Daily Bible Reading

Every once in a while I put in a plug for my other blogs. One of them that I have put more typing time into than any other blog is my Daily Bible Reading Blog.

The title of the blog is . To read why I used that title, you can click this link.

Anyway, I have been working on it lately, making sure that I am getting up a little earlier to post on it on a daily basis. Of course, I am going on vacation this week, and I won't be able to post on it for a couple of days, but I promise, I will be back to it as soon as I get back.

I put this post here again, mostly because I am such a believer in being in the Word on a daily basis. Even if it is something small. Please consider adding me to your blog reader so that even if you don't read the commentary that I add, you will at least get a verse a day.

Nourishment.

I had been struggling with reading my Bible every day. But being in the Word is something that I see as essential to my Christian walk. I simply cannot make it without being in the word on a daily basis. I can go back over the days that were the most difficult days, and it wasn't because my situations of life were any more difficult that day, it was because my mind and my heart weren't right. When I make sure that I have spent at least some amount of time in the Word, my patience seems to last a little longer, my temper isn't as short, my outlook is a little more positive, etc. It is like my spirit has had a boost that day.

In fact, that is exactly what it is like. Except it isn't a boost that my spirit has had, it is simply because my spirit has actually had some nourishment that day.

Most of you know the story from the gospels where Jesus has been in the wilderness for 40 days, and Satan comes to Him and starts to tempt Him. One of those temptations is to turn some stones into bread, and Jesus' response, according to Matthew 4:4 is, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"

Notice that He says, "It is written..." at the beginning of His response. If you go back to see where it was written, you will find it in the book of Deuteronomy. Let me quote for you here the first 3 verses from Deuteronomy 8:

All the commandments
that I am commanding you today
you shall be careful to do,
that you may live and multiply,
and go in and possess the land
which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers.

You shall remember all the way
which the LORD your God has led you
in the wilderness these forty years,
that He might humble you,
testing you,
to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep His commandments or not.

He humbled you and let you be hungry,
and fed you with manna which you did not know,
nor did your fathers know,
that He might make you understand
that man does not live by bread alone,
but man lives by everything
that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.
(NASV)

Whatever it is that you might face, whatever wilderness that you are in, you need nourishment. The world (and our own deceitful heart) is constantly trying to confuse the issue and trying to tell us what we need. Whether it be companionship, money, pleasure, vindication, a good job, obedient children, or even actual food, we are all wanting things, we are all feeling hungry. God is saying that He is going to fulfill and provide for all of those needs. He is going to bring us into the right place at the right time. He has promised so much, but sometimes, according to this passage, before we go into that promised land of fulfilled living, He wants to test us. He wants to know what is in your heart, He wants to know whether or not you will really keep his commandments.

Maybe you are in a state of hunger right now. I know that I have been before and that most likely, before I am done with this planet, I will be in that state again. But when God humbles you and leaves you hungry, or when he provides for you in a way that you would never have expected, please realize that your heart is being revealed. I know that there have been many times that God has left me hungry, and I came up lacking. But He has taught me that there is no way that I can live, absolutely no way that I can manage this life on bread (whatever that bread might be) alone. I must live on God's Word. It is my only true nourishment.

I am slightly hypoglycemic, so when I miss a regular meal I start to get shaky. But when I miss some of the bread of the Word of God, I can fall apart. I just can't figure out why I keep forgetting that.

Fragile?

I know that I have mentioned this before, but one of the things that I really enjoy about being a mover, is all of the different ways that one can spell fragile.


Notice in this next one that it is the same handwriting, but two different spellings.

What does it say to you?

What would a scene like this say to you?

To me it says, "Stay out, the restrooms are being cleaned. Try one of the other restrooms in the building."

Apparently to some it is actually a fun little obstacle course on their way to the restroom. No matter how often it happens, it is still a little bit of a shock when you go back into the restroom and there is a closed stall and feet.

The Cricket in Times Square - Book Review

I finished the book, The Cricket in Times Square, a little while ago with my children.

Summary: A cricket makes his way to New York city's Times Square via a picnic basket mishap and a train ride. Once there he makes friends with a true New York mouse, a kind-hearted cat, and a young boy who works in his parents news paper stand. He eventually shows his worth after listening to some music on the radio late at night. He learns that he can memorize any song on the first listen, and then he can reproduce the song with his unique cricket abilities.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It was one of the first that I read with my children. It came with Sam's Sonlight Curriculum.

I liked the story line. It kept rolling along at a good pace, and the characters were lovable and memorable. I also didn't get the impression that the author had an agenda when writing this book. So many of the newer authors have some philosophy that they are trying to teach in their writings. Thats alright, I suppose, from time to time, but when I sit down to read a story, I want a story, not a philosophy shrouded in story. This book was just a good story. If there was some hidden agenda, it wasn't noticeable.

The real test is whether or not my boys enjoyed it, and they definitely did. I usually know if they are really enjoying it if they remind me to read to them at night. This book was rated high on their list.

I definitely recommend this book.

From the Earth to the Moon

I know when I do posts like this, most of you probably don't care, but when I find stuff like this, I find it truly amazing.

Here is part of the caption that came with this picture:

2001 Mars Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) took this portrait of the Earth and its companion Moon, using the infrared camera, one of two cameras in the instrument. It was taken at a distance of 3,563,735 kilometers (more than 2 million miles) on April 19, 2001 as the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft left the Earth. From this distance and perspective the camera was able to acquire an image that directly shows the true distance from the Earth to the Moon.

So that is a true image picture, showing the actual distance from the Earth to the Moon. It blows my mind. Not only considering how small we are, but also considering how we could take that picture! If you would like to read more about it, click here. That is also the source of the original image.

To read a little more about the distance from the Earth to the moon, check out wikipedia's article.

"You don't know.

You're not me!"


My wife and I have decided that one of the best phrases that we have heard in the last year has come from our niece, Ashley.

I loved listening to my Brother in Law quote it. He almost sounded like a post-teen-still-living-at-home-girl. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I have decided to add it to my product list at my cafepress Store.

I have some other stuff over there, and I plan on adding some more in the next couple of days.

Well

Sorry folks.

It was a rough night. She wasn't able to pull through. She was overcome from the thought of eating another cup of lime jello.


Ok. Actually this is in the recovery room. Charity always has her camera with her, and surgeries are no exception. She has some other pictures and experiences to share, and I want to let her do that when she is feeling better, but in the meantime, here are a few to enjoy.

Charity showing her true poise in any situation.


This picture is my fault.


The one pic I captured on the ride home. She really wasn't feeling well at all, so I wasn't much in the picture taking mood.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

I just watched the movie, Who Killed the Electric Car.

I got it in the mail the other day from Blockbuster Online. I had selected it quite a while ago, and had almost forgotten it. Then, when it arrived, I almost decided to skip it, but I am so glad that I didn't. It was very interesting.

I am not big on conspiracy theories (I do believe that we really landed someone on the moon), but I did find many of the facts to be a little on the odd side. Especially the pictures of these cars being crushed, for no reason.

It was also odd to hear politicians speaking of trying to research the manufacture of an electric car, after they had decided to take them off the market. So, on one side of the country they are crushing these workable electric cars and on the other side of the country they are discussing how they could make these things, and funding research to do so. Weird.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting, and wanted to suggest that it was worth the time watching it.

Another Surgery Update

In case you were wondering what happened to my wife, or why she was being operated on, I thought I would let you know. The first procedure was a septoplasty. If you are wondering what that is exactly, here is the Wikipedia article with a brief explanation of what the procedure entails. Here is another more detailed article from answers.com. The other procedure was a tonsillectomy, its article is here, but I think that most of us are a little more familiar with this one.

I had my tonsils out as a child, but I have learned that as an adult, this is a much more painful and difficult to recover from procedure. The doctor told us that it would be very painful and that it would take quite a while to recover. From first hand experience now, I can attest to that.

There have been many people out there that have told me that they have been praying for her. I want you to know that I really appreciate it, more than you know.