:-) hi, folks!

Peter and the Benedictine Monk are both by Van Dyck, images courtesy of the ARC. :-)

Whininess went away after I'd eaten a decent meal. Thanks for bearing with me. I don't have prejudice per say against people of certain persuasions- I'd take it wrong for anyone to be ogling my children- no matter what their lifestyle choice. I'm a Mom, waddaya want? ;-)

So, we had oodles of fun playing football and basketball (sortof) with one of the sweet kids across the way. It was a nice afternoon. I'd be doing my DQ's, but ya can't respond when nobody's posted yet! And DH has the TV, so I can't watch my lectures in comfort- this chair is, ok- but not for a 2.5hr lecture!

If you've not checked out the new blog on my list, you oughtta. it's beautiful and fun. I reckon I'm off to check it and the others while I have a few minutes to myself.

have a happy day, all!

A Quick Drop By

I thought I'd take time out from the ridiculous amount of studying and put up this lovely painting from 1904 by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Courtesy of the ARC- link at the side.

Well, I'm praying that God will do something for me that is a little unusual, but it'd be a wonderful thing. We'll call it a special request. Please help me pray that God'll answer it in the affirmative.

God Bless Y'all!

Rose

Kudos to USA Network for White Collar

image courtesy of USA Network's White Collar page

At last! A great show, great pilot- intelligent, wittty with action and none of the things that so often take away from an otherwise great plot. That's right- no smut and no cussing. I had to say THANKS to USA Network for giving us more memorable characters and keeping it clean. And I do hope that the style of the main character is emulated- it's great style- classic- and I LOVE the hat.

I wonder- are the networks finally figuring out that there are more viewers out there than just the Neilsen folks? Viewers that actually like plot and substance? Viewers that think that smut is an unnecessary prop and that cussing doesn't enhance the show at all? USA's been doing a pretty good job lately. Keep up the good work, fellas! You are appreciated!

White Collar enjoyed by the following demographic groups in our home:

11-17

29-40

50-65

Scifi or Syfy as you are now called- get the same message! Your shows are NOT made better for the himbos you keep throwing at us. Battlestar Galactica was great, but I couldn't recommend it to many folks who would have LOVED the plot because of the smutty parts being offensive. And Stargate Universe would lose NOTHING in greatness if you left the smut scenes out of it. Your pilot's broomcloset made it so my young teens are not allowed to watch the show at all- which is sad, because they really like the Stargate franchise. It's just unnecessary to an otherwise great show.

Anyway, not like they'll be reading this blog. But, on the offhand chance... Families like to watch more things than cartoons and horse movies. Families like plots and action, too. Great Job USA and thanks Syfy for putting out another BSG DVD. :-)

ttfn

Rose

A Way to Help

Hi, folks :-)

I know that it is hard for any of us to put together any money to send to people in need. But, most of us have clothes and old toys and other things we are not using. I have the address of the ministry center in India if anyone is interested in helping them out. They have need of pencils and what we'd think of school supplies, clothes, and toys for the orphaned kids. Candles are also appreciated since there are a lot of power outages and the kids are having to eat in the dark often.

Now, we jaded Americans are always on the skepticism because we've had so many con-men prey on us falsely in the name of charity, but this minister and his family have been faithful to correspond and pray for us in spite of the fact that over the last 10 years all I've been able to send them is a total of $20. Con-men are not going to waste time that way, and especially are not going to bother to have pictures of themsleves with the lepers and kids and the tribal peoples consistently over the years. And I have watched the ministry team through pictures age and get thinner as the times have hardened.

So, if anyone is interested, send me a note in my comments with your email or another way to contact you and I will get you the address where you can send any supplies you have just gathering dust in storage. If anyone would like to send financial support, I have that info, too. And if nothing else, please just pray for these people as you would want to be prayed for if you were in the same situation.

If you are not a Christian, consider that in the parts of India that JCIM ministers to the government does not take care of the sick and orphaned; it is the Christians who are taking care of them- for free. A gift to the orphans would go to help the orphans, and likewise a gift to the lepers or the other sick folks. It is a tragedy to be burned out of your home no matter what your religion and even more of a tragedy when those who are trying to help you are being hunted down. An outfit for a child costs maybe $8.00 at Walmart and you can get a teddy bear at the Dollar Tree, so what's ten bucks or so? Or get the clothes from a thrift shop and the entire donation including postage should be under $10.

Anyone who has followed my blog knows that this is not something I do often. Follow the links to the side if you'd like, (JCIM, A Ministry to India) and get in touch with them yourself. God will bless you for even a cup of cool water that you give in Jesus' Name, so please at least pray for these poor folks.

Thanks BUNCHES!!!!

Rose

Argh. Why do I not check my email more often?!

So, I am really, really SLACK. This pastor friend of mine in India, Brother Raja, and his people have been having a really hard time lately. I checked my email finally and found several over the months of my slackness that had been sent asking for prayer. The Hindu terrorists have been burning Christians out and they've been without food and shelter. Now, sure, we've been praying for the folks over there quite often, but had no idea about this. Please help me pray for our brothers and sisters in India.

It's this big --**kapow**-- when we see the trials that Christians in other parts of the world are going through. All our penny-ante problems that get us all upset are just that- nothing much at all. Brother Raja and his church have a ministry to the orphaned and to the lepers. They have few preachers to reach many villages, but are so hopeful and diligent to try to get to everybody regularly with the Word of God. The places where the services happen often are in the woods with the congregation sitting on the ground. Just take a minute to think about that. These folks gladly sit on the ground in the woods for a church service.

Why does money always have to be a hinderance? It'd be so nice if a bunch of us could just hop on a plane and go and minister to these folks for a bit. You know? And there are so many people like this in our world- hungry for the Word of God- and with so few available to reach them. And even if we don't have anything we consider useful by way of talent, we could just be used by God as He would like to use us. I can't think of much else better and more worthwhile.

And I think about Christmas as it is coming. This will be the first Christmas that the leper village has lights in their huts. And that is a blessed thing- what would we do without our lights? I just hope the snake problem has cleared up for them by then.

Well, God please bless and help your people in India. Please give them more preachers and resources to reach the lost and to help the poor and fatherless. In Jesus' Name, please encourage them and lift them up, protecting them from those who would harm them. Please keep them warm and provide them with the food they need, both spiritual and physical.

r

Night School

So, we took time out from the regular routine to watch the meteor shower for an hour and a half. It centers around Orion and is supposedly debris from Haley's Comet. Since it's going on all night, we're hoping to go back out in a while. A cup of coffee sure gets cold out there. ;-) The fog was light and kept coming and going right above our heads, which looked really cool in between us and the stars. The constellations are so bright tonight. The only downside is that I don't have beach chairs (heehee). My son's making cocoa for our warm-up break.

School's been busy and great lately- many in depth discussions and discoveries on the path of knowledge. And we are very aware that the road of knowledge best not be traveled without God- it's fake and pointless without him. But, he's really been blessing in that department.

I highly recommend going up to the Britannica shop online and ordering one of their WONDERFUL encyclopedia packages. They have a reasonable down payment and easy payment plan. And, if an EMP happens from the sun or some bored hacker, you still have access to information. So nice- gilded pages- purrr...

We've been blessed to visit with many friends and family lately. I had to make a decision between Christmas and homeschool materials or travel and the former won out. But, God blessed us to be able to see many of our dear ones anyway. Maybe next time I get a little ahead, I'll be able to make the trip to Kentucky and Indiana. And I am going to pray like crazy that I can put things together to get to NJ for that reunion Aunt Judi was talking about. Maybe I'll be able to see my NJ kinfolks then, too. :-)

And how wacky is this? We all thought Ghandi had starved himself to death and it turns out he was assasinated. Huh. We thought maybe it was a history revision just to make him look cooler (yea, I know) but even in the 1954 encyclopedia it had him assasinated in January in the '40s. I also thought he was a little closer to our timeframe. Was there some relative of his that starved himself in the '80s?

Kell- congrats on your marriage! God bless you, sweetie. We're praying you and Cyndi both feel better soon. (opposite sides of the family, but both are feeling poorly, so...)

The drama of the heavens. When you get out there just stargazing for more than the usual short span, it's like the imagination really starts to bloom. I can't get over how many stars show up more clearly the longer you watch. And how very many pictures one sees. Funny how some of the Orientals see Orion as Nimrod- that for his hubris, God did indeed let him reach the heavens- separated from the humanity he was seeking to rule over, chained there as a sign of bad weather and bad luck. But, God named him Orion (though he looks very Roman to me) long before Rome and I'd love to know the story behind him and the Pleiades.
I couldn't find it online to my satisfaction, but the Oriental info was new to me and was pretty cool.

We're in Proverbs right now and they are so much fun. Full of object lessons and wacky examples to make them come alive. Sure, the poetic forms in them are really cool, but the sheer enjoyment of going through God's word together and laughing, learning, and contemplating is another thing- a wonderful thing. :-)

So, the kids are teens. It is disturbing to us all. Mostly we don't think about it, just try to grow together in God's grace and love. Do you reckon the Lord's coming soon? I figure there are a lot of things that point to it, not the least of which this sudden reappearance of amillenialism. And the times of the Gentiles... now there's a subject worth hours upon hours of discussion.

Mama gave my youngest girl a copy of Luther's Psalms in German and she is learning quickly. Our theory that sign language helps while learning a language has proven itself as well as the one that the Bible is still the best way to learn a language. But, the experiment is not completely conclusive since we are only one family... ahh...Nerdspeak... gotta love it! (Garden Gnomes cackling with glee in the background. Ok, for the uninitiated, Garden Gnomes are the nerds of the faerie realm. They impersonate Leprachauns and took over the Lucky Charms- it's terrible, really.)

And yes, I know. Things like that are why I'll never make my mark on the Blogosphere. But I don't really care, cause ya know- dorks are people too.

Ok, so I've got to get to my cocoa now and get a thicker pair of socks for our next foray into the starry night. God bless y'all.
Rose