SHOW & TELL #10 - The Mezuzah

Time for me to once again participate in Kelli's Show & Tell. Go here to learn all about it and find something special to Show & Tell us all about.

When I was in Eureka Springs 2 weeks ago with my Tuesday night Bible Study group I bought myself a Mezuzah. I had been wanting one for the past 4 months since learning about them.

You can see it has the same Grafted-in symbols, the menorah, Star of David and the Christian Fish, as the lovely necklace I purchased at the Seder Dinner this Spring and showed here on Show & Tell in March.

You can see here how very small it is.

Deuteronomy 11:18a-20a ways: "Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul... you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up: and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied...".

Ever since Moses spoke these words, the Jewish people have literally placed God's word on the gates of their cities and on the door frames of their home. The scriptures from Deuteronomy 8:4 and 11:13-21 are written on parchment, rolled up and placed inside a mezuzah, which is a small box that is nailed on the right doorpost or lentil at a slight angle. As you enter and exit your home this is to keep them focused on the Lord whom they serve.

I typed out the scripture in small print, rolled it up and placed it inside and Mickey hung it on our lintel.

Placing God's words in our heart is the important thing, but I love these items that just reinforce that truth deeper in me.

Thanks for letting me share this new addition to our home.

HAVE BIBLE & PILLOWS - Will Travel

How many of you remember the TV program "Have Gun - Will Travel" with Jack Palance? Hence the title of this post!!!

A strange title I know.....but you will soon understand.

Our friends, and neighbors, Wayne & Jimmie, have a great little cabin on 10 acres in the Ozarks near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. They have been up there the entire month of July and we promised them we would come up and spend a couple of days with them during the month. We have been trying to get free to go up and just hadn't been able to get free to do so.

Thursday morning around 10 o'clock, after finishing up an errand he had to run, Mickey came bursting in the door and said, "Come on let's throw some things in a bag and run up and spend a couple of days with Wayne & Jimmie." I had just started in on my weekly washing and had one load just finishing up in the washer with 2 more to go but I said, "Okay, but I've got to throw this load in the dryer (so much for line drying today) and get it dried and folded first." In the drier they go and we proceed to bathe and get ready. The drier quits, I fold the items and fold my just washed & dried PJ's and put them on the top of the already packed satchel we have prepared and are taking.

We load up the car and away we go. It is a lovely ride to just outside Eureka Springs, same drive I made last Friday with my Bible Study gals. A lovely, not very hot day with blue skies.

Half-way to Eureka I realize I had forgotten to pick up my camera.....no camera and I was going to get a loaf of Banana/Pineapple Bread out of the freezer to bring to them and realized I'd forgotten that, too. Oh well, such is life.


We get to their cabin about 2 or 2:30 and have a lovely visit. Jimmie & I stay inside visiting with her knitting on some wash clothes and Mickey & Wayne visiting outside. Wayne comes in to inform me we have "Joined the flat tire club". Apparently all of them in the area have had flat tires. Sure enough the right rear tire is flat as a pancake. There is a place that fixes them not too far and Wayne says we'll take it over first thing in the morning and they'll prepare it right away.

Later Wayne is cooking burgers outside on the fire and Jimmie and I are getting the fixings ready and the table set inside. I tell Mickey he better bring in our things so he can get his supper time meds out of the bag/satchel. He comes in the house to tell me we didn't bring the satchel. I think he is kidding me......which is not unusual and he loves to do. I proceed out to our car. Sure enough here is our bible and our two pillow and NOTHING else. We had forgotten the satchel. No clothes, no toiletries, no pills , no nothing.....except our Bible and our two pillows!!!!!


We "make-do" for the night. Put on the same clothes the next day and head out. First thing is to drop off the flat tire to be repaired while we run around. We first treated us to a lovely breakfast at Raspsberry Station. They all had omelette's and I had kiech. Then they take us to see the Roaring River Trout Fish Hatchery. What a lovely, beautiful sight. I am bemoaning not having my camera to take pictures of the huge cliff where the spring begins that pours into the Roaring River. I have never seen so many trout in my life. People everywhere fishing. They charge $2 for kids under 16 and $4 for adults, per day, and they can catch a limit of 5 each and are not allowed to throw any back. What you catch you have to keep and count.

We are heading back to pick up the tire when Jimmie asks if we'd ever seen The Little Golden Gate Bridge. We had not so much as heard of it so away we go.



The Little Golden Gate Bridge.

The Beaver Bridge, more commonly referred to as the little golden gate bridge, was constructed in 1949 to span the white river of Beaver, Arkansas. The one lane suspension bridge was designed in the same style as San Francisco's Golden gate bridge. The wood deck of the structure makes it one of the most unique functioning bridges in the United States. (Thank goodness I was able to buy post cards in lieu of the pictures I couldn't take!!)

We go back to pick up our repaired tire to find out that the nail damaged it beyond repair and we had to buy a new tire. Drats!!!!!! This tire is only 2 years old since we'd just bought our HHR on July 9, 2007. A new tire was not necessarily in our vacationing budget for the year :o( At least they were able to put it right on and we didn't have to come back again.

Back to the cabin with the new tire which Mickey & Wayne then proceed to put on our car. Wayne & Jimmie are disappointed, as are we, as we had planned to spend 2 nights and return on Saturday but Mickey had already missed his evening and then this mornings med's and we had to get back for his medicine.

The well laid plans of mice & men ofter go array........but we had Bible & Pillows....the most important things!!! and a grand time anyway.

By the way, when we returned home to see where we had left the satchel.... it was right on the couch where I had put it to insert the PJ's in on top!!!

FUN, FUN & more fun - Eureka Springs & Branson

The seven of us who did the recent book study at our Tuesday evening Bible Class took a trip Friday to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to the Great Passion Play. We meet at 8 a.m. and took 2 cars. I took my car and drove all the way. Debbie took her car and drove to Eureka Springs. The girls kept changing cars so that we weren't all just spending time with the same group.

(from left to right, Ann, Wantha Ann, Sandra, Gloria, Debbie, Susan - I'm taking the photo)

(click to enlarge all photos)

Checking into the motel.

We had 2 adjoining rooms with a door between us. Ann, Wantha Ann & I shared a room.

Sandra & I at the darling Sandwich Shoppe where we had lunch.

Inside of the Sandwich Shoppe.

At the table. The food and service were great. When we got up to leave a man sitting behind us said, "I hate to see you gals leave. You gals are having such a grand time." We were!!!

We had ordered our tickets in advance which covered all the activities for the day and the various museums. After checking into the office we headed for the the area with different depictions of Bible stories by costumed people. It started with Jesse, the Shepherd, who told his story and then also told us about the Cross Back Donkey.

Cross Back donkey that has a dark line above the front legs and then a dark line from his head down the middle of his back forming a cross.

Next was the woman at the well.

Then the story of Passover with the blood on the door and the passover dinner inside.

An exact sized replica of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. Here we are before the Holy Place with David who told the story.

Next was the Rock of Witness from Joshua 24:24-29. Then Mary the mother of Jesus telling about the birth of our Lord from her view. Then Mary Magdalene.

Next was Peter, the fisherman, and his story of following the Lord and then betraying Him.

Then Moses and the 2 tables with the commandments and ended with the hill and the 3 crosses of the Crucifixion.

(back left to right: Sandra, Gloria, Debbie, Susan - front: Wantha Ann, Ann, Susan)

We are leaving the above exhibits and standing by the Eastern Gate. You entered in the right entrance opening "Redemption" and exited through the left opening "Grace".

Next we went to a museum about the Creation story with various displays. We were given a handheld device that you could listen to the description of each numbered exhibit. I went through the first part and exited early because I did not agree with the story they were giving about the pre-historic animals.

Then the Bible Museum. Very interesting and full of MANY old and different Bibles of all sorts. After we were through with the Bible Museum and the Gift Shop, of course!! we went back briefly to the motel to freshen up.

We had to be back to the dining room by 5 p.m. for a delicious meal of baked chicken, corn-on-cob, cantaloupe & melon salad, sweet potato fries, herb flavored biscuit and chocolate cake. Tea or water to drink. The meal was great. The entertainment was The Texan's. A family: Dad, Mom & 31 year old son, and then 2 singer-musicians, a keyboard player and a guitar player. The trio also did several comedy routines. It was a most delightful program.

After the meal & program we attended The Potter. It was a man who looked like we picture Jesus looking. He sat at a Potters Wheel as he made a beautiful vase and told a story of how Jesus molds and makes us if we will but be willing to stay in His hands and let Him do the work. It was by far my favorite event of this entire trip. I cannot believe I did not get a single picture of him, the wheel or the vase!! I think because I was so awestruck with the beauty of it all.

After The Potter show we had some time before the 8:15 performance so we took in the Art Museum. Many wonderful works of religious art.

Pictures are not allowed in the ampi-theater or during the play so this is from their website.

“America's #1 Attended Outdoor Drama”- The Institute of Outdoor Drama -

An unforgettable and inspiring performance enjoyed by more than seven million people from all over the world for over 35 years.

Experience the wonder and glory of the Greatest Story Ever Told -- The Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas! A cast of hundreds perform amid historically accurate stage settings, The Great Passion Play brings to life the thrilling, epic drama surrounding Christ’s last days on earth, death and resurrection.

About the Play

Performed in our stunning 4,100 seat panoramic outdoor amphitheater, The Great Passion Play features state-of-the art sound and lighting effects and original music in a dramatic two-hour presentation of the last week in the incarnation of Jesus of Nazareth.

Witness the colorful spectacle of the marketplace, the pageantry of the chariots and camel caravan, and the hustle and bustle of the crowds as they go about their daily activities drawing water from the well or herding their sheep through the streets of Jerusalem.

The play is not totally Biblically accurate, but close enough to be a pleasant, enjoyable experience. Mickey & I had been here to see it years ago with our children.

After the play we went back to the motel. The last time I remember looking at the clock it was 2 a.m. and we arose at 6:30 a.m.

We could not have had a more lovely day. The hot-hot temperatures in our area were gone and we were blessed with low 80's and beautiful, clear, blue skies. Thank you Lord for this added benefit.

The next morning some of us had the Continental Breakfast and some had a special full breakfast that they prepared. Then it was off to see the Christ of the Ozarks statute.

(click to enlarge to read)

Here we are at this 10' x 10' piece of the Berlin Wall.

(back: Susan, Wantha Ann, Ann, Gloria - front: Debbie, Sandra, Susan)

Inside the lovely old white church with steeple.

The back of the statute. That's the girls at the base. You can see how huge it is. It towers over the area above Eureka Springs and can be seen from the ampi-theater where the play is held

Front view of the statue.

Sculpting the Statue Completed and dedicated in 1966, the statue was sculpted by the late Emmet Sullivan, one of the artisans who sculpted Mount Rushmore. As you view the statue, you may want to keep in mind these interesting facts about Christ of the Ozarks.

Every inch of the remarkable sculpture was built by hand. No poured segments were used in the statue's construction. At an altitude of 1500 feet, the statue is made of 24 layers of white mortar on a steel frame and weighs over two million pounds. The foundation, which is virtually welded into the rock of the mountain, required 340 tons of concrete interlaced with steel. During construction, the framework of the statue was completely surrounded by scaffolding. Workers had to build an elevator up the side of the framework in order to reach the statue's higher segments. Taller than most humans, the hands from wrist to fingertip measure approximately7 feet. The statue's arm spread from fingertip to fingertip spans 65 feet.

Our original plans were to come home early Saturday morning after viewing the statue but we decided to go on to Branson, Missouri, which was only 53 miles further, and see the Sight & Sound Theatre production of Noah the Musical. We called ahead the evening before for tickets to the 12:15 p.m. show.

Exterior display of the theater

Interior of lobby and exterior of this beautiful theater in Branson. Again photography was not allowed of the Musical and interior theater. I don't know how I missed getting a shot of all of us here but didn't.

The production was delightful and well worth the cost and extra time to see while we were so close by.

On the way home Ann drove Debbie's car and Debbie rode back with me and Wantha Ann. The two vehicle stayed right together the entire trip up and back and I drove my orange HHR every mile of the 480 mile round trip.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Springfield on our way home and arrived home at 8:30 p.m. Tired and very happy.

I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard for hour after hour. What a wonderful group of young woman the Lord has blessed me to be surrounded with :o) AND, I might add, I kept up with them every step of the way!!!!!

Thank you Lord for this wonderful Bible Study group and this delightfully fun trip.

MUSIC - MUSIC - MUSIC

I have always loved music. When I was a very little girl I would beg, and BEG my parents for a piano. There had been a piano in our family before I came along that apparently no one played. and it had been sold. When I came along, about 5 years old, asking for a piano it did not meet with a great deal of enthusiam!!! But with the persistance of a child I kept asking.

Three years later, when I was 9 years old and in the 4th grade, my parents finally gave in and bought an old used spinet piano for me and I began to take lessons. I took from an individual in her home for several years and then the piano teacher told my father that she had taken me as far as her ability could and I needed to be placed for more advanced teaching. At that point my parents enrolled me at Loretta Academy where I took the remainder of my piano training from various nuns. It was excellent training for me.

Loretta had practice piano rooms and once in awhile we could even play on the concert grand piano!!!! Oh, how I loved that. Where you hear tales of most children and young people having to be "made" to practice, I was just the opposite. In fact, at my house, it was usually my mother saying, "Please, Susan, get off the piano for awhile."

Here are a couple of pictures of me in my teen years on this old blond spinet piano.

Get a load of the apron in the one picture. I was probably suppose to be doing the dishes but instead was playing my beloved piano.

In 1956, at the age of 18 I bought this brand new Wurlitzer piano in ebony. I loved it!!!! I still love it... it has been moved all over the country and from home to home and currently sits in the corner of my living room. It is in pretty good shape for being 53 years old. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I know I made monthly payments of $25 for it. It was the first item I ever went into debt for.


I accompanied in music class and programs in high school. I played in church both while I was still living at home and then in various Baptist Churches over the early years of our marriage. I played the keyboard in a small non-denominational church when we move to Coweta in 1998. Haven't played much since.


As most of you know, I have taken good care of all the wonderful possessions I have been blessed with in life and still have almost everything!!!!

I have many, many pieces of individual sheet music and various paino music books. I just laid out a few of them here for this picture to give you a sampling. Although most of the music is advanced I even have some beginning piano teaching books that my children used when they were young.

I have decided to start liquidating most of this music so........if anyone reading this is interested in purchasing antique sheet music of a wide variety just leave me a comment and I'll get back to you with a complete list of everything I have.

Look Up #2

Here is another "handwriting on the wall" for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Lord is saying.

Pope calls for a "global authority" on economy
Buzz Up

Reuters – Pope Benedict XVI makes his Angelus blessing over Saint Peter's square at the Vatican July 5, 2009. …
By Philip Pullella Philip Pullella – Tue Jul 7, 3:25 pm ET



VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict called on Tuesday for a "world political authority" to manage the global economy and for more government regulation of national economies to pull the world out of the current crisis and avoid a repeat.


The pope made his call for a re-think of the way the world economy was run in a new encyclical which touched on a number of social issues but whose main connecting thread was how the current crisis has affected both rich and poor nations.


Parts of the encyclical, titled "Charity in Truth," seemed bound to upset free marketers because of its underlying rejection of unbridled capitalism and unregulated market forces, which he said had led to "thoroughly destructive" abuse of the system and "grave deviations and failures."
An encyclical is the highest form of papal writing and gives the clearest indication to the world's 1.1 billion Catholics -- and to non-Catholics -- of what the pope and the Vatican think about specific social and moral issues.


The pope said every economic decision had a moral consequence and called for "forms of redistribution" of wealth overseen by governments to help those most affected by crises.
Benedict said "there is an urgent need of a true world political authority" whose task would be "to manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result."


Such an authority would have to be "regulated by law" and "would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights."


"Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums," he said.


The United Nations, economic institutions and international finance all had to be reformed "even in the midst of a global recession," he said in the encyclical, a booklet of 141 pages.
The pope's call for a supranational body to tackle global economic woes disturbed some Catholic capitalists.


"There is a difference between coordination and mandate ... a reckless loan in the United States can and did impoverish people in Latvia. So obviously coordination is important as long as it is not mandates," said Frank Keating, CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers and former Governor of Oklahoma.


LOFTY MESSAGE
The encyclical was addressed to all Catholics and "all people of good will" and was released on the eve of the start of the G8 summit in Italy and three days before the pope is due to discuss the global downturn with U.S. President Barack Obama.


In several sections of the encyclical, Benedict made it clear he had great reservations about a totally free market.


"The conviction that the economy must be autonomous, that it must be shielded from 'influences' of a moral character, has led man to abuse the economic process in a thoroughly destructive way," he said.


"In the long term, these convictions have led to economic, social and political systems that trample upon personal and social freedom and are therefore unable to deliver the justice that they promise," he added.


Profit was useful only if it served as a means to a brighter future for all humanity.
"Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty," he said.
He said the current economic crisis was "clear proof" of "pernicious effects of sin" in the economy.


"Financiers must rediscover the genuinely ethical foundation of their activity ...," he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had rebuked the pope earlier this year at the height of the row over a Holocaust-denying bishop, welcomed the encyclical as important encouragement for world leaders ahead of a G8 meeting in Italy.


"Pope Benedict has encouraged the state leaders to create rules so that this sort of worldwide economic crisis isn't repeated," Merkel told reporters. "I also saw this as an order to work toward a social market economy in the world."


The pope appeared to back government intervention "in correcting errors and malfunctions" in the economy, saying "one could foresee an increase in the new forms of political participation, nationally and internationally."


(Additional reporting by Daniel Bases in New York and Sabine Siebold in Berlin; Editing by Matthew Jones)



"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption drawth nigh." Luke 21:28

A Sad Moment of a Wonderful Home and Many Memories

You have to read to the bottom of this post to understand the title. This post is really for our kids and grand kids and future generations as a history of one of the homes we owned. As I started looking for these pictures I realized we never really took any "inside" shots of the interior. Of course lots of pictures of all our family Christmases, Birthdays, Parties, etc. but no shots that show the interior. Bummer.

We bought this lovely brick home on 1 1/3 acres in 1976. We sold it 21 years later in 1997 when Mickey retired and we were going to hit the road traveling for awhile in our 5th wheel.

It was a lovely home and we were very proud of it and enjoyed our years there. Here's the front with it's circle drive with flower bed in the center. The window behind the porch swing was the kitchen. The large master bedroom, built-in vanity, huge walk-in closet and one bath is on the left end of the front door.

A large living room with large matching red brick fireplace and mantle and a floor to ceiling bookcase to one side. The back of another small 3 shelf bookcase faced the large wide entry as you entered with wood spindles to the ceiling facing the main bookcase and fireplace.


Looking out from the front porch to the street.
One view of the side yard. The window showing was one of the boys bedrooms with walk-in closet.

The back view of the house. The door you see opened up to a mud room with the laundry room behind that with washer, dryer, freezer and large overhead cupboards. You turned to the right into the dining and kitchen with abundant cabinets, a built in desk. Jennair cooktop and oven, dishwasher and stainless steel sinks. Our other son's bedroom with walk-in closet is on the right end of the house.

There was a 2 car garage with the drive from the front curving around to the back. When my mother became too ill to live alone Mickey constructed a darling little apartment for her. She had her own front door, living area with bay window, small kitchenette with a fridge, cooktop, sink and cabinets. A large bedroom with a walk-in closet and full bath on the front facing the street.

Mickey standing on the back patio. The door to the mudroom to the left, the dining room window, the sliding glass door and fireplace chimney to the right.

View from the patio to the large barn and back drive. Behind the pick-up is a mounded area that was a rock garden.

Another back yard view from the patio.

Another view of the barn and storage tool shed that housed the riding lawn mower and garden tools. There was a double gate to the right of the tool shed that opened up onto a cul-de-sac to our East giving us a second rear entrance to the property.

*************************

Now for the sad part.......our son called us last week and informed us that this house, that he grew up in from age 7, had been foreclosed and was going up for auction. We have always been a little sad that we had sold it, instead of keeping it. It was to be opened Sunday from 1 to 3 so after church we drove over to see it. We were considering perhaps repurchasing it.

It was totally trashed and torn up. I do not know how anyone could do the damage to a home like this in 12 years. They had not touched up one thing we had done, soiled damaged carpet, peeling mudroom and kitchen floor. The JennAir cooktop gone and a free standing range in it's place. The large vanity in the master bedroom ripped out with the concrete floors showing where the two drawer areas on both side had been. The small bookcase and spindles torn out in the living room. Just everywhere torn-up and trashed. The landscape was a total mess. The back gates and the privacy fence torn down in sections. The tool shed gone, the barn moved to the end of the house. Trash and debris piled up in the back. I could go on and on but I won't.

Needless to say we drove away in tears to see the state of a beautiful home that had been such a part of us and our family history. I guess I just had to post about this to get it off my chest, out of my mind and off my system. To recapture the beauty and tranquility of it for our heritage.

As always we have to remember and keep in mind "This earth is not my home I'm just a passing by"........but it still hurt!!!!

Look Up

Medvedev Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8
By Lyubov Pronina

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”
“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”
The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.
The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”
Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lyubov Pronina in L’Aquila, Italy at
lpronina@bloomberg.net

"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption drawth nigh." Luke 21"28

Our Independence Day

Our area had two Tea Parties this Independence Day. One in Tulsa and one in Broken Arrow. The one in Broken Arrow was from 10 to 2. Mickey & I donned our Red/White & Blue T-shirts and headed to the Tea Party. A much needed rain began to fall on our way there. We got to the park but decided we were not up to standing in the rain. They did have a pretty decent attendance, even despite the rain. We were pleased and happy to see so many young couples with their children there. It is encouraging to know that all age groups are aware and becoming concerned with the direction some are taking our beloved country. These Tea Parties are to organize the people for the next election cycle . The next one Tea Party scheduled in our area will be in September and hopefully we will be able to attend it.

We decided to try out a new restaurant called The Broken Egg Cafe and have brunch. We waited about 1/2 an hour to get seated. They were packed!!! It was well worth the wait.

This evening we attended this monthly Southern Gospel Worship Gathering. It is put on the 1st Saturday of every month at The Assembly Church in Broken Arrow. We have been to several of these and have never been disappointed.

Came on home and listened to our various neighbors shoot off fireworks.

It was a lovely day and even with all the problems that our nation is facing at the moment we are thankful and grateful for our Country, which was founded on God and the principals of The Bible. We are determined to stand firm for those values.

Here is a poem written by one of the organizers of the Southern Gospel Worship Gatherings.

Thank God For The Great USA!

You're a beautiful lady, quiet and tall,

With a torch in your hand, bidding welcome to all.

To all who come here with freedom in mind;

But you are not deaf and you are not blind.

You see those who come to do hurt to our land.

The plotters of evil; their cause will not stand.

While we have endured, death, sorrow and pain,

Know that your heroes did not die in vain.

You're in your prime but you've kept your appeal.

We love your anthem, your flag and your seal.

You have some wrinkles, they come with the years.

But our love for you lady, still brings us to tears.

We've been silent too long. It's time to speak out.

We want you to know that there isn't a doubt;

You are the greatest! United we say,

"Thank God for you lady. The great USA!"

by Peter Enns 2009

=========================================================

Drop over to Hands & Hearts ....... for HIM!!! for some great tips about using Bounce sheets!!!!

JULY 4TH = FREEDOM

July 4th our day of Independence in the United States of America.

1776 - 2009

Happy 233rd Birthday America

A day of celebration: Picnics with hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon and way-way too much food. For many, unfortunately, a time of much beer and alc0hol consumption. Boating and time at the lakes for many. Fireworks galore...both big city-wide extravaganzas and family packs being shot off in backyards and in the neighborhoods. Symphonies both indoor and outdoor. MANY - MANY celebrations.

For me, what I choose to celebrate and what means the most to me about America, my beloved country that I was privileged to been born in, is represented in this picture. The right to freedom of religion. I also treasure freedom of speech.

I am blessed to attend, and be a part of, a wonderful Church. I am blessed to have a faithful Pastor who preaches the Word of God faithfully. I am blessed to attend a small, but very interesting and sometimes challenging Sunday School Class. I am blessed to be able to spend each morning with my husband in prayer and Bible Study. I am blessed to be surrounded by Christian friends, near and far. A lot of whom I have come to know through this wonderful experience called blogging.

This year I have been doubly blessed to have the opportunity, freedom and privilege of attending not one, but two Woman's Home Bible studies. One at the home of my friend, Judy, which I posted about here along with a picture of the group. This group started January 12th meets every Monday morning at 11 o'clock and lasts until 1 or 2 o'clock!!!

On March 10th another friend, Sandra, began a Bible Study in her home every Tuesday evening at 6 o'clock and we get done anywhere from 9:30-10. The freedom to meet in individual homes, or any place, at any time is truly a freedom that we need to treasure and cherish and that everyone does not have.

This post, in addition to honoring July 4th is to share this Tuesday evening Bible Study group with you.

(click to enlarge)

From left to right: Sandra our host and teacher, Debbie, Susan, Wantha Ann

In Front: Gloria & Ann

There is another far younger "Susan" who was not present for this picture.

This is the book we have been studying. This is a very deep book. It is not casual, light reading by any means. It is 204 pages and we spent a total of 17 weeks studying it. I will be re-reading it many times, as I do all the books that truly speak to and impact my life.

Sandra was so proud of all of us for having stuck with this study and finished it that she had a little "graduation" for us. We listened to, and sang along with the song "DAYS OF ELIJAH" and she presented each of us with this lapel pin of the Christian and Israeli flags. Such a fun and special time.


I will warn you up front, as does Bill Cloud himself, if you are Politically Correct this book is probably not for you. To quote Bill on the last page of the book "Perhaps before now, some things we have shared would not have seemed so obvious. If what has been detailed in this book is true, then it means it is time for you to hear it. The Father wants His people to be informed and prepared for - not scared of - what is coming."

I have been both anxious to post about this book since we first began it and also hesitant about doing so. I have to "tell" because I definitely feel we are living in the last days and we need to be forewarned and prepared.

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:34-36