Thursday, July 28, 2011

Food for Thought


Thoughts


As  we go about life, we need to keep in mind that we are, as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We should obey that commandment, not because it's in the Bible and "God said so," but ultimately because of God's character. God is 100% pure. Since we are His children (through "adoption"/salvation), we are to have "fidelity to the original." In other words, because we are Christ's children, we must reflect His character by being pure, as salt and light to this dark world. Some of you may give the excuse, "well, no one can read my mind." But the Bible says to the contrary. Genesis 6:5 says,

"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."{Italics added for emphasis}

A few other references are: 1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalm 94:11; Matthew 9:3,4; Matthew 12:24,25; Luke 5:21,22; Luke 6:7,8; Luke 11:16,17; Hebrews 4:12.

I like what our old blog header said: "thoughts and musings...all for God's glory." As the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." That means we are to glorify God in every area of our lives-- in our thoughts, in our relationships, in our actions, in our speech.

Proverbs 16:3 promises, "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Simple Theology

 "...Christianity originally centered on Christ and His kingdom - not on the fine points of theology.  It's rather difficult to put together a detailed theological statement just from the teachings of Jesus.  That's because in essence the gospel of the kingdom is not theology.  It's about people entering into an obedient faith-love relationship with Jesus the King, bearing fruit.  Jesus didn't talk much about theology because that wasn't particularly important to Him.  However, He did talk a lot about fruit.  And He talked a lot about how we are to live as citizens of His kingdom   He taught us what it means to love one another and to love God.  Those things are important to Him." (emphasis added)

p. 38-39, Will the Theologians Please Sit Down, David Bercot, copyright 2009 Scroll Publishing Company

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Is Gold Money?




Ron Paul's comment about the video (above) he posted on his Facebook page
"Earlier today I asked Ben Bernanke "Is Gold Money?", can you guess what his answer was?"
Most comments on YouTube videos are totally worthless reading, but this one was absolutely hilarious, and made an interesting point:
"so if gold isn't money, and paper money isn't money... Then what Ben is saying is...
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS MONEY!!!
if it doesn't exist, then why pay it back? Who needs a debt ceiling if debt isn't real?" - JonasPlanck

My, oh my, what has this nation come to? 

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Independence Day 2011

July 4th is a special day for average Americans.  The celebration of our nation's birth.  My family and I are not your "average Americans" - but we do take pride in the fact that this is our land, a beautiful land, a privileged land, a land which our forefathers sought to give as a gift and work of their labors to future generations.

Old car 
Old cars
Early on the 4th, my sisters and I left to play a game of volleyball with a friend.  It was already hot when we got to the park (8:30 am) but we endured for quite a while and had fun despite the heat and sun.  Then we proceeded to downtown, where we planned to pick up some burgers and buns from The Local Yocal, a meat market which supports and sells locally grown produce, meats, soaps, dairy products and pastries.  There was a few minutes wait before our meat would be ready, and in the meantime, the annual Independence Day parade began.  We watched, took pictures and cheered as the different participants slowly passed us by.


Maddie 
Maddie
The parade consisted of many vehicles, a few floats, some marching groups, military and local law enforcement and fire department.

Firetruck
Here comes the fire engine!


A little bit closer

There he goes...


A roar of motorcycles


Honking and revving their engines...


It was a deafening noise...


There were all sorts of cars and trucks, old and new.


classic truck...


roadsters


Classic Chevy


my kind of VW Bug :)


nice car...


There were horses...


lots of them

Tae-Kwan-Do group


An old-fashioned fire engine

cute brothers Brothers~
We ran into several friends of ours on the Square.  A few were in the parade itself, and some where there as spectators.  The picture above is of our friends the M.'s little boys.  Aren't they precious?

After the parade was through and we got our burgers, we four girls headed back to Maddie's house to drop her off.  Two hours later, we finally left after an enjoyable visit with her and her family.

On to home we drove, arriving in the early afternoon. It was hot.  By that time, the thermometer read well over 100 degrees, with a heat index eventually reading at 109.  We grabbed some water, and then spent a few hours relaxing with our family.

In the evening, we packed our cooler, and loaded into our suburban to begin the drive to Grandma's house.  We got there in the early evening, and begin dinner preparations, while we waited for the rest of the party to arrive from their various abodes and work places.

We enjoyed a wide array of yummy dishes prepared by the moms and daughters.  Since I had badly jammed my right thumb (and I am right handed), I was of no assistance creating the delectable meal. :P

the best burgers ever!
Our burgers came from The Local Yocal (as I mentioned above) and are 100% pure organic, grass fed beef.  They are soooo tasty, and filling.  Not at all like conventional, store bought meat that is loaded with chemicals, GMOs, pesticides and who knows what else.

Yum
Slightly seasoned

cooking
we smoked them on a charcoal grill

fruit pizza
This is what we had for dessert ~ super delicious, and fruity!

It was an amazing holiday spent with family and friends, and lots of fun.  What did you do for the fourth?  Do you have a tradition of going to the lake?  Baseball game?  Or perhaps you prefer enjoying a quiet day pool side while your hubby grills burgers and dogs, and your kids splash you with H2O. :) Whatever it is you do, I hope that you had a beautiful holiday!

Happy Birthday America, land that I love.