VOTE * IT DOES COUNT!

We are blessed to live in this Country

The Land of the Free and the home of the brave.

Let's keep it that way!

During this election year be reminded of these words by Abraham Lincoln

* You cannot help the poor, by destroying the rich.

* You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong.

* You cannot bring about prosperity, by discouraging thrift.

* You cannot lift the wage earner up, by pulling the wage payer down.

* You cannot further the brotherhood of man, by inciting class hatred.

* You cannot build character and courage, by taking away men's initiative and independence.
* You cannot help men permanently; by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.

A GREAT ITALIAN DINNER

PARMA, MUSHROOMS & LEEKS

Ingredients:

Parma or Prochutto 2 slices per person

(slice in 1/4 inch strips at width and cut in thirds)

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

One large leek

(wash thoroughly and slice lengthwise, cut in thirds)

Olive Oil (to cover bottom of pan)

1T Butter

1 TMinced Garlic

4 shakes of Lemon Pepper

1/4 C Marsala Wine

Heat olive oil, butter, add leeks, mushrooms and parma - Saute on medium heat

add garlic with a bit of the juice, lemon pepper for appx 5 minutes.








Add the Marsala wine and simmer for five more.


Plate with lemon wedges and use to squeeze over dish then
sprinkle freshly grated romano and parmesan cheeses.


BON APPETITE!

Have you taken a look at your medicine cabinet lately?

Isn't this a sharp looking medicine cabinet! Of course we are just able to peek inside and not really see the contents, but it's a nice outer look to be sure!

Unfortunately as I was scrambling for my toothbrush a few things fell out of my medicine cabinet and since I'm in the 'cleaning mode' lately I felt I should really clean it out. First I thought I'd just get rid of the cough syrups that were almost gone, the half empty bottles of aspirin I'd combine, and how many nail clippers does one need in one place anyway?

What I thought would take ten minutes actually took quite a bit of time. I removed everything only to find that the cabinet really needed to be thoroughly cleaned--amazing how dust can get inside a closed cabinet!!! So, that being done, I noticed a sticker on the back of the door that told who made the cabinet. I realized I hadn't ever noticed that before and it seemed a bit dull, so I found a cute Mary Engelbreit sticker with a nice saying on it and put it over the decal of the manufacturer. That really perked up the look!

Now to the mess on my bathroom countertop! Advil, aspirin, motrin...all that for a person who rarely needs an aspirin for a headache. Now body aches - maybe - well YES, surely as I've been cleaning and bending and hauling and sitting in one position as I shredded and packed. However, I still don't need three bottles of aspirin! I was then faced with an odd assortment of other things for the eyes, ears, and of course medicated Vicks! I am sure they are all ages old so I can just toss those. All in all I had 42 items stuffed onto three shelves!

Right now I have only 16 needed and useful items! I dont' have time to take pictures and upload them to my computer, so I am just giving you a sample of how perfectly organized and clean a medicine cabinet can be and an idea of what my shelves look like today. Now I don't have to share the shelves with anyone, so I'll give you a break if you do!! I'd give you a break anyway since I only did this because the house is going to be up for sale and people will be peeking in...of course that didn't occur to me until things fell out of it!

It hit me as I worked on the cabinet that my heart can be similar--my outward appearance like the outside of the cabinet. Sharp, clean and looking good. Like the mirror, and the wood around it...showered, dressed, make up on and perfect hair...However, upon reflection it becomes apparent that 'stuff' is rotting away in there, or falls out and I stuff it back in unwilling to take the time to deal with it. It stinks as it rots away and permeates my very being and then eeks its filthy smell outward to those around me. A rotten heart serves no one but the enemy. He's happy to push his way in and sit there as long as we allow ourselves to be polluted.

Yesterday when I was shredding Jeff's files I came upon a lot of things like passports, final transcripts from high school and college, receipts for everything he ever purchased along with the manuals. He was highly organized! I came upon a couple of receipts for the engagement ring and other jewelery items he had purchased for his wife. Immediately I was filled with anger, tears, and a bitterness in regards to how she left him when he became ill. I complained about it in email to my brother and my friend Donna.

I pray for this woman, I really do, but when this type of thing comes up I am again overwhelmed by my feelings about the entire situation, and there it lingers for who knows how long, permeating, stinking, rotting, fermenting. And who does this hurt? Me and others around me. God's Word is pretty clear and everything in it is for our good. He knows what is best for us and gives us precise ways to live in order that we live purely and in an upright manner.

So today I pray for a clean heart, one free of bitterness and anger...one that wants to live in freedom and in peace with my Lord and the world around me.

I'm no angel, we all know that! This isn't the only area of my life that keeps cropping up, but I pray that when the Holy Spirit makes me aware of each failure, that I am quick to pray that Psalm.

If you have an area of concern in your spirit, ask the Lord to come in and strip you of each thing, to clean you up so that your outward presentation to the world reflects the inner peace and joy you have with Him.

A bit of Nostalgia

Yearbook photos and beyond....


1956













1957

1958

















1959








1960

















1970

1975














You may have figured out, I never had an afro.

Have fun on this link for yourselves and go back in time!
http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ I got it just yesterday from my friend in real life and fellow blogger, Janeen. I had so much fun playing around with it! I guess you can see that though....

A Bit of the Remodel

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Well there is just a peek at some of what has been done. Bamboo going in all the bedrooms now..well, one at a time. :) I love that little program "smilebox." It's easy to use also.

That's it for now; I'm still busy shredding tons of files! Love ya! Karen

A Rose is a Rose

Roses from my yard!

I have so many beautiful flowers in my yard. Two days ago I picked some roses to put in a vase for the kitchen. They were mostly buds then and today they are outrageously beautiful as they have opened and smell so fragrant!!!

When I look at my flowers I think of the God of Creation.

He surely is into the details!

Each flower is so different from the next and each has so many beautiful parts.

Pansies are like that... each type has its own sweet little face!

Fuschias are another favorite of mine..I love them in hanging baskets on the overhang of the deck. Check out how intricate the colors and again the variety!!! They are so magnificent!

How wonderful of God to give us such beauty in flowers!

It reminds me of each of us as individuals. Our sweet and or strong faces, our individual colors, our need of shade and sun, our need for (living) water, our unfolding like a rose as He grows us to be like Him. We start out as the small seed...then the bud and the Holy Spirit works in us a new growth, unfolding, more fragrant,

more pleasing to the great and awesome Creator of the Universe!

As the roses continued to open the fragrance became stronger. At first i had to bring them close to my nose to smell them and today just two days later my kitchen is full of the beautiful aroma.

Since a day is as a thousand and a thousand as a day to the Lord our God, two days in our time frame is nothing. However, as we grow in Christ and are conformed to His image, two days may be 2 years or 20 years. How open am I to His leading? How obedient am I to His teachings? Do I find contentment on the Potter's Wheel? Am I willing to be soft enough for Him to mold? How deeply do I love Him? The sooner I submit to Him, the more content I am in my circumstances, the less I fight Him on every word from the Word that doesn't jive with how what I think is 'fair' or 'right,' the more He can do with me, thus producing a lovely fragrance that rises up to Him. May I bend easily to His ways in order to be that pleasing aroma.

John 12:3
Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance.

Eph 5:2
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

GOOD & BAD HAIR DAYS!!!!

This is a bad hair day!What is it about hair that makes or breaks our day? Why are we often not satisfied with our hair. We fuss and fix and color and curl and then we cry and whine incessantly about our hair!

It's been reported that some people pay $400 just for a haircut! Sure, it looked nice, but that's a lot of money for a barber!

My neice has good hair all the time...Danielle seems to be able to wear it any way she chooses and it looks great. Well for her junior prom she had it done at the salon and did end up coming home and taking it all down and redoing it. Then it was perfect again.

I wake up with my hair looking like this. People have been know to shriek upon an early morning view! I don't blame them, I shudder at the view in my mirror too! As I've aged my hair has gotten quite silvery white ...it started slowly framing my face..now it frames from the crown of my head forward. I'm really not ready to look like my mother so I try new colors and have recently settled on a darker blonde than I have worn for years. I also had them add highlights. I'm quite pleased.

Once I had it done at a new place and said make it funky, spikey like, I'm having a problem with being old. The gal did a great job....and it was certainly funky and spikey. It was ok but rather short and very spikey. I was brought into the real reality of how it looked when I picked up my grandson for the day and that sweet voice of Kevin's from the back carseat said: "Mimi, your hair is scaring me." I had to laugh. I told him it would grow and it kind of scared me too!

My computer is on the vanity area near the closets in my bedroom here..its a perfect setup except for the rather LARGE mirror attached to the wall behind it. I just tried to take a picture of myself in the rather LARGE mirror but alas...no, it did not break the glass!!!...just too much light ruining the whole thing. At any rate, my point was going to be that quite often I am taken with the state of my hair as I sit and work Ebay or write emails, play solitaire or chat. Now, the word vanity is perfect for what can occur here as I gaze into the mirror admiring my new hair color and style. I see why the Quakers and other sects of Christianity might have banished mirrors from their homes. Just think about the extra time they had not having to primp in front of the mirror.

Some days I can't admire my hair. No matter what I do there are times my hair has a mind of its own! Seems like I am cranky for the day, nothing goes well, and I am out of sorts! When I lived in Idaho I was afraid to go find a new person to do my hair so i let it grow and grow and just cut my bangs. I wore a pony tail, first at the nape of my neck and then eventually high up in the back. I thot it was fine, but that's what living in Idaho can do for you. I came back for a friends surprise 60th birthday party and my friends said WHAT IS UP WITH THE PONY TAIL? IS THAT THE STYLE IN IDAHO? GET IT SYLED here in CALIFORNIA! So I did. And came to terms with finding someone I could trust with my precious hair...it only took like 5 different people to find that ONE who could really cut hair properly in Idaho.

Now over in Spokane Washington we have a friend from chat: Silvermoom/aka Suzanne. She has perfect hair. She works at it. I've heard tell of coloring, highlighting (all herself) and using a flat iron...proudly announcing it was a good hair day! I'm always happy for her when she is having a good hair day; I totally relate. :) Here she is with her daughter, Mariah.
I just wanted to do something frivilous on the blog today - it's all true - no real lesson...I don't want to put in verses about vanity. I just wanted to acknowledge that Suzanne and Danielle have perfect hair and some days I do too.

I hope you all have a great hair day today!

From another blogger

Someone forwarded me this link today and I just wanted to share it with all of you.


Internet Cafe Devotions: Eternal Perspective

The Shack

I have now read The Shack. I usually buy these best-sellers immediately but had to wait this time. Someone bought me a copy and I was so excited to read it. All I had heard were positive remarks and many people saying, "It's a must read."

The endorsements were incredible...one even said it was the Pilgrim's Progress for a new generation. People were saying it changed their walk, their perceived thoughts of God Himself and even that it brought them a peace after the tragedy of losing a child. These remarks really work up a desire to see and experience God in a new way. I had read nothing negative about the book before I picked it up and put it down.

If you have not read the book, and plan on doing so, you may want to stop reading the blog now. This could be considered a 'spoiler.'
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I had not heard about the author, William P. Young, or his experiences in life before I read the book. I learned most of what I now know through the forward which was written by his long-time friend. I was brought in emotionally early on as I read of the pain and suffering the author had to endure from his alcoholic preacher father to the devastating kidnapping and murder of his dear daughter.

While I had the best dad ever, I never called him "Papa" and "Daddy" was something left behind as a term of endearment before I was 12. When taught that Abba means Daddy, I could not address God as Daddy. It just isn't 'me.' God as Poppa hit me the same way. That aside, I was anxious to see what awaited for Mack at The Shack!

Nothing could have prepared me, I do admit. Our all-powerful, all-knowing, I AM that I AM showing up to sit and chat in bodily form over coffee and bisquits threw me a curve and it would have even if not as a big black woman. Appearing in any human form would have resulted in me having a hard time imagining God who is Spirit arriving as anyone else. (Yes, I know God has revealed himself in a burning bush and I don't limit Him in anyway; but this just surprised me.) Then in pops Jesus as the Asian part-two of the trinity and by the time Tinkerbell as the Holy Spirit breezed by (truly, that's where my mind went--Tinkerbell) ... well, I really have no words for how I felt about what I was reading. It was all too chummy for me. Jesus kissing God on the lips--not a visual I took in well either.

It was all too contrived, representing the Trinity in 'living color", representing minitorities & Disneyish for the Holy Spirit. Those who know me well know I have no prejudice re color, women, cartoons, (well I prefer the newspaper funnies to animated children's movies, but you get my point. I don't want to be misunderstood so I felt that needed to be put forth in case someone reads this blog who does not know me well.) I just could not wrap my head around the visuals for the Trinity and becoming very discouraged, I almost put it aside. Jesus later appears as a clone of my brother Buzz in the late 60s with long hair in a braid and hiking boots. At any rate, I forged ahead wondering why people liked this book so much.

Let me say that I feel I understand the author's reasons for presenting The Trinity in such form. Moving past preset conditioning about God, His Son and the Holy Spirit, he probably helped a lot of people see each in a new light. For most of my life I was conditioned to think of God as one who watched my every move and one who was punishing me for some sin if I stubbed my toe (that's what my mother told me anyway). To this day I swear to you that whenever I do stub my toe I think, 'Yikes, what did I do now?"

When God was presented to me in my early 30's as a Loving Father who was in fact FOR me and not AGAINST me, that TRUTH worked my spirit to become more responsive to His call on my life. Receiving GRACE because of the sacrifice of His Son poured holy white pureness into me. At that point I knew there was NOTHING I could do to make God love me more and NOTHING I could do to make Him love me less. That's not cheap grace I am talking about either..it's PURE grace and I was set free to live as Beloved of God.

Someone on line in a chat room was sharing about this book with another and said, "Please read past page 120." So forging ahead I continued. Nothing changed as far as I how had felt about the interaction between The Trinity with one another and with Mack -- it just hit me as so odd. Since I have known and interacted with the Lord for over 44 years now, I would just say it certainly matched nothing I have experienced. Too much chumminess for a Holy and Almighty God who I know loves me and yet who is God...Awesome God. Yes, I know it is a novel and I know my imagination is lacking, but it just didn't work for me.

What did speak to my spirit is one of the more central messages - the one of love and forgiveness. When Christ teaches us to Love One Another it is by the Holy Spirit that we can even want to do so. When Christ teaches us to forgive, it is by the Holy Spirit working in us to enable us to do so. When the Word of God takes hold in our spirit, it is by the Holy Spirit within us.

Some of the examples of how Mack was called to love and forgive hit my heart at a level that made me cry...that made me want to become more like Jesus in sacrificial giving of myself - putting others ahead of my own selfish self. I've had opportunity to do so many times since then. I think that while Mack had significant and deep issues that most of us have never faced or will ever have to face, we still have opportunities every single day to forgive and love in ways that the Holy Spirit moves us. Let us have the wisdom and the softened, vulnerable heart to follow God in order that people see Christ in us and in order to live in true freedom.

-oOo-

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;

as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Matthew 18:21 & 22

21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive

my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.