waited on was for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, an entirely different event. In John 20:19-22, after Jesus had appeared to them following His resurrection it says, " ¹⁹ That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁰ As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! ²¹ Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” ²² Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit." This was the point that they became what we know as a Christians. Disciples of Christ, filled with His Spirit, but the event of Pentecost was not just a filling, but a baptism & fulfillment of prophecy. It was a "baptism" as Jesus put it, with the Holy Spirit, to empower His followers, including us with power & boldness 'til He comes. See Joel 2:28-32.)

Acts 2

¹ On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. ³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.⁵ At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. ⁶When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. ⁷ They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, ⁸ and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! ⁹ Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” ¹² They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.¹⁴ Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. ¹⁶ No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ ‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸ In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and women alike—
and they will prophesy.
¹⁹ And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
²⁰ The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
²¹ But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.’

What a great event!! Pentecost is actually a Feast day set aside by God as special...a day to celebrate, not to become legalistic with meaningless rituals (see ritual or spiritual law), but to remember what the Lord has done for us! We still follow God's spiritual law (10 commandments) but the great news is that He died to set us free from the penalty of the law - the penalty of sin,which is death! He's given us the power to live a life free from the slavery to sin; one overflowing with joy and peace so many crave.

Sadly, as with everything, people take things to extremes on both sides of the fence. People will always find something to argue about....look at your kids! Much of the new testament was filled with letters, trying to get churches back to the center. The subject of celebrating God's appointed feast days & Sabbath wasn't immune to the infection of their rules and regulations either. The religious Jewish leaders of the day even attacked Jesus & His disciples over the way they observed the Sabbath. One silly regulation was that you couldn't spit in a plowed field on the sabbath because it was considered "tilling". Another one was if there was a fire in your house on the sabbath, you couldn't carry out your clothes, BUT you could put them all on your body and walk out. Certainly no one was to be healed on the sabbath! Go figure... Laughable sure, but that's how we humans are sometimes. One side wants to regulate to the 'nth degree and the other side wants to throw them out all together. We needn't throw the baby out with the bathwater just because people go to extremes.

Jewish leaders and many converts were having problems with legality...always trying to earn salvation or grace. This is what we are warned against, not against observing God's Law & feasts. Salvation can never be earned adn faith without works is dead. Paul told the Colossians that the feast days God gave us were a shadow of things to come or symbolic in value. They're an example of things yet to come, not a means to salvation yet not to be disregarded. God said to keep them forever as a permanent regulation for a reason. We find in Zechariah 14 that the world is still required to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles even after Christ's return!

To avoid having folks sway too far one way or the other which we tend to do, Paul warned the Colossian church not to let anyone judge them on how they celebrated the feasts and Sabbath because legalistic Jews flourished in the church, always confusing the issue. He certainly didn't advocate abolishing God's feasts. Paul kept them himself because God commanded they be kept as a sign forever, but Paul kept them as a memorial and reminder, not a means to salvation. Many Jews of the day were trying to earn salvation with their rules of "handle not, taste not, touch not" as mentioned in Colossians 2, rather than accepting salvation which only comes through Jesus.

Colossians 2

¹⁶Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a Sabbath. ¹⁷Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ.

Even back in the Old Testament the feasts pointed to Jesus and still yet, they point to future things to come - very exciting!

Discovering and understanding God's feasts helped me so much in putting all the peices that I'd had in my lap all my life, together. Now I realize that today is a Feast day which He planned long ago to coincide with the coming of the baptism of His Holy Spirit. Definitely a day to celebrate and look forward to what He's got in store. As usual, everything He does is orderly.

Here's an interesting historical chart I found showing the correlation between the old & new...

First Pentecost	Pentecost After Christ
The Commandments Given	The Holy Spirit Given
Fifty days from the crossing of the Red Sea	Fifty days from the resurrection of Christ
Law of God written in Stone	Law of God written on our hearts
Three thousand slain	Three thousand receive salvation
The letter of the Law	The Spirit of the Law

In the day we live in, sin is rampant and the love of the great body will grow cold and many will fall away. God's Laws (10 commandments) & feasts remind us of His character and His great love in the past, the present future. Reminders stir our faith. Remind yourselves often of what the Lord has done for you and of the marvelous plans He has for you.
Shabbat Shalom!
(Sabbath peace)

For more information about the feasts and their signifigance to Christians today, you can visit this site or this site (a personal fave) or many others like it, but be careful! As with anything biblical search online, some sites are more "wolf in sheep's clothing" than actual sheep!

*baaah*

1 Corinthians 5
⁷ Get rid of the old “yeast”... Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. ⁸ So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.

IN THE FLO'

Ok men, this post is NOT for you. You've been warned.

This is all I can give you guys. They might show up on Glenn Beck's More On Trivia. Who knew people were this uninformed?
another warning, it's rated PG-13 - the F word is around minute 5:40, unfortunately it's not blocked.



Now back to the post

Ladies, right off the top I'll say I'm selling something you might need but I wanted to warn you in case you hate these kinds of posts!


I'm a list maker, a planner...a thinker.
Sometimes it gets me in trouble, but it can also save the day, so I figure It's a good thing all in all. I was thinking about the economy *EEK* then I thought about all the crazy world leaders that hate us and have evil desires to mess with our power grid *EEK EEK* The thought of life without the internet, or A/C & heat makes me just about pass out. Then I was thinking about Louisiana and all the states affected by hurricane Katrina. That left them in a lurch without basic supplies and aid for weeks. They lacked even the most basic things.

"Have mercy!", I thought," If that happened maybe I, perish the thought, couldn't get my hands on disposable pads/tampons!" I can totally see a run on them any some sort of emergency of whatever sort. Even if you had a few on hand already, you'd eventually need something sustainable when you ran out. So I decided I wouldn't be left padless *L* and I made some! I know, sounds crazy, kind of ....and yucky kind of, but I wont run out of panty protection - ever - ha!

Check 'em out at ETSY!

Lovingly and laughingly dedicated to my
MOM & DAD!

Obamaman Can!

A blog friend sent me this gem. She DM'd me on Twitter so I don't want to give out her name in case she was being stealthy about her Obama stuff *L* But thank you blog friend. You know who you are!

Enjoy!

And here he is, our Candy Man telling us we're out of money yet we have to spend even more...of our pretend money...



If you believe anything the government takes over becomes more efficient or superior in quality compared to the way a privately owned company would do business, you're in for quite a ride. You & your grandchildren can thank the candy man for your sky high taxes & electric bills when it's all said & done.

*wink*

Red & Yellow, Black & White...

I remember singing that in church. "Red & yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world." I sang it and I believed it. I still do for little children and elderly alike, He considers not one above the other for any reason. Evidently Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor doesn't agree that we're all equal.

I just gagged my way through Obama's announcement of Sotomayor, who will no doubt become the next Supreme Court Justice. Heartwarming stories of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps to make it in a hard world are great but what kind of judge will you be??

You have to look no further than a person's actions to see where they really stand. That's what burns me up about this woman. She might stand for justice some of the time but she has some terrible marks against her, which made it hard to even listen to her going on & on about the privilege she's about to have. The fact that she sided with some republicans the majority of the time doesn't impress me either.

I don't care what color you are or what your income is, I believe that you are as capable (barring some mental ailment) as the next person of becoming an educated person; one that could wisely interpret the law and deal justly.. I think it's particularly difficult without God guiding you, but that's just me. I also don't get excited about race gender or color. Sorry. I'm not applauding anyone for any of those things. I'm watching a person's character. Do they live by values & principles similar to biblical principles which are good for all of mankind? Do they have common sense? Do they use it? That's the person I cheer for and it has absolutely nothing to do with anything other than their character.

Apparently we don't see eye to eye on this issue at all. Sotomayor believes that your gender, the color of your skin and your life experiences determine whether or not a person is more or less capable of being a proper Supreme Court justice. She said "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life,"

That's one of the most prejudice things I've heard in a very long time and should never ever come from the mouth of a judge. Since when does race, gender and life in low income housing make you a better judge in America? The law is not based on feelings and opinions, it's supposed to be blind, HELLO!! Anyone male, female, red, yellow, black or white, regardless of background has the potential to be a wise judge. Whether male or female, I think every American of every color is capable, given the opportunity and things like sex and race shouldn't even be allowed at the table of that discussion...not when it concerns law. Experience in law doesn't always make one a wise judge either, in the same way that experience didn't help Teddy Kennedy become a great Senator. I certainly don't want a Supreme Court Justice that feels this way, deciding any cases in America!

In law, there is no room for empathy or a "common touch" as Obama put it. None! Remember, the statue is blindfolded for a reason. This is not about feelings or opinions for goodness sake, this is the Supreme court we're talking about! She uses those very things to make her decisions. I was shocked by what she did recently. You can read about it in this portion of an article from the Telegraph and see how Sotomayor decides her cases. See for yourself if this is justice:

"Ricci is a fireman who happens to be dyslexic but still managed to come sixth out of 77 candidates who took an exam to become a lieutenant. But the city of New Haven, Connecticut - home of Yale, where Judge Sotomayor studied law, threw out the test because none of the 19 black firefighters who took it qualified for promotion.

After no one was promoted, Ricci and 17 other non-black firefighters, including one Hispanic, sued the city alleging racial discrimination. Sotomayor was one of seven judges (six were against) who wrote a one-page judgement throwing the test results out and denying Ricci his promotion."

Red, yellow black or white, if you worked hard & earned a grade, you deserve what comes to you and no judge should have been allowed to take that away. That was a great injustice based on a man's race. what happened to justice?

To add salt to the wound, should she actually become a Supreme Court Justice, she advocates legislating from the bench...brilliant.

I don't know how much it can help but there's still time to write your senators. Maybe Franken will lose out in the end and we'll have another vote.