Sunday, September 29, 2013

Oh Happy Day--Congrats to the Indians and the Browns!

Woo Hoo!  Did you see that Dawg Pound Banner at the game?
I am so happy the Browns beat the Bengals!  This is HUGE for us.  I watched most of the game and listened to some on the car radio, cheering while driving along.  They took the lead in the first quarter and never lost it!  It looks like Brian Hoyer is now our starting quarterback--the only one who won his first two games as a Brown.  The Browns played tough the whole game and the defense did a great job!  The game ended with the Browns taking a knee and letting the time run out--can't remember the last time they had that luxury!  The home crowd certainly had something to cheer about today!  My Browns are tie for first in their division and our rival, the Steelers are 0-4! 

Then, to top it off, the Indians clinched the wild card winning their last 10 games.  Congrats to the tribe for making it to the post-season.  It's been a long time since you got this far.

It looks like I will be a bit sleep deprived this week with the Indians playing Wednesday night for the opportunity to move on to play against Boston.  Then Thursday the Browns will play Buffalo.  I really wish the games would start earlier but I will do my best to stay awake to watch at least most of the game . . . I know I could tape it, but it takes all the fun out of it when you know the outcome ahead.

Can you guess what my favorite thing about fall is?  Sports!  Football and post-season baseball if my team is involved.  What's your favorite thing about fall? 

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Saturday, September 28, 2013

Sunday Sharing: 3 Things I Learned This Week About David

I had a good week in God's Word this week continuing in I Samuel.  Here are some things I learned about David that I didn't know before:

1.  Did you know David had three wives before becoming King?

He had three wives even before he became king!  Do you know who they are?  Michal (Saul's daughter), Ahinoam and Abigail (Nabal's widow).  I knew about Michal and Abigail, but Ahinoam was new to me.  Because O.T. Bible characters had lots of wives, I thought there must have been some point where God decided to limit man to one wife but actually, God intended for man to have just one wife all along as Beth Moore points out based on these verses:

Man will leave his father and mother [not father and mothers] and be united to his wife [not wives], and they will become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)  You just can't be one flesh with two spouses.
Neither shall he (king) multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away.--Deuteronomy 17:17
2.  Did you know David joined up with the Philistines while running from Saul?

David, his two wives (Ahinoam and Abigail) and his men dwelt with Achish, a Philistine for a year and four months!  He even wanted to help the Philistine army fight, but the Philistine commanders didn't trust him so wouldn't let him go into battle with them.  (See I Samuel 27 & 29)


3.  Did you know that David's own men wanted to stone him at one point when their wives and children were kidnapped by the Amalekites?

While David and his men were trying to join the Philistines in battle, the Amalekites invaded Ziklag where they were staying and took all the women and children off and burned the city.  David's men were so upset that they blamed David and talked about stoning him!  (See I Samuel 30:1-6) 

David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him, each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters.  But David found strength in the Lord his God.--I Samuel 30:6
The good news was that David asked God if they should chase after the Amalekites and go after the women and children and God said yes, and promised him victory.  They fought 24 hours, but came back with all their women and children.

Remember, when things appear hopeless, when circumstances get us down, when people turn against us, find strength in the Lord our God.  I am so glad God is my refuge and strength, a present help in trouble! 

Source:  Beth Moore's study:  David, Seeking a Heart Like His

Share a scripture highlight you came across this week in a comment or feel free to comment on this post.

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Friday, September 27, 2013

6 Friday Fragments (New things, food, bruise)



Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Camera Size Settings

I thought I'd use the VGA (email) setting on my camera for blog pics to save space and help them to load faster but found out that size doesn't work for our blog header at Grab a Book From Our Stack. It didn't go all the way across so had to up it to 2M.

Free Food

At work Monday I ate well. First, I had two pieces delicious chocolate cake brought in by a co-worker (thanks, Cher) leftover from her clam bake on the weekend. One was a ho ho cake--it had HoHos cut up on top. Then, because I rode the bus to work, I got a free lunch given by our green committee--Rascal House pizza, salad, and cookies. With eating all that (4 slices of pizza and two cookies), I didn't even need any supper!

Google Maps

I just discovered Googlemaps.com this week and really like it! I was impressed that as soon as I went to the site, I saw my location with a picture of my house! I looked up a location that was listed on the E-check notice we received that would be much closer for us to make sure it was the Lube Stop I thought it was. Then I looked up our favorite pizza place, Casamels in Parma, and did a review of it. Last Sunday when we had a missions emphasis at church, the youth pastor used Google Maps to show us where Haiti was. That's how I found out about it.

New Shows

We both liked watching Hostages, a new show. Did you like it?  Did you watch any other new shows you thought were good?  We also watched the sitcom about the Little League baseball family, but I was disappointed in that.  I didn't care for the mother's potty mouth or the grandfather's manner with his grandson.  My husband enjoyed The Michael J. Fox show too but I haven't watched that one yet.

Name Poems

Thanks to Mary-andering Creatively, I discovered a Name Poem Generator. You can choose a motivational poem or a funny poem. If you don't like it, you can click "generate poem" again and you will get something different.  I plan to post our name poems on Wednesday.

Strange Bruise

I discovered this bruise on my inside left thigh on Monday morning and it is still there! It never hurt or itched and I have no idea how I got it. It doesn't seem to be spreading either. It's a little tiny red dot on a very slight bump (like a mosquito bite) with a black and blue ring around it. Should I be concerned? Anyone have a clue as to what may have caused this?

GO TRIBE!  MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!

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Monday, September 23, 2013

Great Sports Weekend For Us--Even the Browns Won!

What a fun game to watch yesterday!  It seems the Browns not only executed a fake punt, a fake field goal attempt, but also a fake 3rd string Quarterback in Hoyer!  Why have they been hiding this guy?  It was a wild game but I was happy to see they improved in several areas I had pointed out last week in my post, "Browns Need Encouragement, Not Criticism--Go Browns!"   They cut way down on the penalties and for the most part, went in the right direction.  Hoyer's throws were right on the money during the first half, but the second half threw a couple interceptions and was sacked twice I think.  (This is normal for the Browns to have a good first half and not-so-good a second half.)

They also got a huge break on the muffed kickoff return.  What a crazy rule this is.  The Benjamin Travis touched the football but didn't actually catch it and the Vikings picked it up and ran it in for a TD . . . only it didn't count because it wasn't actually a fumble since the Browns guy didn't actually catch it in the first place.  But wait, it gets better!  Then the Vikings coach challenged it and got a 15 yard penalty for poor sportsmanship because a muffed ball play is not challengable.  The announcers said they should have just lost a challenge instead of getting a penalty for it, but that was really something.  Finally the Browns got a break--usually these things go against us! 

It was an exciting game though because although the Browns led again at halftime, the Vikings came out the second half scoring and making a comeback.  In the end, our defense was able to stop them before they had time to score again.  A field goal wasn't enough, they needed a TD and I was holding my breath when they were throwing that ball down field.

My cat, Manny Boy and dog, Abby watched the game with me.  Abby barked her head off at the end when we won, joining in with my celebrating!

It was a wonderful sports Sunday with all our teams winning:  Indians, Red Sox, Brown and Patriots!  The Buckeyes also won big on Saturday!

Don't you just love the excitement of football?  It's definitely my favorite thing about fall!

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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Sunday Sharing: Jelousy and Bread of Presence

In doing week two of the Beth Moore, David-Seeking a Heart Like His, here is a couple main points that stood out to me:

JEALOUSY

There is a big difference between being jealous of someone and being jealous for someone.  Jealousy is usually bad; however, there is such a thing as "righteous jealousy" such as is referred to in the following verses:

II Corinthians 11:2:  I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.  I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
Joel 2:18: The LORD will be jealous of his land and take pity on his people.

Zechariah 11:4:  This is what the LORD Almighty says, "I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion."

Zechariah 8:2:  This is what the LORD Almighty says, "I am very jealous for Zion, I am burning with jealousy for her."
God is jealous on our behalf.  He is jealous for us to know the one true God.  He is jealous for us to be in posture of blessing.  He is jealous for us to be kept from the evil one.  He is jealous for us to be ready for our Bridegroom.  Jealousy for someone's best is of God.  Jealousy of someone's best is of the enemy. p. 43.
Saul was jealous of David, not for David and his jealousy led to his evil desire to kill David.

BREAD OF PRESENCE (I Samuel 21:1-9)

When David was on the run from Saul, he first went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest.  David asked for five loaves of bread and a weapon but the only bread there was the holy bread (the bread of presence).
The bread of the Presence was placed before God as a reminder or symbol of the everlasting covenant.  The everlasting covenant symbolized by the bread of the Presence was a reminder of the pledge of God's presence to His people.  As He offered bread to David through Ahimelech the priest, I believe God pledged His presence to David throughout his exile.  pg. 53
Christ is the bread of God's presence to us.  He calls himself the "bread of life" in John 6:48.

I am enjoying this study but just chose a couple of the highlights to share here with you.  I highly recommend this one.

I thought it was cool that the only weapon there was Goliath's sword that the priest gave to David.  I'm sure it was a reminder how God had helped him kill Goliath.

Feel free to share a scripture highlight you came across last week in a comment or comment on this post.

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Friday, September 20, 2013

6 Friday Fragments (food, sports, surgery, movie, cats)



Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Easter

Easter in autumn? I guess it is in Australia. I discovered this when reading The Husband's Secret. I don't understand why this is though. It puzzles me.

Best Buy

Last week I bought some chocolate Enteman's doughnuts at Giant Eagle (8 for $4 something) for my Sunday School class. The price wasn't shown anywhere so I didn't know how much they would be. As it turned out, they were almost as much as if I bought the freshly made ones from their bakery--just a couple dollars difference. Then the next day, I saw the same doughnuts at Walmart for about $1 less per box. Then next to those were some Krispy Kreme filled ones. They were six in a box. Think next time I buy doughnuts, it will be from Walmart!

Browns

I am sad to see Trent Richardson (RB) go to the Colts and sad that Weeden is not going to be able to play this week. We are going with our third string QB so am hoping he will surprise me and be good.

Recovering Nicely

We got good news when Gerard went to the doctor this week for a follow up visit after his surgery. I was afraid he may be overdoing it, but it is healing very well. In fact, the doctor was surprised at how fast he is healing! He can start back to work on Monday but limited to LIGHT duty, no heavy lifting yet. He enjoyed his extra time with Abby while he was off. They got in lots of walks!  He's anxious to get back to vacuuming (we have a 7 lb vacuum), washing the car and working in the yard.  Just can't keep a good man down--I decided not to fight with him because it's no use.  He does what he wants anyway.

Movie

I finally watched "Gone With the Wind" for the first time. I didn't realize how long it was and how sad it was. Scarlet was a real piece of work! I enjoyed it though, finally had time to watch it on my day off.

Spunky Doodle is our "Queen"

Queen

I knew a male cat is called a Tom cat, but I just learned this week that a female cat is called a "Queen."

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Browns Need Encouragement, Not Criticism--GO BROWNS!

Watching the Browns-Ravens game was painful and although the one word that came to mind as a Browns fan to describe that game was "pathetic" I will try to refrain from picking them apart.  God wants us to show love to one another and build each other up, not tear them down so . . . I am going to give that a shot in this post concerning the Browns.

There were some bright spots such as:


  • Our kicker did his job--he really was great!  The Ravens would have had even more points if their kicker did as well as ours did.

  • Greg Little had a good start, holding on to his first to passes.  It's a beginning.  Now try to get three completed in a row next game!

  • You can hang with the best of them--after all, you even had the lead at halftime and the final score wasn't too bad!  When you lose a game that close, there is hope.  Had a few things gone our way (like making that first down which doesn't get any closer than that), who knows?  We could be 2-0 right now.  Play as if we are 2-0, not 0-2 because that is what we should be.  We need to stay positive and don't give up!!!!

  • Brandon Weeden made some major improvements from game 1 to game 2--had three interceptions against the Dolphins, none against the Ravens! Now, if you could only run a bit more instead of getting sacked so much.

  • Kudos to the defense!  Holding the Ravens to just 14 points was amazing!  We should have won with that.

Here are a few suggestions I have to help the Browns improve:


Get a good mascot!  The Ravens actually have a live raven!  How hard would it be to get a BIG live dog for the Browns?  It could run around the field at halftime and maybe during the pregame time.  Teach it to bark at the opposing team!  It could be a lot of fun and really be a great help to the team in the clubhouse. 

Avoid the penalties.  If you are a football player, then you need to learn the rules of football and don't make the same mistakes again, and again.  I congratulate Cousins on his play Sunday who showed great improvement over the week before against the Dolphins when he cost the team many yards because of holding not once, not twice, but three times!  You did much better against the Ravens, good job!

However, the penalty that hurt us last week was for "delaying the game" which happened three times!  These kinds of things really make you look bad.  Here's a thought, why not plan ahead what play to do in different situations so everyone knows ahead what to expect and perhaps could get lined up and ready to go within the time limit?  This is such an easy area to improve on--try really hard this week not to repeat the same penalties over and over!

Remember Which Way To Go!  Seriously, when they got to the Red Zone, only a few yards from the goal line, they actually lost yards on the next three plays!  This is not how you win.  We must forge AHEAD, preferably around the pack of opposing players right in front of the ball carrier and not through them.  That play seldom works for us.  Just sayin'.

No Fighting!  Fighting really makes you look bad and does not contribute to helping the team win the game which is the goal.  Play nice but be tough, show some class.
  

Don't Broadcast Your Plans. Can't anyone else run with the ball besides Trent Richardson? It's so obvious what the Browns will do next. All the other team has to do is look for Trent Richardson, if he's on the field, it will be a running play. If he's not, it will be a passing play. Try to be more devious.  Now that Trent has been traded to the Colts, guess this problem is solved.  We should really have two running backs in at the same time so there's some mystery as to who will be the ball carrier.

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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: My Cat and Me

Manny's new favorite spot when I'm at the computer
Joining in the Wordless Wednesday blog hop today.

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Monday, September 16, 2013

Monday Mischief: Spunky Doodle Solves The Curtain Problem

We love our double sided cat tree right by the curtain near where mommy hangs out at the computer.  The only trouble is that it blocks our view.

Hey, Spunky, I see you made some peep holes in the curtain so we can see out easier..

Oh, I'm not done yet, that's only the beginning.  I'm working making a BIG hole for us! 

See, now we can see out much easier with a clear view!

This is better than waiting for a breeze to blow the curtain away so we can jump up behind it!  I can go right through it now, just like a door!

Aren't you proud of me, mommy, for being so creative and solving our problem?

Oh yes, Spunky, you are such a smart cat!  Daddy is more upset about this hole than I am, naturally.  He doesn't yet accept the fact that cats rule, but I am perfectly okay with this.  It's an old curtain and after all, it's not like we get a lot of company.  The only ones who go in this room are us anyway so I'm glad you are happy.  You are so cute, I can't be mad at you.  Guess I am officially a crazy cat lady!

Do you have curtains with peep holes at your house too?  What's the craziest thing you let your cat get away with?


Joining in with the Monday Mischief and Cats on Tuesday blog hops.

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Sunday, September 15, 2013

Sunday Sharing: Highlights from "David, Seeking a Heart Like His" by Beth Moore

I started the Beth Moore Bible study on David and thought I'd share some things that stood out to me from week 1:

  1. Jonathan was a good warrior and Trusted God. In I Samuel 14;:6 He said, "Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few." I also never realized what a good leader he was. His armor bearer trusted Jonathan completely so Jonathan was also a very good leader. (I Samuel 14) pp. 14-15

  2. Saul was the King of the people, not the king God chose. Saul's position exceeded his passion. "A position that exceeds passion often settles with appeasements." pp. 9, 12

  3. When Saul forced his men to fast, he put his army in jeopardy (I Samuel 14:24-52). "God, not man, must call "fasts. Fasting called by God will result in strength, not weakness. Fasting for any other reason works against us rather than for us." p. 15 

  4. "God reminded Samuel that the human mind has an overwhelming tendency to make assumptions based on appearances. God's choices don't always make sense to us." p. 21 (see I Samuel 16:7)

  5. "Before Calvary, the Holy Spirit worked to empower specific types of service rather than to bring a new relationship with God through salvation. Fewer than 100 people in the Old Testament were ever characterized by the Holy Spirit being on or in them. The Holy Spirit came on only those who were being empowered for specific tasks or positions." p. 25

  6. "Although David's anointing did not end Saul's reign as king, it marked the end of the power and favor of God on him." David wasn't crowned king until 15 years after being anointed. p. 35

  7. "We tend to measure our obstacles against our own strength. Thus we often feel overwhelmed and defeated before the battle begins." We need to measure the size of our obstacles against the size of our God. p. 30

This is just a small sample of the nuggets in this Bible study. I am excited to study each chapter and learn more. I highly recommend it!  Please share your scripture highlight of the week in a comment.  I'd love to hear what you discovered.

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Saturday, September 14, 2013

Yippee--I Finally Got My Blog Background Changed!

Today I finally discovered the "secret" to saving my HTML code to change the background color of our blog from green to purple!  Hooray!  I was so frustrated but Sandee of Comedy Plus suggested that perhaps there was another place to save it.  So today, instead of just saving my changes to the template on that page, I also clicked on the preview and then saw a save tab there as well so clicked on that one and it worked!  I am relieved that I can finally take this off of the list of little things that bug me. Do you like the purple better than the green?

Thanks for your help, Sandee! What things have been bugging you lately?

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Friday, September 13, 2013

4 Friday Fragments (blogging, vacation, Bible Study, Sports)



Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Most Frustrating

The most frustrating thing this week was when I went to change my blog color. It showed the changes in the preview but would not save it! GRRRR! I tried saving it four times and it never worked! What's up with that?

Vacation

Last week we were on vacation so I didn't do as much blogging as usual and missed doing Friday Fragments for the first time in ages. In spite of Gerard's hernia operation on Thursday and four other doctor appointments between us, we still had a good time together enjoying our club seats at the Indians game on Monday, walking Abby at West Creek Reservation, going to both the Akron zoo and the Cleveland zoo, and watching TV together (OSU football, Indians, Red Sox, Browns and Patriots).

New Bible Study

I started a new Beth Moore Bible study last week, "David, Seeking a Heart Like His" and am really enjoying it! In my Sunday Sharing post this week, I'll share some things that I learned from it so far.

Sports

We are happy! The Patriots and Browns are both in first place! The Patriots won 2 so far (the only team who has) and the Browns are tie for first in their division even though they lost to Miami last week.

We are still hoping the Indians make the playoffs and are pretty sure the Red Sox will be in it.

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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Akron Zoo vs. Cleveland Zoo

We visited the Akron zoo on our vacation last week and couldn't help comparing it to the Cleveland zoo. We had a nice time and it was a gorgeous day, very comfortable!  The first difference we noticed between the two was that we had to pay $2 for parking; the Cleveland zoo is free parking.

Most of the Akron zoo exhibits have glass so it's harder to get good pictures of the animals than at the Cleveland zoo.  The animal of the day was the sloth bear who stood on its hind legs right in front of us face-to-face with only the glass separating us.  I couldn't get a picture because it happened so fast and then the bear went back inside.  It just came out to greet us, I guess.
Small Penguins

Peek-a-boo
The penguin exhibit was the first one as you come in.  Although there was glass all along the front of it, we were able to climb some steps up to a platform so was able to get a nice picture of them from above.

The penguins and the Red Panda were a couple animals I was able to get, but the red panda was pretty much hidden in the leaves.  It was a very bright day too so was hard to see what we were shooting. 

The Akron zoo is not as big as the Cleveland zoo and many exhibits are grouped close together so it doesn't take as long to see everything.  There is a lot more shade at the Akron zoo but the concession stands were closed when we went.  There was only one building that had a cafeteria which was open.  The landscaping at both zoos is very nice.

otter exhibit
One of the things I like most about the Akron zoo is all the interactive attractions they have for young children which are spread out all through the zoo.  There is a carousel with carved animals, a scale that is big enough for a group to get on to see if they can weigh as much as some of the animals, there was a frontier town for children to just play in, but my favorite was the tube slide going through the otter exhibit.  The Cleveland zoo also had a lot of fun things for the children so I would say they tie on this issue.

Grizzly Ridge
Grizzly Ridge was a newer area and I loved the big wood carving of the bear at the entrance to this area!  The two grizzly bears there were from our Cleveland zoo and I must say, they looked happier at our zoo, but perhaps because they were just cubs then and had two others to play with as well. 
Lehner Family zoo gardens
It was different for us going to the zoo where we didn't know where everything was!  Way at the opposite end from the entrance was a beautiful garden.  Both Gerard and I like gardens so we wanted to make sure we saw it.  Here are a couple photos I took of it.
Lehner Family Zoo Gardens
 
We recommend visiting a zoo!
The only animals the Akron zoo has that the Cleveland zoo doesn't are the penguins and the Alpaca.  The Cleveland zoo has many more animals.  The Rainforest alone takes an hour to go through if you actually take time to look at everything.  We like our Cleveland zoo better, but had a wonderful time and didn't get lost! 

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Sunday, September 8, 2013

Monday Mischief: How To Get That Poop by Abby

I felt bad mom was so mad at me, but I was just being a dog--no one's perfect!
My mom got very mad at me Saturday because I did a dog thing she just can't understand.  My sniffer is excellent and so I can smell things before my mom can even see them.  This is a skill most dogs have and that I recommend you use when the fragrance of other dog poop is in the air.

Before my nursing home visit, mom took me for a quick walk down the street so I could pee first, which I did.  As I passed our neighbor's yard, I got a whiff of some poop and made a mental note of it.  Then on our way back, mom even ran along with me so I could get some running in.  I charged toward home (or so she thought), but actually I was charging for that poop I smelled and pretended to cut across our neighbor's front yard to our house but stopped and grabbed a chunk of poop on the way.  My mom freaked and yelled at me, trying to get me to drop it.  It did fall out of my mouth, but I recovered it before she could kick it away.  Yay me!  But boy, was she mad!  She said she will not let me go into anyone's yard again, no more cutting through yards.  Daddy heard the whole thing and didn't even stick up for me.
Image source:  Sugar, the Golden Retriver

Note from mom:  It really annoys me that some dog owners are too lazy or irresponsible to pick up after their dogs.  At the park, there was a pile of dog poop only 10 feet away from a garbage can and the free poop bag station.  Grrrrr! 


Joining in with Aww Mondays and Monday Mischief.

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Saturday, September 7, 2013

Sunday Sharing: Leave Revenge To God

This week my highlight is from I Samuel 24, my Sunday School lesson today.  The background is that King Saul has been trying to kill David on several occasions.  David gets the perfect opportunity to kill Saul in a cave but instead just cuts off part of his robe.  First Samuel 24:12, 15 is part of the conversation David had with Saul shortly afterward:
 (12) May the Lord judge between us and may he punish you for the wrong you have done to me!  But I won't fight you. (15) May the Lord be our judge and decide between you and me.  May the Lord support me and show that I am right.  May he save me from you. (David speaking to Saul)
I am glad that God is our judge and sees all and knows our hearts.  I am glad that when I am wronged, I can let God deal with the situation and have peace.  I just need to do what's right and let God take care of everything.  David demonstrated forgiveness and kindness to Saul, his enemy.  

What was your scripture highlight this week?

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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Ruckus Spoils a Peaceful View

Last Friday when we went to pick up our Indians tickets for the Monday afternoon game, we walked down to the 9th Street pier after eating our lunch from Subway at the Ralph J. Perk Park.  It was very hot but the view was so worth the walk!  Not too many people were around when we went. 

There was a girl reading a book and a black family--two parents with three small children who were sitting nearby watching the boats.  They were enjoying it until all of a sudden, I hear the mother yelling for the kids to get over to her right now!  When I turned around, the kids were climbing up some steps.  When they came over, the mother got up and smacked each one on the side of the head!  She hit the two bigger kids first and they sat down on the wall where they had all been sitting before but the little one was so afraid, she was screaming before she even got hit and was afraid to go any closer.  I didn't blame her.  Then the big father got up and swatted her and she fell down.  It was heart wrenching!  All I could think of was if they treat their children like that in public, what must they do at home?  I didn't know what to do but I felt if I kept watching, the parents may not be as aggressive.  No cops were anywhere in sight.  It was very upsetting to me.

As we left, I prayed for that family, asking God to protect those children and that the parents would wake up and get some help to stop abusing their children.  Do you think I should I have budded in and said something to the parents?  Should I have called 9-1-1 (which I did consider doing, but thought by the time anyone came, they may be gone)?  What do you think we should have done, if anything?



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Monday, September 2, 2013

More Exploring at West Creek Reservation

This is the only place where we saw a drinking fountain for dogs! 

This time I drank for the doggie drinking fountain!
Our first visit to this park was on a Sunday so we came back on a Saturday to check out the nature center.  It's very nice and air conditioned!  When we first walked through the door, we saw this beautiful quilt made by some Amish hanging on the wall. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Square are scenes from the metroparks.

We were very surprised to find a vending machine with cold drinks and ice cream for sale in a little gift shop:
This is good to know for hot days!
This place is big!  Here is a picture of the lounge area where you can sit to look out over the park and they have bird feeders just outside the windows.

Nice leather chairs too relax on too!

There are educational exhibits along the way showing how the West Creek watershed works and other different things about water.  One had a video playing saying the bottled water was a "manufactured demand" and isn't any better than tap water.  While we were there walking through, other people stopped to pet Abby and one lady even took her picture with her iphone!

My picture taken by Debbie, a stranger in the nature center.
We thought it was such a good picture of Abby that we asked is she would email it to us and she did!  When we were out on the trail, another couple with a cute little girl stopped and was trying to get her to pet Abby.  She liked the dog but was afraid to go too close.  They had a camera too and that would have made a cute picture.

No muddy feet today--good girl, Abby!  See last week's Monday Mischief at the Park to read about our first time here.

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Sunday, September 1, 2013

Sunday Sharing: Friendship and Loving Others

This week as I was reading through I, II and II John as well as preparing for my Sunday School lesson on being a true friend, reading about David and Jonathan's example of good friends (I Kings 18-20), it seemed I was bombarded with the fact that if we say we love God, we will also love others.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:  for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. --I John 4:20-21 (KJV)

Finally, I reviewed the memory passage for this unit which is filled with commands as to how to treat people found in Romans 12:9-14, 21 which says:

Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God's people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:15-20 contain even more ways to relate with others that I read as well, but I guess the ones writing the material thought the above passage was long enough to try to get kids to memorize.  

 Jesus says in John 15:14 that "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."  (KJV)

Finally, I came across these two verses from Jude 1:2, 21 this week:

I pray that God will greatly bless you with kindness, peace and love!  And keep in step with God's love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind He is by giving you eternal life. (contemporary English version)
I had a great feast last week on the word and feel as though I will be immersed in God's Word for the upcoming months.  I learn so much when I teach others!   Looking forward not only teaching Sunday School again, but also a Beth Moore study on "A Heart Like David's" and reading another Karol Ladd book, A Woman's Passionate Pursuit of God.



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