Yorkies in their Sweaters!

Posted on March 7, 2011 by The Other Alice

Boring title, I know, sorry! :P But I have two exceptionally cute Yorkie/Maltese doggies (technically known as “Morkies!”) who have been in desperate need of some activity, attention, baths, and haircuts. So they got them! And they got something else, too! A dear sweet lady gave me two gorgeous sweaters for the dogs, Mozart and Cricket (awesome names–I didn’t come up with them!) and they look so CUTE in them! Dogs and children look so cute when they’re dressed the same! So the day came when I HAD to clean their pen, and they begged me so and looked so restless that I decided to just get it done. I bathed them, cut Mozart’s hair (uneven. Oh well), cleaned their pen, cleaned the bathroom and tub, and let them run around the house in their little sweaters and diapers ALL IN ONE DAY!!! They were so happy, bounding and skipping about! Livvy was… interested. She kept coming to see them, following around, though she remained very guarded. She was SO eager to sniff them it was hilarious! But these poor fellas don’t really know their manners, I guess, cuz they kept running past the “little lady” in full speed, sometimes brushing against her!

The good news for you is that I managed to get some pictures! Not of Livvy with the doggies, unfortunately, they were all moving too fast! But I tried to get a few portrait shots of the doggies, a tough venture indeed! What’s funny is while I was desperately trying to get Cricket’s attention for the camera to capture his face, Mozart suddenly started posing beautifully! Here is his typical greeting face:

Mozart_hello

Isn’t he CUTE?!? If you want to pet him, feel free!

Once again, while I was chasing down his rambunctious brother, Mozart simply sat and posed! It was hysterical! Look at this dog!

Mozart_pose

A sideshot. See the decorative blue bone on the back of his sweater?

Mozart_pose2

Can’t you just see his little personality? (Pardon the diaper…)

Finally! Once Cricket saw Mozart posing for the camera, he decided to give it a try! (For a much shorter time, though) He made a cute pose for about 5 seconds, but the picture quality isn’t so hot. My apologies on behalf of the Morkie and Kodak.

CricketBug_pose

Oooo, this is what I was looking for! Here’s Cricket Bug’s personality (notice the tongue):

CricketBug_face

Trying again; fail. Oh, how he LOVES to dance at the little gate. Oh well, at least you get a good view of his tongue. Wait, it seems he’s looking straight at my finger… what’s so tasty about my bony little finger?!?

CricketBug_tongue

Ever-hyper-active-has-no-idea-what-hes-doing-boy sniffing at the black box of goodies! (No doggie food in there, bud.)

CricketBug_sniffs

There ya have it! You have to admit the sweaters made them SOOO much cuter! I do so love my Morkies. :) Though Livvy will tell you, “Whoa, dey stink!”

Posted in photography, Querky | 6 Comments

Inspiring Story: The Transforming Power of Love

Posted on March 6, 2011 by The Other Alice

Whew! I made it for this week’s Inspiring Story, hosted by Miss Szymanski at In Defense of the Christian Faith! This week it is a video about a World War II soldier, who through unbelievable circumstances turned around and became a missionary to the nation whose government oppressed him. But there’s more! Check it out, be challenged and encouraged!

While this story is incredible, it is not exactly applicable and practical to us ordinary folk; that is, we are not soldiers in a big world war, missionaries overseas who see our persecutors come to Jesus. BUT, all of us with the Spirit of God in us can love. Scripture says that love is more important than faith, hope, speaking in tongues, prophesying, and knowledge. And all of us can do it! If the Spirit of God is in us, we do love, but we must increase in it, so that it does not grow cold and our light be removed from us. (see Revelation 2:1-7)

Pray for the strength and the grace to love, pray that you will love the brethren, pray that you will love people in need of it, pray that you will love people even if you are not loved back, pray that you will love the lost, the downtrodden. Pray God will open your eyes as to where your love needs to increase. It will be worth it! Whether or not you see the fruits of your labor, it will be worth it because love is of God, and love lasts forever. So look at this story and be equipped and encouraged!

Posted in Inspiring Story, Missions | 3 Comments

Way of the Master on Mormonism

Posted on February 24, 2011 by The Other Alice

My Mom and Dad went out to the Finger Lakes region recently, and on their trip briefly visited Palmyra, where Joseph Smith started his “movement.” Mom said it’s really creepy and spooky up there. :| Apparently, there’s a gold statue of the Moroni character who “visited” Joseph Smith. Is that what happened to the gold tablets given to Smith? Hmm… Anyway, this all reminded me of some Way of the Master material I’ve seen on Mormonism and how to understand and speak to these people. It’s certainly interesting; here it is for your viewing!

Here’s their On the Box episode in which they discuss Mormonism, as well.

Posted in Discipleship | 3 Comments

NEW! The Evidence Bible: NKJV

Posted on February 16, 2011 by The Other Alice

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Review: First Fruits DVD

Posted on February 9, 2011 by The Other Alice

First Fruits is a movie made by Vision Video in 1982, covering the story of Moravian missionaries to the West Indies in the 1730s. Throughout the film, there are narrations that seem to come from the journal of one of the Moravians, and the focal character, Leonard Dober.

The story begins in Hernhut, Germany. In a meeting, Count Zinzendorf shares his meeting with a Christian brother in another city, who was a slave. The Count shares the slave’s story of being separated from his family at the Island of St. Thomas, his sufferings, and his deep desire that his family back home hear the Gospel. Two of the young Moravian men become greatly burdened for the slaves in St. Thomas, and when the burden continues, they seek counsel with the Count, who encourages them. Eventually, they meet the Christian slave, Anthony, who informs them more and asserts that the mission will be a true challenge. The men continue to seek the counsel of the other Christian leadership, who surprisingly discourage them. For one year, the men wait, until, after a turn of some events, they get the green light. After much time and hardship, rejection by slaves and whites, and dealing with sickness, finally, Leonard watches the first people confess faith in Christ. Soon afterward, he receives word that his home church in Hernhut has called him back to join the church leadership, while others come to take his place in St. Thomas. The ultimate climax is when after many years of labor, the precious first fruits, the first believers among the slaves of St. Thomas, emerge, and how the work of these first two Moravians started a ripple effect of many more missionaries going out from their church to nations all over the world.

This film is a re-enacted story, like a narrated docu-drama, not so much a feature film– a movie. It is not at all dramatized or hyped, just represented. The story was incredible and well represented– that is the credit of this film. Not great cinemetography, intriguing plot packed with adventure and excitement, mystery and suspense, music, or acting. The script was more history than story, like most feature films are. So while this presentation was unique, it was indeed enjoyable and worthwhile, one I would recommend to Christian circles of any kind.

Posted in Reviews | 2 Comments

Word for Wednesday: His Commands are NOT Burdensome

Posted on February 2, 2011 by The Other Alice

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)

1 BLESSED are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!
3 They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.
16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.

From Psalm 119

Praise the LORD!

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.

2 His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.
6 Surely he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is established;
He will not be afraid,
Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.

9 He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted with honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be grieved;
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 112

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)

Some worldly folks will combat the idea of following God with, basically, the plain truth of the matter: they don’t want to live under His rules. They claim that all the “thou shall not’s” are too restricting; they want to live in “freedom,” “do it my way.” These are the kind of people who will argue that “morality is subjective to society,” “there is no definite, universal, culturally transcending truth.”

However, what lies deep beneath is not necessarily an intellectual barrier, but rather the squirming sensation: “Ew! I don’t want to live under a bunch of rules and stuff and have to follow some control freak and shake people’s hands all the time and sit in stiff pews every week.”

One thing these people do not understand is what God really wants from us. They have to realize who God is, and how they MUST approach Him, because they inevitably will, and will have to give account of all their deeds to Him.

But God is not asking us to fit into a mold and go through loopholes, because none of us have! God offers to cleanse our record and give us His Spirit so we can do His will! And what is His will? To know Him! How do we know that we know Him? If we keep His commandments.

People, God’s commandments are not burdensome! The commandments of the Lord are good for us; He does all things for our sakes! They are not restricting; it is NOT liberating to chase after whatever slow, painful death this world can offer. It is NOT liberating to put off trusting in Jesus in favor of living a religious, self-righteous life– thinking that paying your penance, confessing to the priest, or spending your time in a soup kitchen is what gets you points in heaven. Folks, that is not God’s destiny for us!

Notice the Scriptures above; we walk in liberty because we keep God’s precepts! But it is only possible because we got this.

Closing thought:

“of whom the world was not worthy…” (Hebrews 11)

Posted in Discipleship, Word for Wednesday | 2 Comments

Combating the Great Big Stupid World

Posted on February 2, 2011 by The Other Alice

I just finished reading “One Heartbeat Away” by Mark Cahill. It is incredible! It’s the kind of book you can give to anybody who is interested in their eternity. And if they’re not, they can’t be for long if they read the book!
I’ve heard that Muslims, Catholics, atheists, etc. have been born again after reading the book, and after reading it, I am wowed! Mark covers so many topics so straightforwardly, and yet in so few pages! I find it really great that he focuses most of all on the gospel. The arguments of man have their place, but the Gospel is more important, and it is the LAW of God that converts the soul. But Mark doesn’t leave the reader after the Gospel presentation; he goes on to give new believers an intro into their Christian life.

This is a book you will definitely want to pass on! Mark’s website, full of other resources, is here.

I’d also like to share a great video describing how to combat views like relativism, from Living Waters.

While we’re at it, here’s an allegorical video on “clocking out.”

Be strong!

Posted in Discipleship, Missions | 2 Comments

Word for Wednesday: Take Advantage of Every Moment

Posted on January 25, 2011 by The Other Alice

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men… Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9-11, 20-21)

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)

Remember to speak the Gospel to people around you, knowing that at any time they may swing into eternity. I learned yesterday that a certain atheist Ray Comfort and others in his team have witnessed to numerous times was killed after being struck by two cars on December 22 last year. I was shocked because I remember seeing one encounter with him in a Living Waters University clip. This event was recalled on Ray’s blog, Chad’s blog, and the On the Box Program (a new Living Waters installment which has been incredible!).

Ray’s faithful followers (most atheist) have accused him of taking using tragedy to proselytize, and I couldn’t help but say… When we Christians speak of tragedy and take the opportunity to remind people of their mortality, we are not “proselytizing,” rather, we are doing folks a favor. We are putting real circumstances into their proper perspective, reminding folks: “You don’t know when you are going to die.” When Ray was speaking to the above mentioned atheist, Juergen, he asked, “Juergen, when are you going to die?” and he responded “Twenty years from now.” He had no idea!

I’d like to share one of the last recorded conversations with Juergen, this one with Living Waters’ Chad Williams. It is indeed very interesting; let it remind believers and non-believers alike of the fragility of life.

If you happen to be a non-Christian, please consider these things. It won’t be enough for you to “clean up your life,” because that won’t pay the debt you owe for falling short of the holiness of God. Disagree? Check this out. To learn more, check this out. I addressed this topic extensively here, so please, no matter who you are, take the time to read that message from me to you, because there’s nothing more important than where you will spend eternity. If you believe you’re just going to the dirt, you need even more to read it, and the verses quoted above.

Posted in Missions, Word for Wednesday | Leave a comment

The Stylish Blogger Award (Did you hear that?)

Posted on January 22, 2011 by The Other Alice

Woo! Thanks to Mike at Just 2 Techy for the Stylish Blogger Award, my third award! I don’t recall ever being labeled “stylish” before! Mike graciously informed me that I do not have to follow through all the rules if I so desire. I just may take advantage of this, cuz I don’t think I can complete rule number three… Oh well.

Stylish Blogger Award

Here are the rules:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

7 things about myself? What is there to know besides my awesome sense of humor? :D Well, we’ll give it a shot anyway!

1. A lot of things about me are conflicting: I love to cook, but I don’t really like eating. I eat when I’m hungry, and that’s usually only 2 1/2 times a day, and not if I’m doing a lot of physical work. I also laugh a lot (that’s laugh, not that creepy teenage-girl giggle– I don’t think so…) but (did I mention I’m a professional songwriter?) I can’t write happy or entertaining songs very well. I am extremely shy and nervous but at the same time blunt, stubborn, and straightforward. I have some trouble speaking, but I talk a lot. I can be picky but at the same time tend to make the best of things and encourage others to do the same.

2. I mentioned above that I’m a professional songwriter… Well… I don’t get paid for it or anything, I just do it and give it my absolute best (I apply my picky-ness in this activity). I’m no musical genius, but I find myself applying the tricks and special guitar methods to my songs. How do I write songs? There is no particular method, although certain results are necessary, of course. All I use: prayer, a Bible, my beautiful acoustic guitar, a pencil, paper, a capo, and sometimes tricks my Dad has taught me. It is an art, an art to which every artist has a style he or she will develop over perhaps a lifetime.

3. My speaking voice is kinda high but my singing voice is low. Both can drive people nuts. Funny story time! We were in a restaurant one time, and I noticed the waitress kept looking at me. At first I thought it was cuz I looked weird or something, but figured out it wasn’t and then thought maybe I looked familiar to her or something. When my turn came around the table to take my order, as soon as I started speaking, she looked a little shocked (poor girl) like maybe she didn’t quite expect a sound like that to come out… I didn’t laugh at the time, but I do every time I remember it… even now I’m laughing!

4. I’m not very social. Which is probably why I’m not very popular. Wow, I learned something today! I actually have always had difficulty keeping eye contact with people while talking to them, I focus better while looking at a blank surface but I have worked very hard to try to keep eye contact with people while they talk to me (it’s still work somehow!) At the same time, I try very hard to be devoted and committed in any relationship (yah, I know I make some pretty big fails… but I’m still alive so I’ve got another chance, hey?)

5. I love cats! I say to anybody, if you don’t see the beautiful and interpersonal value in cats, you just have to look a little harder! They are clean, quiet, companion-able (did I just make that word up?), and highly intelligent. Unless they were born with a short nose. This limits cognitive growth in the feline species.

6. I love country music!!! It’s lively, intricate, and I do so love the acoustic sound. However, most country song lyrics are pretty lame, in my personal opinion, except for the SCC kinda country– his lyrics are very well written.

7. The final “thing” about me. As a born-again Christian, I have a great desire for literally everyone to know Jesus– now I don’t mean “jump on the Jesus train” and leave your troubles and hurts behind, like “Jesus instead of drugs” but the Holy Jesus, the Son of God. I want people, whatever their walk or circumstance, good or bad, to realize the state of their soul in the scope of eternity. Even if they’ve lived a good life, everyone has at some point deliberately done something they knew was very wrong– not slipping up or making a mistake. This is a hard fact to face, but we have to realize that in the eyes of a completely good God, we are in trouble, unless Somebody pays our debt and gives us a fresh start. I desperately want people to know that Somebody and get that new nature, and be redeemed from the disaster that awaits them if they remain in their sins. Sad thing is, there are lots of people in the Christian world who have not yet been born again– this is the root of why so many young people are “falling away.” They go through the motions dictated by their surroundings.

There ya have it, seven things about me, just so Google, the SWAT team, and maybe a few of my friend or faithful followers can know. Hope ya learned something, Mr. Gates…

BTW, the last statement at the end of Thing #5 was slightly sarcastic; I really don’t know if it’s so, it was just a joke. 0:) We have a short-nosed cat who seems to be mentally challenged in some ways… Oh, he’s okay, just unusually ditsy.

Now for step 3: Seems a lot of the folks I know have already received the award (Congrats to y’all! We’re blogging in STYLE, here!)

The Forney Flyer
The Stay-at-Home Missionary
Flythe Family

Help…

Oh! Good ole Herky! (Maybe he’s still hibernating, but this will be waiting for him…)
The Foundation Forum
Daisy the Curly Cat (she’s very stylish! And I love cats. :D )

Wow. 5 out of 15. That’s like a whole third of… the required amount. Ehe. Thanks, Mike, for the award! Awards are cool, cuz they make you feel good inside!

Now I gotta let these folks know I awarded them! See y’all, and if you live in the Northeast, DON’T go licking any flagpoles, cuz it’s gonna be cold.

Posted in About the Blog, Querky | 7 Comments

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Posted on January 15, 2011 by The Other Alice

Did you know that that song (actually, one of the two modern songs with that name) was written by Hillsong Australia’s Steve McPherson, Daniel Grul, and John Ezzy? And that it was first recorded on the 2000 United Live album “Best Friend?” Well, it was! I know I first heard this song long before I had even heard of Hillsong! Another note of interest: you have probably heard of the music group Hillsong United. Did you know how they started out? Well, a guy called Reuben Morgan was leading the worship music for the youth services at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. Joel Houston played the bass, Marty Sampson did guitar and vocals, Michael Guy Chislet did electric guitar, and Luke Munns played drums. They called their nights of preaching and worship “United Nights” because the two youth services joined up and in 1998, there was a revival among the youth. So Darlene Zchech suggested to Reuben that they record a live album to document what was going on. They ended up doing that every year and in 2002, they changed their name to “Hillsong United.” That same year, Reuben decided it was time to let the younger generation take the wheel to this new project, so Joel and Marty led Hillsong United in live worship music. And that’s how they got started! The band has grown, changed, traveled, and become popular since then, and soon they will be releasing their second studio project! A lot of times the stories behind how a person or group of people arrived to “the spotlight” is so interesting! Looking at the starting point and the present, and comparing the similarities, is always pretty amazing!

Here’s the original recording of the song, now!

Worship you my Lord until the very end

Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Jesus, I will never let you go
You’ve taken me from the miry clay
You set my feet upon the Rock and I now know

I love you, I need you,
Though my world may fall, I’ll never let you go
My Savior, my closest friend,
I will worship you until the very end

Posted in Music | 2 Comments