But anyway, I didn’t return to merely share my bloggy woes; I have good news, the first of which is that it is not freezing cold even though it’s almost the end of November! Woohoo! I’m sure thankful for that. Maybe it is the slow advent of cold, though, that’s giving me a serious cooking/baking bug. Whenever I can find the time and energy, I’m making something. I made my first scones just a few days ago–yummy! Totally homemade! I got the recipe online and took pictures of the process, but again never got to editing them or writing the article. Yesterday we had a great Thanksgiving dinner, although a lot of it was out of cans and bags. It was delicious, but I did miss the charm and quality of homemade. We had plenty of leftovers, though, so no cooking today!

Well I was given a pair of Maxell Wooden Ear Buds (yah, I had no idea there was such a thing either!) and they are very nice! The cable is braided nylon, another awesome feature. Also received a treasure indeed: my very own copy of The Shadow of the Almighty: the Life and Testament of Jim Elliot, 2008 edition. It’s something I’ve wanted for some time. I borrowed the original publication from the library a few times and to say it had a profound impact on my life would be an understatement. Re-reading it now is beautifully nostalgic– the sweetest nostalgia I can ever remember having. What else can I say? Now it’s my own! Thanks to my Mom and Dad. Food passeth away, but treasures from learning from a fellow mortal whose heart was bonded to Christ don’t. Maybe you get an idea just how dull I am right now because I’m not even crying! (Quick! There’s something wrong with Alice!) “One generation shall praise Your works to another.” That’s what I feel like when I read books like this.

Well, Thanksgiving Day was good and quiet for us. Psalm 145 and Romans 3 were two good chapters to read that day. I hope y’all had a wonderful time of food, fellowship, and continue to this week. Remember to take life in stride, as sometimes we Yankees forget the value in that. Value little things, and thank God for it all. “Don’t worry ’bout nothing; pray about everything.” And tell somebody else about God’s goodness, eh?

Well, I stayed up past my bedtime to write this, so “Night All!”

Psalm 119: In the midst of David’s suffering, he exclaims how he loves the Law of the Lord.

Is it a “purpose-driven life?” is it our purpose we are trying to find? Romans 6:10 says that we died with Christ, and He died to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!

Matthew 7:17-20 Notice that the trees do not control which fruit they bear; depending on what kind of tree it is inherently, that is the kind of fruit it inevitably bears. Different kinds of trees also produce different fruits at different times.

Matthew 3:9: Now we read something like this, and say, “Okay, so just because you’re Jewish doesn’t mean that you will go to heaven.” But we need to take the word of God and apply it to ourselves on every level. In places like this, where it is appropriate hermeneutically, we need to fill in “Abraham” with our personal context. Do we think that just because we go to a certain church we’re saved? Because we grew up in a Christian home? Because we believe the right stuff and are not ‘one of them’?” We see that John’s point was that the people he was speaking to leaned back on their ancestry or their position to make them feel safe. Do we do the same in something? These things are written for us to learn from.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33) Men do not work signs and wonders; God does.

When I die, and I stand before the judgment seat of God, I am not going to say: “Lord, I was faithful” or “Lord, I did my best.” My defense alone is, “Lord, Your grace was enough. Your Son’s sacrifice was enough.” He became my sin (though He did no sin) so I became His righteousness (though I did no righteousness)

Do you find yourself in the midst of sore trials? Fear not; these trials will show that your faith is genuine. (1 Peter 1:7)

We, who love God without seeing Him, are blessed because we trust Him; we wait for Him with joy. (1 Peter 1:8)

We are strangers on the earth, and conduct ourselves with reverent fear during our stay. (1 Peter 1:17)

Was God shocked when Adam sinned? Nope. “God chose [Jesus] as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed Him to you in these last days.” (1 Peter 1:20)

When we have tasted the Lord’s kindness, we desire to grow in sanctification and in doctrine. (1 Peter 2:2)

We have been called out of darkness into light. Now what do we do? Announce God’s goodness to others. (1 Peter 2:9)

When we suffer, oh that we followed in the steps of Jesus! (1 Peter 2:21-23)

I also watched Ray Comfort’s new film about the Holocaust, abortion, and morality, the 180 movie, at the beginning of this week. It was quite astounding! There is quite a big buzz about the film now, and I’m certainly glad, and hope the good buzz grows. It does have a warning for graphic content; in an instrumental section in the film is where they show the Holocaust pictures; I watched it online, so just minimized the window as soon as it started. Hopefully, I’ll have a review up soon; but it sure is a hard kind of film to review, just because the content is something you have be engaged in for yourself. Hence, I highly recommend you watch it for yourself, and seriously consider its propositions.

I take notes while reading the Bible, and set them aside as pithy thoughts. Most of them are too brief to suffice as a blog post, so I had the idea of putting a handful of them in one post, as if they were a bunch of “tweets,” since they are all random and unrelated, but still worth sharing (and I don’t have twitter). What do y’all think of the idea?

Colossians 2:11: Our circumcision is the cutting away of our our sinful nature.

Acts 10:4: The angel said to Cornelius that his prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by… God!

Luke 6:35-36: We are to be of a compassionate spirit, as our Father is. He is kind to the unthankful and wicked. Is this our attitude, or do we instead boast against them as if we are more deserving of His favor, or deny our own imperfection?

John 7:7: Jesus was hated by the world. Why? Because He testified that their works were evil. If we are followers of Christ, we will be hated by the world. Why should the world hate us? Because we testify that its works are evil.

John 15: If you feel like parts of you are being cut off, don’t fear. The Vinedresser is pruning you so that you will produce even more fruit.

Are we to seek the signs, the wonders, the miracles and great “power of the Spirit”? 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Are signs and wonders God’s key to revival? Mark 13:22: “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.”

Love: it proves to the world that we are disciples of Jesus.

BTW, yes, I will continue the Gospel in the Gospels series; I’ve got a few quick sketches that I’ll finish soon.
How was your week?

Lifelong friends become bungling partners in an adventure toward deeper Christianity that you won’t soon forget. After the gangly, socially awkward Roman decides to actually put into practice some teaching he heard on evangelism, comedy ensues as his street-wise, church-going co-worker, Jorge, tries to get him to settle down and stop taking the Bible so literally.

Amidst the laughs, serious moments will surprise you with their depth. So if you’ve ever thrown your family to the ground to avoid the Jehovah’s Witness at your door or been heckled by a ventriloquist and his dummy… this is a series for you!

Our family got a chance to watch all three episodes in one sitting just the other night, and we loved it! From the start, it gets your attention because it’s on the average church-goer’s level. A middle-aged church-goer, who has known that he should share his faith with others, hears a practical message on why we should share our faith and how. This new realization gives his life a new focus, and he sets out to learn more, practice, and encourage other Christians to share their faith. His best friend, Jorge, is at first ticked off by the message, but in a short time gets totally on board with Roman, and they start to get into evangelizing together. As one who has heard some stories from the Greg and the guys at Living Waters, it was especially funny to see some of their humorous real-life experiences incorporated into the film.

The first three episodes of this series did a great job of not of not only telling a story from an accessible setting, but it creatively addresses common oppositions to average Christians evangelizing strangers using the Law to bring an awareness of sin, then introducing Grace and preaching repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. It addresses circumstances in life that get us thinking more about what our priorities are and how we are taking the responsibilities Christ left us with. Each of the three episodes ended with a powerful Gospel presentation from one of the Living Waters team, each with their own style and signature, similar to what they use in open-air settings.

Being produced “non-professionally,” I found this DVD to actually be quite impressive. It didn’t come off cheesy, and the setting and humor made it accessible to average folks. I know that when I watched Roman and Jorge bumble through some of their “first-timers,” I thought, “Now I can identify with this.” Hence, I was encouraged that I, too could do it, and I think my family was, too. They all made positive comments throughout and after watching it. I totally look forward to the next episodes of The Adventures of Roman and Jorge, and fully recommend it to any Christian family.

Check out the teaser! You can also visit the website here, and purchase a copy from Living Waters here.

Award Rules: 1) List 7 random things about yourself. 2) Award 15 other blogs. (yikes!)

Random facts about Yours Truly:

1) I love summer; yes, a generous 70-90 degree radius is what I like. That’s what temperature I will be in heaven. I love the weather, the plant and animal life, the birds, and the school vacation!

2) I hatehatehatehate cold weather. Yes. Seven-to-eight months out of twelve in New York State are covered in snow. Blah. I have to live here!

3) With seating and ladders, I get down on the left side and get up on the right. Not sure why that is.

4) I don’t really have close friends. Minus my two brothers. I don’t really know why; maybe it’s because I like work, and am always doing it. Either work, study, or listening. I really am not a recreational or social person. In addition, I’m as shy as a moonflower! I mean, I can be courteous or helpful, but don’t seem to be able to do this whole social and acquainting thing.

5) I don’t like meeting new people. Maybe that also explains Random Fact #4?

6) I LOVE hymns! I like their sound– the melodious, soulful music. But mostly I love the deep theological poetry of hymns. Music is not just a pretty sound, and lyrics are not just expressive or factual words that rhyme; both are artistic. Every artist has a style, but there are always certain critiques for what is good art. Hence, not every song is good art. I happen to like hymns and songs that are written in similar style.

7) I’ve been having memory issues. Don’t know why that is, either, but I know that it’s extremely frustrating and messes up a lot of stuff. (This is going to sound funny: my brothers recently told me what amnesia was. I’ve heard the word tons of times before, and I know I’ve looked it up… Problem is, every time I look it up… I forget what it means! Boy, did they laugh at that…)

Now, time to pass on the One Lovely Blog Award to 15 other bloggers… they’ll have to be ladies…

1) My Mom, Rebecca at Freaky Frugalite.
2) Rena at Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
3) Joy at The Stay-at-Home Missionary

Uhoh… I think that’s it! Yikes! Oh well, enjoy the award, ladies. Y’all have very lovely blogs.

I’m totally into Living Waters stuff, as you may know. The Gospel is amazing and I want to learn to share my faith biblically, effectively, the way of the Master. Hey, that’s their motto! So I devour their resources as much as I can. On their Youtube Channel they’ve got a whole bunch of witnessing clips and teaching videos, which are great. They’ve got a popular TV show called The Way of the Master, but we don’t get TV. :S They do, however, also have an internet show called On the Box, and it’s just great! Now, these shows mostly show men demonstrating how to witness, and it’s REALLY great that they’re doing that, but as a woman I want to know from women how they do it! Never fear, Trisha Ramos is Living Waters’ girl! She’s got a website and a blog, Fish with Trish, and there she’s got articles and videos to help women and teach them how to share their faith. She’s an amazing lady.

Trisha does have a page on her website detailing how you can book her for an event. She’s a pastor’s wife in Texas and is quite busy with Living Waters, but you can send a request for her to come and speak at a women’s event or a women’s Bible study.

Women of Faith also is coming to Rochester, New York a few times: November 4-5, 2011 and September 14, 2012. The events are a bit pricey, though. The events are $99 per person, though; if you come in a group of 10 or more, it’s $89 per person. I’ve never been to an event like this, but I’ve heard a little bit of stuff from speakers Sheila Walsh and Luci Swindoll. I love what I’ve heard from Sheila, and if I ever got the chance, I think I would go to see her speak. She loves the Word of God, and that’s what I love to hear. She’s someone who has suffered, and has such compassion in her voice, it is therapeutic. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anything like it: she speaks with that awesome, sweet Scottish accent, loves Jesus, loves the Scriptures, and has a great sense of humor. I know I can listen to somebody who doesn’t just share clever stories, have an interesting personality, and some knowledge, but who has walked through the hard circumstances of life, only to love God more. Everybody likes to come up with some new solution or revelation about what women need most today, but there aren’t many who say like Sheila, “The Word of God is what you can stake your life on.” So if you think you could afford a big event like this, it may be worth checking out. Matter, of fact, let me give you some previews into the Women of Faith speakers:

This is Sheila Walsh.

And Luci Swindoll:

Beth Moore also does some nice Bible studies for women; I haven’t been to an event but have seen video and they’re pretty nice. She’ll be hosting a Bible teaching in Reading, Pennsylvania on September 15, 2012; admission is $65 per person. You can find information here.

Here’s some Beth Moore samples:
“Stuck in Your Circumstances”

Classic: “The Hairbrush” It’s a bit long, but hysterically encouraging. “You know, Jesus is the bossiest thang.”

A lot of ladies in my church also really like Lisa Bevere, and she’s come to Western New York a couple of times, but it doesn’t look like she’ll be around here for the next two years, but rather will be speaking at a lot of places in Europe and the Western states.

That’s what all I’ve found. Any findings or thoughts yourself?

Speaking of conferences, Living Waters is also hosting two more Transformed Conferences this year. They are free events, the first one happening in Brentwood, CA (the northern California one) on August 20, and the last one on September 17, in Littleton, Colorado. Who knows? Maybe someday they’ll be in our area and we can go; but for now, I’m hoping for at least a second-hand experience via the modern wonder of multimedia How ’bout you?

So I’ve been gleaning a lot from the New Living Translation, especially right now, as I’m reading through the Psalms. The NLT is pretty straightforward English, very nice! It’s easy to memorize Scripture from the NKJV, because it’s got some poetic feel to it, but I did want a fresher, straightforward look, and the NLT seems really nice so far. Take Psalm 111 for instance:

Praise the Lord!

I will thank the Lord with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
He gives food to those who fear him;
he always remembers his covenant.
He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.
All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise him forever!

Isn’t it something? I’m having so much fun I’m taking notes! Reading the Psalms helps us in a lot of things, but right now I’m gleaning in observing the character of God (something we should always be doing!) and a heart pouring itself out to Him.

Here’s a passage from Hebrews 10:

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared… Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

Don’t know about you, but for me it gives freshness to the familiar. It also is helpful with reading large portions, because it’s very straightforward English. I know, I keep saying that. You’ll have to just believe that I’m excited! What are your thoughts?

Oh, and also, I’m still getting to completing a video blog (angel face); I will need y’all to vote for an intro, tho… I’ve made a video with your choices already, but I will have to upload it some other time cuz I’ve just been too lazy to so far!

UPDATE: I guess this is why I liked the New Living Translation; this is part of the description of the translation from Biblegateway.com:

The goal of any Bible translation is to convey the meaning of the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts as accurately as possible to the modern reader. The New Living Translation is based on the most recent scholarship in the theory of translation. The challenge for the translators was to create a text that would make the same impact in the life of modern readers that the original text had for the original readers. In the New Living Translation, this is accomplished by translating entire thoughts (rather than just words) into natural, everyday English. The end result is a translation that is easy to read and understand and that accurately communicates the meaning of the original text.